Online Seminar: Choices in Little Rock

Description

From the Facing History and Ourselves website:

"Facing History and Ourselves' newest online seminar, 'Choices in Little Rock,' is a rich and engaging exploration of the 1957 desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The seminar traces the legal and personal struggles of African Americans from Jim Crow America through the landmark supreme court decision on Brown v. Board of Education, and ultimately, to the courageous actions of nine young men and women determined to make desegregation a reality. Their efforts would lead to a crisis that historian Taylor Branch once described as 'the most severe test of the Constitution since the Civil War.'

This online seminar takes place over seven weeks. Each week, participants will engage in a variety of activities that will include reading materials, viewing video clips, creating journal entries, and participating in online facilitated discussion forums. Participants are expected to complete approximately four hours of work each week at their own pace.

Each participant will receive a copy of our teaching guide, Choices in Little Rock, as well as some additional resources, prior to the start of the seminar."

Contact name
Tanya Lubicz-Nawrocka
Contact email
Tanya_Lubicz-Nawrocka@facing.org
Sponsoring Organization
Facing History and Ourselves
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
$325
Duration
Seven weeks
End Date
Website
http://www2.facinghistory.org/Campus/Events.nsf/HTMLProfessionalDevelopment/6B6…

Old State Capitol [KY]

Description

The Old State Capitol served as the state capitol for Kentucky from 1830 to 1910. The capitol is a National Historic Landmark, and is notable for its impressive architecture, which introduced the Greek-Revival architecture to states west of the Appalachian Mountains.

The site offers brief visitor information regarding the Old State Capitol. The website is part of the Kentucky Historical Society's main webpage, and so offers all historical resources and information provided by the society. In order to contact the capitol via email, use the "contact" link located at the top of the webpage.

This site is covered in entry 12461, the Kentucky Historical Society.

Quapaw Quarter Association [AR]

Description

"The Quapaw Quarter Association is a non-profit historic preservation advocacy organization whose mission is to promote the preservation of the historic buildings and neighborhoods of Greater Little Rock." The association was founded in the 1960s in order to protect historic structures during the urban renewal period. Today, in addition to providing advocacy for local preservation issues, the association also provides a bi-monthly newsletter, the Preservation Resource Center, and public workshops and educational programs.

The site offers visitor and historical information.

Association offerings are intended for individuals interested in taking on preservation projects.

Okeechobee Main Street, Inc. [FL]

Description

The Okeechobee Main Street program is designed to improve all aspects of the Okeechobee downtown district. Its main goals are to improved economic management, strengthen public participation in downtown events, recruit new businesses, rehabilitate buildings and building facades, and expand parking for visitors. The organization has three main projects, the facade program which seeks to improve the look and feel of downtown through building restoration, the beautification program which improves upon landscaping downtown, and guidelines for the painting of murals downtown.

The site offers detailed information and documents regarding all organization programs, an events calendar, and links to visitor information regarding Okeechobee.

This is a community revitalization organization.

Historic Waxahachie [TX]

Description

Historic Waxahachie was organized in 1977 with the intention to "educate the public to the cultural, historic, and economic benefits of Waxahachie's unique social and architectural history." Waxahachie is notable for containing an impressive concentration of turn of the century commercial and residential architecture. Current projects of the organization include the Wyatt Building restoration, Calaboose restoration, and the upcoming railroad depot project.

The site offers basic information about the organization, information for prospective members, and information regarding the educational programs, open to the public, put on by the organization throughout the year.

This organization does not operate physical sites for visitation. Brochures are offered for self-guided area tours.

A Splendid Coincidence

Description

Inspiration intersects with means in a partnership that resurrects a city. Character interpreter Ed Way discusses W.A.R. Goodwin, founder of Colonial Williamsburg.

To listen to this feature, select "All 2008 podcasts," and scroll to the November 3rd program. Audio and video options are available.

This is a repeat of node identification number 20482.

After Slavery

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Annotation

Textbooks often present a quick, uncomplicated overview of Reconstruction—a vast oversimplification of a time of social upheaval, tension, and violence. After Slavery: Race, Labor and Politics in the Post-Emancipation Carolinas, a joint project of Queen's University Belfast, the University of Memphis, and the University of London, provides primary sources that take a closer look at the time period.

Focusing on the themes of labor, race, and citizenship, After Slavery presents sources from North and South Carolina as examples of trends nationwide. A 2,500-word Introduction explores Reconstruction and the rationale for choosing the Carolinas as the project's focus. About the Project explains the structure and rationale behind the website's learning units.

The Learning Units form the heart of the site. Ten units cover topics including emancipation, mobilization, land and labor, black soldiers, conservative reactions, justice, gender, poverty and white supremacy, coercion and resistance, and the Republican Party. Each unit includes a 400-word introduction and six or more primary documents with three to eight discussion questions each. Units can be viewed online or downloaded as PDFs. An introductory essay explains the mission behind creation of the units, and Recommended Reading lists more than 80 books, 50 articles, and 15 primary sources.

As of December 7, 2012, other materials on the site are still content-light. Interactive Maps uses Google Maps to pinpoint only two events—the Hamburg Massacre and the Cainhoy Riot—with five to seven subevents included in each, as well as five-item lists of related sources.

Interactive Timelines includes three timelines with one-sentence descriptions on each item. Timelines look at general Reconstruction history as well as Reconstruction in North and South Carolina. Teacher Resources currently features links to more than 30 digital collections and exhibits, research tools, military records, audiovisual resources, and more. The section notes that lesson plans will be added in the future.

A valuable resource for teachers looking to complicate the textbook narrative on Reconstruction, and for teachers covering North or South Carolina history.

Cartoons
Literary Sources
Maps
Newspapers and Periodicals
Official Documents
Paintings and Prints
Personal Accounts
Photographs
Political Documents
Speeches
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freedmen
North Carolina
Reconstruction
South Carolina
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African American History Month
Splash Pullout AAH Month
Learn AAH Month
Civil War & Reconstruction, 1850-1877
Devel. of the Industrial US, 1870-1900
African Americans
Slavery
Southern States

Labor Unions in the Cotton Mills

Teaser

Introduce students to the importance of oral history while simultaneously teaching them about 20th-century labor unions.

lesson_image
Website
Labor Unions in the Cotton Mills
Description

Students listen to excerpts of oral histories from former cotton mill workers, who discuss their reasons for joining (or not joining) the labor union. Students discuss these sources, and take a stand for or against joining the labor union in early 20th century cotton mills.

Article Body

In this lesson, students use oral histories to consider workers’ motivations (and reluctances) about joining labor unions in the cotton mills of North and South Carolina in the early 20th century. The website provides both audio recordings and transcripts of the oral history excerpts, allowing students multiple access points to the content.

The lesson introduces oral history as primary source and can be used to help structure class activities where students will gather oral histories. The website provides additional ideas for using these primary sources in an online guide to oral histories in the classroom. The brief excerpts (and accompanying background information) included here present challenges faced by cotton mill laborers, as well as concerns over the possible consequences of unionization. Peoples’ reasons both for and against union involvement are included. In this way the lesson illustrates contrasting perceptions on unionization and the necessity to look for varied perspectives when conducting historical research.

Students, in groups, write a speech about the merits of joining (or not joining) the union. We suggest that teachers be explicit that this speech be composed as if addressing this early 20th-century audience, and ensure that students have sufficient background knowledge about the specific historical circumstances to construct a realistic speech. Asking students to consider how similar or different the stated concerns are to those of modern-day workers confronted with a similar choice may help with illuminating historical context, as will additional background information. Teachers could also add a “context checker” to group roles to ensure this is taken into account.

The short, contrasting oral history excerpts included make this lesson a good way to introduce oral history and show its usefulness to understanding the past as well as to learning more about the labor movement.

Topic
Labor Unions
Time Estimate
3-4 Class Sessions
flexibility_scale
4
Rubric_Content_Accurate_Scholarship

Yes

Rubric_Content_Historical_Background

Yes
In addition to background information on the subjects of the oral histories included on the right-hand column of the lesson page, the site also includes additional helpful resources (under “related topics”) on cotton mills and labor unions.

Rubric_Content_Read_Write

Yes
Written transcripts are provided for the oral histories, and students are asked to write speeches defending or opposing unionization in the cotton mills.

Rubric_Analytical_Construct_Interpretations

Yes

Rubric_Analytical_Close_Reading_Sourcing

Yes
Students will need to closely analyze each oral history to identify a worker’s reasons for or against joining the union.

Rubric_Scaffolding_Appropriate

Yes

Rubric_Scaffolding_Supports_Historical_Thinking

Yes
While discussion questions are included for each document, teachers may want to provide additional support for struggling readers and English Language Learners.

Rubric_Structure_Assessment

No
Although the lesson does not provide specific criteria, teachers can use the persuasive speech at the end of the lesson (Activity 4) as an assessment. Constructing criteria that include attention to historical context is likely necessary.

Rubric_Structure_Realistic

Yes

Rubric_Structure_Learning_Goals

Yes

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