Lesson Plan 3: Middle School
The Scottsboro Trial
by Elise Stevens Wilson
Background
In 1932, times were hard for many as jobs were not easy to find and
people had difficulty putting food on the table. During March of that
year, nine black boys ventured out looking for work only to find themselves
caught in a series of events that would drastically change their lives.
They hopped on a train car where they ran into some white boys also
in search of jobs. After getting in a fight, the black boys eventually
found themselves charged with raping two white women who were also on
the train but in a different car.
Jim Crow ruled the South during the 1930s and nothing could draw a mob
more than an incident between black men and white women. Many believed
that poor legal representation, biased juries, and spotty evidence led
to the boys being sentenced to death. The story of the Scottsboro 9
swept through the country and made world news. The Scottsboro 9 helped
to ignite the Civil Rights Movement that would change the face of America.
Overview of Lesson Plan
In this two-day lesson plan students will be able to explore issues
of justice in American history through the Scottsboro trials. They will
begin to explore some of the problems that African Americans faced in
the Jim Crow South. This lesson plan is a good way to begin talking
about segregation and the Civil Rights Movement. It can also be used
in conjunction with the book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Additionally, this
in depth look will also allow students to analyze and use primary sources
as part of a continuation to develop their social studies skills.
A PowerPoint is central to this lesson plan as it provides the historical
data, critical thinking questions, and instructions for use of the primary
sources. When reading the lesson plan it will be helpful to have the
PowerPoint running so that you can follow along. The PowerPoint is designed
for you to show in class as a lecture tool to give the history of the
Scottsboro trials. As you advance through the slides you will see green
boxes with questions. These are meant for you to pause and get student
feedback. A few slides prompt the class to begin an activity using primary
sources outside of the PowerPoint . You can find these sources under
Materials. Again, the green boxes on these slides ask questions that
correspond to the primary sources. The PowerPoint and its activities
can be a complete lesson plan on their own; however there are additional
activities to help students engage the material more thoroughly.
Objectives
1. Students will be able to identify and describe the events of Scottsboro
case.
2. Students will be able to assess and utilize primary sources such
as letters, posters, and interviews.
3. Students will be able to critique the justice system under Jim Crow.
4. Students will be able to begin to describe the conditions of African
Americans during segregation.
5. Students will be able to analyze the role of these events in the
larger context of the Civil Rights Movement.
Materials
- Scottsboro
Boys PowerPoint by Elise Stevens
- First
Days – Roy Wright’s account of the trial (1933)(Use
at your discretion as there is a language advisory)
- Pamphlets
and Posters primary source packet
- Letter from Ruby
Bates to Earl Streetman – Ruby Bates recants her testimony
(1932) Ruby Bates Letter
- Poems
by Langston Hughes: Justice, The Town of Scottsboro, Christ in Alabama,
and Scottsboro (1932) (Use at your discretion as there is a language
advisory)
Procedure
Day One (45-60 minute class)
1. Ask the class the following, “What do you think would happen
if our court systems were unfair? Use the think-pair-share method to
get the discussion underway. (5-8 minutes)
2. Begin the PowerPoint, Scottsboro Boys, as a way to introduce the
lesson. The green boxes on the PowerPoint are for you to stop and ask
the questions of your class. This lesson is set up to invite short discussions.
(5 minutes)
3. On slide #5 your class will be given instructions to look at the
first primary source, First Days. This is an account by Roy Wright,
the youngest of the Scottsboro 9. Make hard copies for your class to
read as a group. You may want to have each student read a line. Then
discuss the question provided in the green box on the slide. (10-15
minutes)
4. Continue with the PowerPoint until you reach slide #7. Divide your
class into groups of 4 and hand each group the packet of pamphlets and
posters. Ask the class to follow the directions on the slide. Each student
in the group should take one poster and begin to analyze it. Then they
can pass the posters around so that they can see all of them. This is
a great opportunity for students to work together and begin to analyze
primary sources. (15-20 minutes)
5. Bring the class together and discuss what they did in groups. The
posters are on the PowerPoint to facilitate the discussion. (5 minutes)
6. Assign them homework that is provided on slide # 11. There are four
reflection questions that will allow students to process what they have
done in class for the day, and they will also ask them to think about
the next day’s lesson. You may want to print these questions out
and give the students hard copies. (2-5 minutes)
Day Two (45-60 minute class)
1. Review the previous night’s homework as a way to prepare for
the lesson. (5-8 minutes)
2. Begin Part II of the PowerPoint. On slide 14, your class will be
invited to look at another primary source, Letter from Ruby Bates to
Earl Streetman. Hand out hard copies of this to the class and read together
as a group. There are discussion questions in the green box on the slide.
(10-15 minutes)
3. Continue with the PowerPoint to its end. (5-8 minutes)
4. Have 3-4 pieces of poster size paper taped to the walls around your
classroom. Alternatively you can use your board. Ask students to imagine
these posters are going to be sent to President Roosevelt and you have
an opportunity to voice your opinion about the Scottsboro trials. Students
can write no more than a sentence to express their feelings. (5 minutes)
5. Now lead a brief discussion as a group. You may want to have students
first use journals and then share as a group. Possible prompts are:
Hypothesize why it was important that these boys’ stories gain
national or world-wide exposure? Predict how these events will help
to end segregation and achieve civil rights for all. These questions
will help students to place these series of events in the larger context
of the American Civil Rights Movement. (10-15 minutes)
6. Have students pick someone who was involved in these cases. They
could choose any of the boys, Ruby Bates or Victoria Price, the judges,
the lawyers, or even the President of the United States. Ask them to
write a letter to their person. They should express how they feel about
the cases, offer suggestions or consolations, chastise or question people’s
actions, or commit themselves to take action like the protestors. (10-15
minutes)
Extension and Assessment
1. Ask students to research the murder of Emmett Till and compare the
court system in the South when there are white men on trial for committing
a crime versus when there are black men on trial.
2. Ask students to read poems about the Scottsboro Boys written by Langston
Hughes. They can then write their own poems in response to the trials.
3. If students are reading To Kill a Mockingbird, ask them to compare
the events of the Scottsboro 9 to the story of Tom Robinson.
Bibliography
“A Scottsboro Protest Exhibit.” Modern American Poetry.
8 June 2009. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/boyle/protestexhibit.htm
“Primary Sources: Langston Hughes on Scottsboro.” Scottsboro
An American Tragedy. American Experience. 8 June 2009. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/filmmore/ps_hughes.html
“Primary Sources: Letter from Ruby Bates to Earl Streetman.”
Scottsboro An American Tragedy. American Experience. 8 June 2009. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/filmmore/ps_bates.html
“Primary Sources: The First Days.” Scottsboro An American
Tragedy. American Experience. 8 June 2009. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/filmmore/ps_wright.html
"Scottsboro Boys case." American History. 2009. ABC-CLIO.
9 Jun. 2009.
http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com
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