① Surface · Build the knowledge

Phase 1 — Build the knowledge

Before students can reason about the Birmingham problem, they need the raw material: the vocabulary, the key facts of the movement, and the chronology. These three activities are fast and front-loaded — the goal is acquisition, not yet analysis.

🎯 By the end of Phase 1 students can use the key vocabulary, explain how the movement developed from Brown v. Board through Birmingham, name its key events, leaders, and documents, and place the road to Birmingham in order on a timeline.

🎟️ Entry ticket — 1-minute warm-up

Vocabulary & feedback · d 0.62§113.41(c)(9), (c)(28)

1 · Word bank & vocabulary sort

Introduce and let students sort the unit vocabulary. Sort twice: first by "words about the unjust system" vs. "words about the response & the law," then by student-invented categories (feedback on their reasoning).

Term	Working definition
segregation	the enforced separation of people by race in schools, transit, and public life
Jim Crow	the system of state and local laws that enforced racial segregation across the South
civil rights	the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality under the law
civil disobedience	the deliberate, public refusal to obey a law believed to be unjust, accepting the penalty
nonviolent direct action	confronting injustice through peaceful protest — marches, sit-ins, boycotts — without using force
boycott	a coordinated refusal to buy from or use a business to force a change
sit-in	peacefully occupying a segregated space, such as a lunch counter, and refusing to leave
integration	ending segregation so people of all races share schools, spaces, and institutions
filibuster	prolonged Senate debate used to delay or block a bill, as against the 1964 civil rights bill
due process / equal protection	the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees of fair legal procedure and equal treatment under the law

📚 Background: National Park Service · Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument ↗ — a concise, sourced overview that puts the vocabulary in context.

Jigsaw method · d 0.92§113.41(c)(9), (c)(28)

2 · Jigsaw reading — How did the movement reach Birmingham?

Split the class into four expert groups, each studying one topic below, then re-mix into home groups where every topic is represented. Each expert teaches their group. (Jigsaw is one of the highest-leverage surface moves precisely because students must teach.)

🧩 Use the ACE Powered Jigsaw Organizer — experts capture their notes on it before teaching their home group: open the organizer ↗. New to running a jigsaw? See the teacher guides in the facilitator guide.

Sources for each expert group (free, reputable; confirm access through your district — links open in a new tab):

A · Brown v. Board & the Montgomery Bus Boycott

The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision ruled segregated schools unconstitutional. In 1955–56, the Montgomery Bus Boycott — sparked by Rosa Parks and led by a young Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — showed that nonviolent mass action could win.

📄 National Archives · DocsTeach: Civil Rights ↗
📄 Library of Congress · Civil Rights History Project ↗

B · The sit-in movement & SNCC

Beginning in 1960, students staged sit-ins at segregated lunch counters across the South. They formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), putting young people at the center of nonviolent direct action.

📄 Library of Congress · Civil Rights History Project ↗
📄 National Archives · DocsTeach: Civil Rights ↗

C · The Birmingham Campaign & the Children's Crusade

In the spring of 1963, the movement targeted Birmingham — one of the most segregated cities in America. When adult volunteers ran low, thousands of students marched in the Children's Crusade and faced police dogs and fire hoses.

📄 NPS · Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument ↗
📄 NPS · 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing ↗

D · The March on Washington & the laws that followed

In August 1963, some 250,000 people gathered for the March on Washington, where King delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech. The pressure helped produce the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

📄 King Institute (Stanford) · "Letter from Birmingham Jail" ↗
📄 National Archives · The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ↗

Check for understanding: each home group writes two sentences answering "Give one event that built momentum toward Birmingham, and one reason nonviolent direct action was hard to sustain."

Direct instruction · d 0.56§113.41(c)(9)

3 · Timeline work — the road to Birmingham and beyond

Using a class timeline, students place the movement's key moments in order: Brown v. Board (1954), the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56), the sit-in movement & SNCC (1960), the Birmingham Campaign & Children's Crusade (spring 1963), the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (April 1963), the March on Washington (August 1963), the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing (September 1963), the Civil Rights Act (1964), and the Voting Rights Act (1965). Then trace how each event built pressure on the next.

Quick write: "Because ______ happened in ______, the movement was able to ______, which mattered because ______."

🗺️ Timeline & sources: Library of Congress · Civil Rights History Project ↗ · National Archives · DocsTeach: Civil Rights ↗

✅ Surface check before moving on: can every student use the words segregation, civil disobedience, nonviolent direct action, and equal protection correctly, explain how the movement developed toward Birmingham, and name at least three key events in order? If yes, go deep. If not, reteach — the problem in Phase 3 depends on it.

🎫 Exit ticket — check yourself

Unit home Phase 2 — Deep ›

Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.41; effect sizes from Visible Learning MetaX.