Using Primary Documents from the Alcatraz Occupation as Framework for Understanding Current Civil Rights Demonstrations

Lesson Objectives:

At the conclusion of this activity, students will be able to analyze primary documents (as per the AASL standards, below) compare and contrast them with a related current events article, and present their findings.

 

Standards: American Association of School Librarians

I.B.1. Learners engage with new knowledge by following a process that includes using evidence to investigate questions.

II.A.3. Learners contribute a balanced perspective when participating in a learning community by describing their understanding of cultural relevancy and placement within the global learning community.

III.D.1. Learners actively participate with others in learning situations by actively contributing to group discussions.

 

Summary of Tasks/Actions:

Students will be given a brief introduction to the Native American Civil Rights Movement and then provided with access to online primary documents relating to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz Island.  They will read at least two of the primary documents listed below and will then find and read at least one news article relating to a current Civil Rights issue.  Students will create and submit annotated bibliographies of the articles they read, including summaries, critiques, and comparisons/contrasts.  Students will then present their findings verbally to the class.  Students will be assessed based on the accuracy of their bibliographies, the quality of their annotations, and their verbal presentations.

 

Materials Needed:

Chromebooks and/or library computers, primary source documents regarding Alcatraz Occupation and access to additional news articles relating to modern Civil Rights demonstrations.

 

References:

 

Abstract:

Students will read primary documents from several perspectives of the Alcatraz Occupation, then research a modern political and/or civil rights demonstration to compare and contrast with the Alcatraz Occupation, then discuss, and present their findings. Examples of relevant activism are:

 

Title: Using Primary Documents from the Alcatraz Occupation as Framework for Understanding Current Civil Rights Demonstrations

  • Grade: High School
  • Curriculum Designer’s Letter to Other Teachers, Including Her Own Story: The Alcatraz Occupation has been a source of fascination since I first learned of it as a 13-year-old visitor to the island after it had become a national park and a tourist attraction. At the time, the official script of the park was that the intent of the Native American occupiers was only to trespass and vandalize government property. I later learned that this narrative represented only one side of the issue.
  • Curriculum Designer’s Introduction to Specific Topics of the Teachings: In this lesson, we will explore researching primary and secondary documents, uncovering and weighing “bias” vs. “objectivity” in media, and the importance of finding multiple perspectives when viewing historical and current events.
  • Curriculum Design Approach: Place-Based Multiliteracies Framework
  • Curriculum Expressions:
    • Big Idea: One historical event can have many different perspectives. When it comes to civil rights, citizens observing the event will be better prepared to understand and learn from that historical event if they can approach it from multiple perspectives, watch out for bias (of others and their own), and strive for an objective appraisal that weighs different points of view.
    • Enduring Understanding: In order to fully understand cultural and historical events, multiple perspectives must be explored.
    • Essential Questions Aligned w/ Trail/Tribal Themes: Whose perspectives are given in each of the readings? What kind of bias does each perspective contain? What other socio-political/cultural/historical events were taking place (at the time period of your article) that help you “contextualize” it? What does “contextualize” mean and how does it help us understand an event or a document?  Give examples in discussion or in your presentation.
    • Key Knowledge Objective(s): Students will develop a greater understanding of “bias” and “objectivity” in media (mainstream and alternative) and the importance of exploring history from multiple perspectives.
    • Information Literacy Standards: American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards
    • B.1. Learners engage with new knowledge by following a process that includes using evidence to investigate questions.
    • A.3. Learners contribute a balanced perspective when participating in a learning community by describing their understanding of cultural relevancy and placement within the global learning community.
    • D.1. Learners actively participate with others in learning situations by actively contributing to group discussions.

●      Lesson Plans

    • Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this activity, students will be able to analyze primary documents, compare and contrast them with a related current events article, and present their findings.
    • Entry Questions: What is used to describe the US Marshals and the Native Americans in the 1971 San Francisco Chronicle article? Would any of it be considered offensive today? Why did the author of the Alcatraz Proclamation write it on what appears to be an animal hide? What is the significance of the headings in all caps? Based on the way the Native American occupiers are described in the article, does that concur with how Richard Oakes presents himself and his position in his interview?
    • Necessary Materials & Resources: Primary-source documents regarding Alcatraz Occupation (some are provided, but additional documents can be researched) and access to additional news articles (again, with some suggestions provided and some to be researched by students) relating to modern demonstrations.
    • Learning Modalities: Visual and auditory
    • Differentiated Instruction: Students will be monitored and assisted as needed.
    • Suggested Formative Assessment of Learning Outcomes: Students will be assessed based on the presentation of their current events article, how it relates to the primary documents they read, and their findings when comparing and contrasting the two.
    • Scaffolding: Teachers could increase the basis for assessment by asking that students find two articles with opposing views, and ask for them to weigh both the degree of bias and the effort to maintain some objectivity. Students might also be asked to report on their research methods either in their presentation of in writing: how did they locate their articles?  How reliable is Google for finding appropriate material?
    • Culminating Performance Assessment of Learning Outcomes: Students will create and submit annotated bibliographies of the articles they read, including summaries, critiques, and comparisons/contrasts. Students will then present their findings verbally to the class. Students will be assessed based on the accuracy of their bibliographies and the quality of their annotations and verbal presentations.

 

●      Bibliography & Additional Resources: