FREE Great Migration 4-Lesson Mini-Unit (Lesson Plans + Materials)

Did the Great Migration Create a Better Life for African Americans?

This mini-unit includes four comprehensive lesson plans and all materials need to cover the Great Migration. Students examine evidence about lifespans, economic opportunities, the Harlem Renaissance, the Queer Movement, and racism/violence.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Reading:

o Students will learn how to distinguish between a claim on an issue and reasons made for or against it.

o Common Core Standard: ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

Content:

o Students will be able to identify the various consequences (both positive and negative) of the Great Migration for African Americans.

o Analyzes the causes and effects of voluntary and involuntary migration in the United States in the past or present.

Critical Thinking:

o Students will be able to identify and compare the arguments that the Great Migration did and did not create a better life for African Americans.

o Students will be able to take a stand (make a claim) on whether they believe the Great Migration did or did not create a better life for African Americans, and support it with evidence from the readings.

o Evaluates the depth of a position on an issue or event

o Analyzes differing interpretations of events in U.S. history.

Writing:

o Students will be able to write a persuasive essay with a claim about whether they believe the Great Migration created a better life for African Americans, and support their claim through text-based-evidence.

o Evaluates and interprets other points of view on an issue within a paper or presentation.

UNIT OVERVIEW: This week we will be examining the Great Migration more closely through a Structured Academic Controversy on the question, Did the Great Migration Create a Better Life for African Americans? We will begin by doing a whole-class reading of a summary of the Great Migration to provide us with some effective tools for reading difficult texts. Then, you and a partner will be assigned a position, either Yes or No and another pair will be assigned the opposite position. With your partner you will read a set of four documents and use a graphic organizer to organize the information and plan out your evidence-based argument. Then, like always, you will present your position and listen to the other side’s position and try to come to some kind of consensus about the issue. Finally, after you’ve all had a chance to really dig into the documents and have meaningful discussions about them, you will craft a persuasive writing piece detailing your personal opinion.