Segregation in the USA
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can assess the African American challenges to segregation in schools.
Key learning points
- African Americans suffered from many forms of discrimination.
- Segregation was defended by the Supreme Court in 1896.
- Groups like the NAACP and church organisations campaigned in defence of black Americans' civil rights.
- The Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional in 1954.
- There was widespread opposition to school desegregation in many parts of the South.
Keywords
Segregation - when groups of people are separated from one another
Constitutional - something that is allowed under the laws of a political system
Civil rights - the rights that everyone in a country has
Federal - something related to the national government of the USA, rather than the government of individual states
Desegregate - to end segregation
Common misconception
The Brown v. Board ruling in 1954 led to desegregation across the South.
School desegregation was resisted bitterly in many parts of the South. In some states, the Brown v. Board decision had no effect on how schools were run even by the start of the 1960s.
Teacher tip
Encourage students to discuss as partners whether the federal government could have done more to ensure school desegregation took place across the South and for justifications of their answers. You may ask after this what may have stopped the federal government from doing more.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is it called when groups of people are separated from one another?
Q2.Write the missing word, which relates to economic inequality. A greater proportion of African Americans lived in than was the case for white Americans, who tended to be richer.
Q3.Which statement is most accurate? A) The US Army was desegregated for WWII, with white and black Americans mixed together. B) The US Army remained segregated for WWII.
Q4.What name is often used to refer to the hunt for communists in the USA during the early 1950s?
Q5.Which conflict was most responsible for encouraging the second Red Scare in the USA?
Q6.Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Write the missing word. Something is if it is allowed under the constitution of a political system.
Q2.What is it called when segregation is ended?
Q3.When did the US Supreme Court rule that school segregation was unconstitutional?
Q4.What was the acronym of the organisation which took the Brown v. Board of Education case to the Supreme Court?
Q5.Identify the accurate consequences of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954.
Q6.Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
To help you plan your 11 history lesson on: Segregation in the USA, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 history lesson on: Segregation in the USA, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 history lessons from the America 1920–1973, Opportunity and inequality unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.