Lesson Plan: Double V – Teaching With Primary Sources (Scaffolded Writing Resources)

Subjects:

U.S. History, Civics/Government

Grade Level:

7-12

Lesson Duration:

• Two 40-55 minute class periods

Essential Questions:

• How did World War II change the way Black Americans thought about freedom and equality in the United States?

• What did World War II reveal about who had full rights in the United States, and how did Black Americans respond to that reality?

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Develop a position and present a viewpoint based on historical evidence.

• Evaluate how Black Americans’ experiences in World War II affected their fight for equality at home by watching a video, answering questions, completing an outline, and drafting a paragraph.

Materials:

• Retro Report video “Beyond the Battlefield: Double V and Black Americans’ Fight for Equality” (Transcript)

• Video Guide and Question Sheet

• Video Guide Key

• Paragraph Outlines

  • No scaffolds

  • Partial w/Topic and Concluding Sentence

  • Partial w/Evidence to Sort

  • Full Scaffolding – Sorted Evidence

• Primary Source Pack

• Primary Source Analysis Activity

Key Vocabulary:

• Double V Campaign: A movement during World War II that called for victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism in the United States.

• Segregation: The enforced separation of people based on race, especially in schools, jobs, housing, and the military.

• Discrimination: Unfair treatment of people based on race, gender, or other characteristics, such as being denied jobs, opportunities, or equal rights.

• Executive order: A directive issued by the president that has the force of law, within existing legal authority.

• Civil rights: Rights guaranteed to all citizens, including equal treatment under the law and protection from discrimination.

Procedure:

1. Review: This lesson is best used in a U.S. History class to examine how World War II acted as a turning point in the fight for civil rights and reshaped African Americans’ expectations of citizenship, or in a Civics/Government class to analyze how citizens used service, protest, and public pressure to push the federal government to address inequality.

   1. Potential discussion and review topics for U.S. History:

      1. World War II exposed contradictions between American ideals of freedom and democracy and the reality of segregation and discrimination at home.

      2. The experiences of Black Americans during the war, including military service and unequal treatment, helped change the strategies and urgency of the fight for equality.

      3. The Double V Campaign shows how African Americans connected global events to domestic reform, arguing that victory abroad was incomplete without justice at home.

      4. Postwar violence against Black veterans demonstrates that progress was uneven and often met with resistance, even after military service and sacrifice.

      5. World War II helped lay the groundwork for the modern Civil Rights Movement by increasing pressure on the federal government to act.

   2. Potential discussion and review topics for Civics/Government:

      1. How citizens can use multiple strategies—such as military service, protest, and media—to influence government policy and public opinion.

      2. The role of the federal government in responding to civil rights violations, including the use of executive orders to address discrimination.

      3. How unequal treatment of citizens can challenge the legitimacy of democratic ideals and force governments to confront contradictions.

      4. The ways public pressure and social movements can lead to changes in law and policy, even when those changes are gradual or contested.

      5. How debates over equality, citizenship, and government responsibility during World War II continue to shape civil rights discussions today.

2. Guided Instruction: Have students watch the “Beyond the Battlefield: Double V and Black Americans’ Fight for Equality” (Transcript) video.

   1. This can be done as a whole class or individually on computers or via the Edpuzzle platform.

   2. The video guide and question sheet pose two guiding questions for the entire video, along with several sentence stems for students to complete as they watch.

   3. After reviewing responses and highlighting exemplary answers, the teacher will distribute the scaffolded outlines to students.

3. Outline and Writing Prompt: Each outline version uses the same writing prompt. For this activity, students will respond to the following prompt: How did the experience of Black Americans during World War II change their fight for equality at home?

   1. Demonstrate how responses on the video guide and question sheet could be used to craft topic and concluding sentences.

   2. Guide students through creating categories and details on their version of the Outline form.

      1. Depending on time and classroom set-up, students can work together or independently to turn their categories and details into full sentences.

      2. Be sure to emphasize that each detail can be more than one sentence.

4. Primary Source Analysis: Have students complete one or more of the Primary Source Analysis activities provided for this lesson.

   1. Students are encouraged to draw on one or more primary sources to support their answer and evidence as they construct their outline.

5. Outline Construction: Have students complete whichever scaffolded outline they were given.

6. Paragraph Construction: Using the outline that students completed, have them construct their full paragraph.

To learn more about the evidence-based instructional methodology used here for teaching writing, see: The Hochman Method | The Writing Revolution

About the Author:

Jaclyn Jecha teaches social studies at New Berlin West Middle and High School in Wisconsin. She has collaborated with the National Park Service and PBS Wisconsin on educational materials.

Standards

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies

• D1.5.6-8. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources.

• D2.Civ.2.9-12. Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time, and alternative models from other countries, past and present.

• D2.Civ.5.9-12. Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.

• D2.Civ.13.9-12. Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.

• D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

• D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

• D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

• D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

• D3.1.6-8. Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.

• D3.3.6-8. Identify evidence that draws information from multiple sources to support claims, noting evidentiary limitations.

• D4.1.6-8. Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging the strengths and limitations of the arguments.

Common Core Literacy Standards

• CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RI.11-12.3: Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequences of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact or develop over the course of a text.

• CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RH.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.