Lesson Plan: The Geography of Racism

Subjects:

U.S. History, Modern World History, Geography, AP U.S. History, AP World History

• This lesson is designed for Modern World History and Geography classes with a comparative focus between segregationist housing policies in the United States and South Africa. Once you have made a copy, feel free to adjust any of the terms to meet the needs of your students and unit.

Lesson Duration:

• Two 60-minute class periods

Essential Questions:

• How do policies based on race affect urban development?
• How do segregationist housing policies in the U.S. compare with those in South Africa during apartheid?
• How does geography influence housing policies?

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Describe similarities and differences between housing policies in different countries.
• Explain the ways in which racism can affect the geography of an area.
• Analyze maps to synthesize data about geographic racism.

Materials:

• Retro Report video “A New Housing Program to Fight Poverty Has an Unexpected History” (Transcript)
• Student Activity handout
• Stations documents
• Supplemental reading: UN: The Struggle Against Apartheid

Procedure:

1. Before using this lesson, students should be familiar with the basic definitions of racism, systemic, urban planning, infrastructure, and apartheid. For students who need to review these terms, activate their prior knowledge by using a vocabulary strategy like the Frayer Model. An example of the Frayer Model is included at the end of this document.
   1. As needed, the teacher may scaffold by strategically inserting answers/pictures in one of the boxes.
2. Have students watch the film “A New Housing Program to Fight Poverty Has an Unexpected History” (Transcript) and answer the questions provided.
3. Stations:
   1. Tell students that they will be comparing geographic racism in the United States to apartheid in South Africa. Set up five stations around the room using the documents attached to each of the stations below:
   • Station #1: Housing: Homelands and Redlining
   • Station #2: Movement: Pass Laws and Sundown Towns
   • Station #3: Effects of Geographic Racism: Photographs
   • Station #4: Effects of Geographic Racism: Personal Narratives
   • Station #5: Restitution: Redistribution of Land and Housing Projects
   1. This activity can be done on computers or physically within the classroom. If you choose to have students move through the classroom, split students into five groups and divide groups among the stations. Allow students 5 to 10 minutes at each station to analyze the documents provided and fill in the graphic organizer with the information they discover.
4. Exit Ticket: Claim Statement
   1. After the station activity is complete, have students individually complete the final section of the lesson handout by writing a thesis statement in response to the following prompt:
   • Compare how segregationist laws and policies have affected South Africa and the United States.
   1. Have students turn in their claim statements before leaving class.
   2. For students in need of additional support:
   • If students need help writing thesis statements, advise them to choose one of the videos from the “Claims and Thesis Statements” playlist on the Mini Moves for Writers YouTube Channel to watch.
   • Students should watch the video and then attempt to write a thesis statement using the mentor text style provided.
   1. Extension options:
   • Homework: Ask students to use the work they completed in class to write an introductory paragraph to pair with their claim statements.
   • In-class peer review:
     1. While students write their individual claim statements, write the prompt on a large sticky note and place it on the board. Then distribute smaller sticky notes to each group.
     2. When students are finished, have each person share a claim statement with the table groups. Have each group choose the claim statement they believe is the strongest, write it on the provided sticky note, and take it to the giant sticky note. Read the thesis statements aloud, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each statement.
     3. Conclude by asking the class to choose the strongest statement from those on the board.

About the Author:

Sam Futrell teaches middle school social studies at St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Richmond, Va. and is president of the Virginia Council for the Social Studies.

Standards

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

• D2.Eco.8.9-12. Describe the possible consequences, both intended and unintended, of government policies to improve market outcomes.
• D2.Eco.9.9-12. Describe the roles of institutions such as clearly defined property rights and the rule of law in a market economy. 
• D2.Eco.14.9-12. Analyze the role of comparative advantage in international trade of goods and services.
• D2.Eco.15.9-12. Explain how current globalization trends and policies affect economic growth, labor markets, rights of citizens, the environment, and resource and income distribution in different nations.
• D2.Geo.2.9-12. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
• D2.Geo.5.9-12. Evaluate how political and economic decisions throughout time have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions. 
• D2.Geo.7.9-12. Analyze the reciprocal nature of how historical events and the spatial diffusion of ideas, technologies, and cultural practices have influenced migration patterns and the distribution of human population.
• D2.Geo.8.9-12. Evaluate the impact of economic activities and political decisions on spatial patterns within and among urban, suburban, and rural regions.
• 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.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.
• D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.

Common Core Literacy Standards

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
• CCSS.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.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).

AP U.S. History

• Topic 8.10: The African American Civil Rights Movement
  Skill 5.B: Explain how a historical process relates to another historical process.
  Theme 8: Social Structures (SOC).