Middle and High School Programs

Our subsequent programs are split into three categories: history, civics, and student activism. History programs range from the study of Reconstruction’s impact on the nation to the civil rights movement. Moton’s mission includes promoting dialogue to ensure empowerment within a constitutional democracy. Our civics programs provide founding document context and examples of how individuals advocated for full citizenship. Students analyze and discern differences between how the law was written and how it was enforced. The student activism programs explore how K–12 and collegiate students have impacted the nation’s ideal of forming a more perfect union.

STRIKE!

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 6–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: USII.9A, VUS.13B

Students will be introduced to the conditions at Robert Russa High School that led to the 1951 student strike. Barbara Johns and other strike committee members organized their classmates to go on protest over the inadequate school facilities in Prince Edward County, VA. Students will investigate primary sources to learn about the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case, what school was like at Moton, why the strike happened, and the resulting Brown v. Board case.

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Locked Out

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 6–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: USII.8D, USII.9A, USII.9C, CE10.B, VUS.13B, VUS.13C, VUS.13G, GOVT10.E

Prince Edward County closed its public schools in 1959 after the Allen decision declared that county schools were to be integrated for the 1959 school year. The public schools remained closed until 1964 after the Supreme Court decided the Griffin decision in May of that same year. This program covers the lead up to why the schools were closed and analyzes how the closings impacted students and the Prince Edward community.

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1963: A Year in Review

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 6–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: USII.8D, USII.9A, USII.9B, USII.9C, CE.3, CE.10, VUS.13B, VUS.13C, GOVT.9F

This program is an in-depth study of the events of 1963. Students will engage with primary sources to learn how the civil rights movement impacted individuals that year. The role of the media in bringing awareness to the movement will be explored.

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Children of the Civil Rights Movement

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 6–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: USII.9A,VUS.13B

Students will learn how kids engaged actively in the civil rights movement and how their participation changed their lives. Students will use primary sources like photographs, newspaper articles, and oral histories to learn about student experiences in Prince Edward, VA, Little Rock, AR, New Orleans, LA, and Birmingham, AL. The program explains both why students were part of the civil rights movement and the consequences they faced.

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Moton Founding Documents

TARGET AUDIENCES: Grades 7–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: CE.6BC, CE.9AB, VUS.13B, GOVT.7, GOVT.10CE

This program provides a deep dive into American founding documents and Supreme Court rulings that shaped the nation politically and impacted American citizens. The program will cover the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Amendments, and cases like Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board, and Griffin v. Prince Edward County.

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Building Blocks of the Founding Docs

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 7–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: CE.2B, VUS.5A, GOVT2

Students will be guided through the founding documents to see how each document echoes those prior and the purpose of each. Students will learn the context of each document and how its authors were influenced while writing.

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Education and the Supreme Court

TARGET AUDIENCES: Grades 7–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: CE.6BC, CE.9AB, VUS.13B, GOVT.7, GOVT.10CE

This program covers eight Supreme Court cases that have direct impact on American education. The program begins with Plessy v. Ferguson and ends with the 1971 Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education case. Students will learn how the result of the Brown decision, “separate but equal,” was implemented and how school integration was attempted.

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Women and Grassroots Activism

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 6–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: USII.6D, USII.9, CE.ED, CE.4, VUS.13CG, GOVT.3, GOVT.11, GOVT.16

Black women have been active in civil rights activism consistently throughout American history. Grassroots activism prepares individuals to work as a group independent of a particular leader. Black women leaders who empower their communities to advocate for themselves embody grassroots activism. Some of the women discussed are Septima Clark, Ella Baker, Gloria Richardson, and Fannie Lou Hamer.

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Civil Rights Century: Part 1—1865–1915

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 7–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: CE.3ABE, VUS.7E, VUS.8D, GOVT.3, GOVT. 6E

Reconstruction of the Union after the Civil War included the addition of three amendments. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments changed the economy, who was considered a citizen and entitled to the rights therein, and who could vote. The program covers the Reconstruction Amendments, disenfranchisement, Ida B. Wells, Plessy v. Ferguson, and the beginnings of segregation.

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Civil Rights Century: Part 2—1916–1965

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 7–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: CE.3ABE, VUS.7E, VUS.8D, GOVT.3, GOVT. 6E

Jim Crow America subjugated Black American citizens into secondary citizenship. Violence and discrimination were part of the Black American experience. Black Americans were building communities and economic wealth despite disadvantages, but, at times, those self-sufficient communities were targeted. Black artists and authors created and used their skills to reflect on and critique American society throughout the Harlem Renaissance. Black Americans served in WWI and WWII with the hopes of protecting their country and gaining full citizenship. WWII veterans returned home with a dedication to fighting for civil rights that flowed into the civil rights movement.

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WWI and the Civil Rights Movement

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 6–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: USII 5C, USII. 6, CE.1, VUS 9.B, VUS.10, VUS.13, GOVT 11E

Students will learn about Jim Crow America during the progressive era and, specifically, about African American contributions to the war effort during WWI. The program will then shift to introduce Charles Hamilton Houston, “the man who killed Jim Crow.” The program will end in discussion of the Brown v. Board cases handled by Houston’s former colleagues. The program shows how one WWI veteran’s dedication to equality impacted American society on a national scale.

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WWII and the Civil Rights Movement

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 6–12, Adult

SOLS COVERED: USII. 7, USII.9, CE.3, CE.4, VUS.11, VUS.13ABC

Students will learn about the “Double V” campaign and its role in American society. Students will engage with primary sources to investigate how African Americans aided the war’s effort and how that service motivated the civil rights movement.

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View the Moton School Story Programs