Teacher's Guide for FOOTSTEPS Thurgood Marshall and Civil Rights

• to develop an appreciation for the contributions of Thurgood Marshall and the impact of civil rights legislation
• to give students an awareness of what the Constitution means to their lives
• to improve comprehension skills utilizing such tools as graphic organizers to clarify ideas in text and scanning for major points
• to review the skill of copying direct quotes exactly
• to practice writing skills through a variety of activities
• to participate in small group activities and whole class discussion

1. Ask students to fold a piece of blank paper into 6 sections and unfold. (Provide students with markers or colored pencils.)
2. In one square, ask students to copy the title of the article.
3. Explain that each student will be illustrating five different examples of how the word "determination" applies to the life and work of Thurgood Marshall.
4. Items for each square:
   • Write in red and then cross out: "Goody."
     Under that write in red and also cross out "Thoroughgood."
     Under that write in green "Thurgood." (You might want to discuss what his original long name meant and why he wanted to change it.)
   • Write in purple three things Marshall was determined to change (from the paragraph that starts on the bottom of page 3.)
   • Write in blue the two positions Marshall was named to by President Lyndon Johnson.
   • Color an orange. Write what Thurgood Marshall did not know about the boy trying to eat the orange which made him determined to change laws so that all children could become educated. Discuss how the orange became a symbol to him.
   • Write in black the direct quote from William Renquist (pg. 5).

1. After reading the article together, ask students what they know about the Constitution. Provide basic information.
2. Show a copy of the Constitution and read a short excerpt, discussing with students the fact that language changes over time and that part of the difficulty with comprehension comes from reading a document that is more than 200 years old.
3. Provide students with a copy of the Bill of Rights and ask what kinds of rights Marshall knew African Americans of his time were not able to enjoy.
4. Ask students what they would think of such a punishment (having to read the Constitution) for themselves and/or their classmates.
5. Creative Writing Assignment: Depending on students' ages, they might enjoy creating a Bill of Rights for themselves which would apply to school and home.

• When was Plessy v. Ferguson passed?
• Where (in what state) did Homer Plessy live?
• What did the ruling state?
• Who tried to change the ruling?
• Why were Jim Crow laws intolerant and what are some examples?

1. Divide students into five groups; each group taking on one of the cases below. Discuss how scanning skills will help them locate the necessary information.
2. Using the above activity (for "Plessy v. Ferguson") as an example, each group will prepare a poster which highlights one case (by listing each of the 5 W's in the case):
   • Murray v. The University of Maryland
   • the case involving Heman Sweattt
   • the case involving George W. McLaurin
   • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
   • the case known as Brown II from "With All Deliberate Speed"
3. Each group will present its poster to the class, ideally with each student presenting one of the 5 W's.

1. Have students prepare a simple graphic organizer. In the center of a sheet of paper ask students to draw a stick figure wearing a t-shirt which reads "I Have Due Process."
2. Draw six spokes out from the figure on which students write 6 examples of due process to which they are entitled.
3. Discussion: Do students believe all United States citizens receive due process equally? Why or why not?
4. Writing Assignment: Using a topic sentence, write a paragraph giving one specific example of due process and explaining why the student thinks it is particularly important.

1. When and where was Houston born?
2. What kind of an education did he receive?
3. What did he do after he taught English at Howard University?
4. Finish this sentence: "The military was a _________________."
5. What did Houston decide as a result of his time in the military?
6. What did he do immediately after obtaining his law degree?
7. What decision did he make in 1929?
8. Finish this sentence: "He turned Howard University Law School into the nation's finest _________________________________."
9. Finish this sentence: "Houston believed that the law school should both know the law and also use the law to _________________."
10. What did Houston say that Howard students should become (according to Marshall)?
11. When Houston left Howard in 1935, what kind of work did he do?
12. What was his main priority while at this job?
13. Then, when he returned to private practice in 1938, what kinds of cases did he deal with?
14. What is an example of a case that Houston took before the U.S Supreme Court and won?
15. What did the federal judge at Houston's funeral declare him to be a "Moses"?

1. Begin by reading aloud the paragraph which begins on the bottom of the first column on page 23. Discuss why others in addition to Marshall felt that it was important to uphold the NAACP despite the conflicts supporters faced.
2. Try to bring in some current literature from the NAACP and discuss what kinds of programs the organization currently supports.

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Updated: 8/20/08 10:55 am
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