Title – Passing: Its Real Connections to History

By – Paige Fennell

Primary Subject – Social Studies

Secondary Subjects – Language Arts

Grade Level – 9-12

Time – One class period

South Carolina Social Studies Academic Standards:

USHC-9: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the social, economic, and political events that impacted the United States during the Cold War.

Indicator-9.5: Explain the movements for racial and gender equity and civil liberties, including their initial strategies, landmark court cases and legislation, the roles of key civil rights advocates, and the influence of the civil rights movement on other groups seeking ethnic and gender equity. (H, P)

National Council for the Social Studies Curriculum Standards:

NCCS I: Culture
• Students will contemplate the culture that contributed to the various viewpoints related to passing
  
• Students will examine the factors that have shaped public perception about different racial groups

NCCS V: Individuals, Groups and Institutions

• Students will contemplate the institutions that advocated for and against discrimination
  
• Students will consider the social values of the groups prominent during this era

NCCS VI: Power, Authority and Governance

• Students will analyze the authority of the government and its impact on different communities
  
• Students will review the power of the individual in determining how they portray themselves

NCCS X: Civil Ideas and Practices

• Students will compare and discuss the different notions of self that each group held
  
• Students will consider the various public policies in place during this time period

Lesson Description:

• This lesson will be part of a larger unit discussing discrimination and strategies that people used to escape practices that restricted their freedom.
• Students will examine passages from Walter Mosley’s
  
  Little Scarlet
  
  and a clip from the film
  
  Imitation of Life
  
  concerned with passing.
• They will discuss why minorities, particularly blacks, felt the need to conceal their true identity to attain benefits that were given to others.
• Students will also explore discriminatory practices today that may cause a person to pass for a variety of reasons.

Materials/Equipment/Resources:

• Excerpt from Little Scarlet (pages 269-271)
  
• Clip from
  
  Imitation of Life
  
  
  

  
  

• Projector with screen or SMARTboard

Teacher Preparation:

1. Gather the movie clip and copies of the
   
   Little Scarlet
   
   excerpt.
   
2. Review the information that you will be discussing with students, especially as it relates to the social environment during the 1960’s concerning Jim Crow and other discriminatory practices.
   
3. Check the equipment and make sure the internet connection is working.
   
4. Arrange the students’ seats/desks so that the room is split into four groups.

Procedures:

Teacher Activities	Student Activities	Assessments

• 
  Direct students
  
  as they come into the classroom to sit at one of the four clusters of desks. Instruct them to pull out their notes from the previous class.
• The instructor will then
  
  review past lectures
  
  that deal with discrimination and Jim Crow segregation, segueing into a discussion on passing and its ramifications.