Monday, June 20, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
A Class Divided
We are in the midst of our Civil Rights unit in U.S. History where we are exploring the histories and struggles of various groups who've faced discrimination and oppression. As part of this unit, we do a segregation simulation where the students are divided into two groups based on some arbitrary characteristic (eye color, hair color, etc.). One of the groups must wear special identifying necklaces strung with noodles so everyone knows they are in that group.
For two class periods (four days) students in each group must follow a certain set of rules. I've loosely based the rules on certain codes of conduct that dictated society's rules during the Jim Crow period in America. The simulation is also loosely based on one that a third grade teacher, Jane Elliot, conducted with her students shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King, the primary difference being that the students knew this simulation was coming and therefore knew it was pretend.
At the end of the simulation, the students were asked to watch a documentary about Jane Elliot and her students called A Class Divided, which I would encourage you to watch here. It is fascinating and arguably one of my students' favorite films of the year. Although they usually feel somewhat uncomfortable while the simulation is happening, year after year they say that it is a very good learning experience and think it is a valuable lesson. I think it fits with the 'learn by doing' philosophy, which is a sentiment the students echoed in our 'debriefing' class discussions.
For two class periods (four days) students in each group must follow a certain set of rules. I've loosely based the rules on certain codes of conduct that dictated society's rules during the Jim Crow period in America. The simulation is also loosely based on one that a third grade teacher, Jane Elliot, conducted with her students shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King, the primary difference being that the students knew this simulation was coming and therefore knew it was pretend.
At the end of the simulation, the students were asked to watch a documentary about Jane Elliot and her students called A Class Divided, which I would encourage you to watch here. It is fascinating and arguably one of my students' favorite films of the year. Although they usually feel somewhat uncomfortable while the simulation is happening, year after year they say that it is a very good learning experience and think it is a valuable lesson. I think it fits with the 'learn by doing' philosophy, which is a sentiment the students echoed in our 'debriefing' class discussions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)