Fourth Graders Study the Civil Rights Movement

“Sally, what year did the American Revolution begin?”

“Frank, who was President when the United States entered World War II?”

If this sounds familiar, it's because many of us of certain ages answered thousands of such questions in Social Studies classes when we were in school. Now, we try to explore the stories of history with a multilayered approach. Students at The Cathedral School do memorize basic facts, but they also consider questions such as the following:

A. How did this story come to be “history,” and what might be left out of the story? How can I be sure that the history I'm being taught is authentic and not someone's conscious or unconscious attempt to manipulate my understanding?

B. How would I have acted if I'd lived during the time being studied?

C. Do I have any right to critique the decisions made by people from different times and/or different cultures?

In fourth grade, we consider these questions and more. This year, the fourth graders produced a video that demonstrates their active involvement in understanding history.

Students Speak Out!

After studying the Civil Rights movement and in particular the struggle to integrate Little Rock Central High, the students gave their opinions of the actions of some of these historical participants. The questions weren't easy for our students, who were asked to both consider the thoughts and feelings of a young girl and the response of an angry crowd.

Anti-Integration Video

In this video the fourth graders reenact the scene that played out in Little Rock. You will see and hear the anger of the crowd and the bravery of the girl who silently withstood their taunts. The students not only acted the parts of the crowd, the marshals, and the isolated girl, but they also added music, voiceovers, graphics, and special effects that capture the mood of the day.

Pro-Integration Video

In this video the footage is, perhaps surprisingly, exactly the same. This time, however, the students have totally changed the music, etc. In this vignette, the crowd is angry, but not at the girl. On the contrary, they are angry at the injustice being done to the teen. By changing the techniques used and the response of the crowd, the students hoped to bring about a change in the audience's perspective. They also wanted to demonstrate the power that the media has in shaping history and the power every individual has to create history.

We are very proud of our work, and thankful that we live in an age where we can so easily share it with all of you. This was very much a team project, with Mrs. Gagnon serving as the videographer, Ms. Baru helping create the video and finding the archival footage, and Mr. Nusbaum prompting many of the discussions that began this project. Most of all, this project is the work of the twenty-six fourth grade students at the Cathedral School, 2005/2006. We hope you enjoy it, and we welcome your comments.

Below are links to more information on Elizabeth Eckford.

"Little Rock Protests" - Nine Little Rock students are the first African-Americans to attend Central High School.
http://www.awesomestories.com/history/school_busing/school_busing_ch2.htm

Students Speak Out! After studying the Civil Rights movement and in particular the struggle to integrate Little Rock Central High, the students gave their opinions of the actions of some of these historical participants. The questions weren't easy for our students, who were asked to both consider the thoughts and feelings of a young girl and the response of an angry crowd.

Anti-Integration Video In this video the fourth graders reenact the scene that played out in Little Rock. You will see and hear the anger of the crowd and the bravery of the girl who silently withstood their taunts. The students not only acted the parts of the crowd, the marshals, and the isolated girl, but they also added music, voiceovers, graphics, and special effects that capture the mood of the day.

Pro-Integration Video In this video the footage is, perhaps surprisingly, exactly the same. This time, however, the students have totally changed the music, etc. In this vignette, the crowd is angry, but not at the girl. On the contrary, they are angry at the injustice being done to the teen. By changing the techniques used and the response of the crowd, the students hoped to bring about a change in the audience's perspective. They also wanted to demonstrate the power that the media has in shaping history and the power every individual has to create history.