School Segregation in Charlotte: Then and Now

Megan Meadows, 5th Grade, Lebanon Road Elementary

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Synopsis

This curriculum unit focuses on the Jim Crow era in Charlotte, NC, specifically with the desegregation and resegregation of schools. The goal is for students to analyze various perspectives, points of view, and primary sources during the Jim Crow era to build complex understandings of school integration. Through their research they’ll explore Charlotte’s history with education and determine the state of schools today. They will investigate the guiding questions using high-level texts and resources with the support of scaffolded questions and engaging collaborative work. The culminating performance task will require students to compile their research to raise awareness about school inequities in the past and today. The students will
become historians in their surrounding community; bridge the gap between the Learnzillion 5th grade literacy curriculum and their lives.