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 The eighth graders shared the Black History and Civil
Rights reference book they have written. According to Tina Workman,
who teaches the Accelerated class at LJHS, the eighth grade classes
have been writing and presenting a similar book to the third graders
for at least the last 15 years.
Workman said that between the two classes there are 23 students who
worked on the book. There are 30 students in the two third grade
classes of teachers Ren Anwelier and Jody Carroll.
On Wednesday morning, Mrs. Workman spoke to the younger students
about the book and the importance of the civil rights movement in
our country. Then the eighth graders were paired up with their
younger counterparts and sat down to go through the book with the
students, choosing particular people to read about and talk about.
Each year, the younger classes are given one book for
their classroom library and encouraged to use it as a reference or
mini-encyclopedia of the men and women who influenced the civil
rights movement in our country.
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The Civil Rights reference book features 21 known and not so known Civil Rights
leaders who fought for freedom and equality to make our world a better place. In
honor of Black History Month, the students do the presentation, and then have a
reading day with the younger students.
This reference book is the result of the eighth graders’ in-class
study of The Little Rock Nine and the autobiographical story of one of those
nine, Melba Pattillo. Following the study of the Little Rock Nine and the Civil
Rights Movement, students researched 21 Civil Rights leaders and each wrote a
biography explaining the contributions and sacrifices these leaders made to the
cause of equality and justice.
Sixty years after the fight for equality, many Civil Rights leaders are well
remembered; some, however, have received scant recognition. Thus, the uniqueness
of this book is to recognize not only those who we all know made a difference,
but also those behind the scenes men and women who sacrificed, struggled, and
may have even lost their lives working to ensure equality for all. This book is
dedicated to those within its pages and all people who were determined to bring
equal rights to their fellow man.
Eighth graders wrote the book for a specific audience, early to
mid-elementary-aged students, and had to evaluate style, format, and reading
level necessary to reach their young readers. During the experience of producing
this book for third grade students, eighth grade students benefited by
developing their writing skills, writing for an authentic audience in which they
share their writing with others, learning about the Civil Rights Movement, and
peer teaching and promoting literacy. Due to the subject matter of the book, the
eighth graders and third graders are learning the importance of equally valuing
all members of our society, regardless of different cultures, abilities,
religions, sexes or races.
The eighth grade authors of the reference book were excited to share their work,
not only as a culminating activity in their study of The Little Rock Nine, but
as a way to promote liberty and justice for all, while recognizing the struggles
and sacrifices Black Americans have endured throughout history.
[Nila Smith with text included from Tina Workman] |
