The Greensboro sit-ins began on February 1, 1960, when four African American college students sat at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely refused to leave after being denied service. Sit-ins quickly spread across the South. Sit-ins became an important strategy during the Civil Rights Movement because they challenged segregation through nonviolent direct action. Many sit-ins led to the desegregation of public facilities and helped build support for stronger civil rights protections.
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About the inquiry
Compelling Question
How effective were sit-ins?
Standards
D2.Civ.12.9-12. Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
Instructional Snapshot
Class begins with the teacher distributing a sticky note to each student. On the board is a spectrum with one end labeled force and the other labeled presence. The teacher asks students, “If you want to change a rule you think is unfair, should you use force, or can you just use your presence?” Then, students take a stance by placing their sticky note on the spectrum. After defining sit-ins as a form of non-violent protest during the Civil Rights Movement to provide context, the teacher then divides students into small groups and distributes Source A and Source B. Students analyze the images using a See, Think, Wonder thinking routine, documenting their insights on their graphic organizer. The teacher then screens Source C for students to show how sit-ins spread beyond Greensboro, NC. Next, students evaluate the effectiveness of sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement by analyzing Sources D-F in terms of immediate reactions to the protests. Students then revisit the original spectrum, revising their position if needed based on their evaluation of the effectiveness of sit-ins. Students then reflect on how their perspective has/has not evolved.
Formative Tasks
COLLABORATE: Engage in a See, Think, Wonder around photographs of the Greensboro sit-ins.
DELIBERATE: Evaluate the effectiveness of sit-ins as a form of non-violent protest.
PRODUCE: Revisit students’ initial perspectives on the spectrum regarding non-violent protest, revising, if needed.
Sources
Sources A-B: Photographs of Greensboro Sit-Ins
Source C: News Broadcast of Nashville Sit-Ins
Sources D-F: Recollections of the Greensboro Sit-Ins
Summative Performance Task
No data found.
Taking Informed Action
No data found.