School for Black Children Teacher Directions

School for Black Children

TEACHER DIRECTIONS

LESSON 1: School in the 1850’s

Objectives
After completing this lesson, students will:

Show Me Standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.7, 1.8, 1.10, 2.1, 4.2, 4.3

Process

John Berry Meechum was a slave who bought his freedom and moved to St. Louis. After moving to St. Louis, he became a businessman and minister of the first black Baptist Church west of the Mississippi River located at 3^rd and Almond Street in St. Louis. John was always helping people. One of the many things he did was to start a school for black children at the Church where he preached. Upon the passage of a law forbidding black children to go to school, John moved his school to a place where it would not be illegal. In small groups use a map to brainstorm some places John could have moved the school in the area.

Teacher Option: Stimulate class discussion centered around student brainstormed ideas. Can involve why or why not ideas are feasible. Teacher can either confirm or lead students to the historically correct scenario or allow them to get onto website to find solution. Correct Scenario: Many historians believe John Berry Meechum moved his school to a Riverboat on the Mississippi River. On the website a steamboat will represent the transportation for students to board the riverboat.

Students should find John’s steamboat on the website. This will take them to a information about him, his church, and his secret school.
Have students complete one of the following:

Pretend you are the student you just read about whom attends John Berry Meechum’s School. Practice your new writing skills in your diary by writing about your day at school today. Make sure to include what you did, whom you saw, and how you felt. This could include out of school information as well as in school information.
Write a personal response journal to the things you learned today about black schools in the 1850’s. Make sure to include your feelings about the school situation as well as how you might feel, and how you feel about what John Berry Meechum did.

LESSON 2: School in the 1950’s

Objectives
After completing this lesson, students will:

Show Me Standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 1.10, 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

Process

In the U.S. Supreme Court case of 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson, racial segregation in public places, including schools was allowed as long as “separate but equal” facilities were provided.
After Plessy v. Ferguson, conditions between black and white schools were not equal. During the early 1900’s, groups began to petition for desegregation. One example in St. Louis was in 1951, Josephine Baker came to St. Louis and spoke at Kiel Auditorium about the conditions of the black schools.
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. The U.S. Supreme court agreed with the plaintiffs (Brown) that segregated public schools were not “equal” and could not be made “equal”. The following year the Court ordered the nation’s schools to integrate “with all deliberate speed.”

Teacher Option: Stimulate class discussion around the above. More information can be found in documents by clicking hotlinks.
Students should be given to time to explore the 1950’s city map. After exploration, they should locate one of the three school buses and click on it. This will take them to an interview with the children on the school bus (Julia Allen, Darby Robinson, and Carol Ray). These are actual people who attended St. Louis schools in the 1950’s. They are interviews reflecting upon integration in their school years.

Carol Ray was a black child who was integrated in 7^th grade.
Darby Robinson was a black child who discusses life in school and life downtown.
Julia Allen discusses her life in school and around St. Louis.

*Note – The interviews are in actual dialogue format and the teacher will need to assist students in understanding what they read.

Students should explore all three people on the bus making a list of facts they discover through their reading. Suggestion: Take a piece of paper, fold into thirds, have students write the three names at the top and record as they read.
Students should also click on the Kiel Auditorium to read about a proposed visit by Josephine Baker to speak on the conditions of black public schools. This takes place in 1951 and students will learn many interesting facts about the conditions of the schools at that time.
After students have recorded factual information found in interviews, teacher should stimulate a class discussion around what they discovered.
Have students choose one of the following:

Pretend you are one of the students you just read about who attends a St. Louis School. Practice your writing skills in your diary by writing about your day at school today. Make sure to include what you did, whom you saw, and school information.
Write a personal response journal to the things you learned today about black schools in the 1950’s. Make sure to include your feelings about the school situation as well as how you might feel, and how you feel about how integration was handled during that time period.

LESSON 3:

Objectives
After completing this lesson, students will:

Show Me Standards 1.6, 1.7, 1.10, 2.1, 2.3, 3.6, 4.2, 4.3

Process

Review information from Lesson 1 and 2. Students assigned journal entries will provide assistance in this.
Have students use the time travel feature on the website to toggle through similarities and differences of both time periods. The time travel feature can be found at John Berry Meechum’s church and the Kiel Center.
Break students in small groups and give each group chart paper and markers. Have students draw a Venn diagram on chart paper as illustrated below:

Students should fill in the diagram in their groups using information from their journals, discussions in class, and returning to the website if needed. The overlaps should be used for things the website children had in common in both eras.
After completion, teacher should lead a discussion and the making of a master Venn diagram combining ALL information learned by students.
Teacher can choose to conclude the lessons here or continue with further activities. Some suggestions might be:

Compare and Contrast in an essay using the Venn diagram as a graphic guide.
Construct posters or dioramas depicting school life in both eras to display with their venn diagrams.
Students could write a picture book about a fictional student in one of the eras for reading to a younger child to help them learn about school in their chosen time period.
Compare/Contrast school life in the 1850’s and 1950’s to school and life for children today.