Lesson 25: March: Book One, Lunch Counter Sit-Ins

Turn and Talk

Have students take out March: Book One with their annotations and written summaries.

• Lesson 24 Homework: Students were instructed to read pp. 83–90 and write two-to-three-sentence summaries of what they read.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner, sharing the summaries you wrote for homework. Use the following checklist to give your partner feedback on their summary.

• Did they write three important words/phrases from the text?

• Did they include two key details or ideas from the text?

• Did they write one sentence explaining what the text is mostly about?

Connection to Today’s Learning:

• Say: Today, we will analyze pp. 83–90 of March to consider how the Nashville student volunteers transition from nonviolent training and planning to testing segregation policies through lunch counter sit-in visits. As we discuss and write, we will analyze how Lewis switches from the present to a flashback of the past, and we will think about central ideas that are further developed in this text excerpt.

Word Associations

Target Words: humiliating, dehumanize

Say these Directions: Read the excerpt below, then turn and talk with a partner to answer the questions.

Display the excerpt from March: 

• "We could shop there and pay the same prices as white customers, but we couldn't use the dressing rooms, or sit at the lunch counter to eat. It was humiliating." (p. 83)

Say these Directions: In the previous lesson, we studied the word dehumanize and discussed the meaning: to treat people as less than human or to strip them of their human dignity or respect. Turn and talk to draw connections between these two words—humiliating and dehumanize.

• Ask: How does the department stores' treatment of Black folks dehumanize them, and how might this treatment make them feel?

  • It dehumanizes them by denying basic respect and equal access. Black customers can buy items, but they are blocked from dressing rooms and lunch counters like they are “less than” other customers. That could make people feel rejected, angry, powerless, and embarrassed.

• Ask: What does humiliating mean in this context, and how is humiliating related to dehumanize?

  • Humiliating means being treated in a way that makes you feel ashamed, degraded, or disrespected. It relates to dehumanize because humiliation is one method of dehumanizing human beings. In this case, the department stores humiliate the Black community with their unjust rules, which serve to dehumanize them.

Allow students to share their work. Once sharing is complete, affirm the connection 

Connection to Today’s Learning: 

• Say: Today, we will analyze pp. 83–90 to trace how humiliation and dehumanization show up in March and how the students respond with organized, nonviolent action.

Part A: Discussing Text-Dependent Questions (RI.8.2, RI.8.5) (15 minutes)

Group Accountability Share

Say these Directions: Follow the Group Accountability Share routine, work with your group, and agree on one answer for each question. Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

• Ask: Why does the Nashville student movement start with “test sit-ins” (p. 84)? What is the purpose of the “test,” and how does it show the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence in action?

  • The movement begins with “test sit-ins” to confirm what the “local stores’ policies” really are and to practice their plan before committing to larger action (p. 84). They enter calmly, buy something first to show they are “legitimate” customers, and then sit down and ask to be served (p. 84). When they are refused, they leave with “no harsh words” or violence, which shows the discipline of nonviolence in action (pp. 84, 86).

• Ask: What other events are happening in the South at the time of the Nashville test sit-ins, and how do those events impact the Nashville student movement's sit-in progress?

  • While Nashville students are still preparing and growing the “numbers” in their weekly workshops, the Greensboro sit-ins begin in North Carolina (p. 87). The Greensboro action spreads quickly as more students join, and similar sit-ins appear in other cities, including “Raleigh and Durham,” showing how fast the organized resistance to segregation grows once the movement is started (p. 88). The North Carolina events increase urgency and confidence in Nashville, and soon after, the Nashville group launches its own sit-in, one week after Greensboro (pp. 88–90).

• Ask: What new or previously identified central ideas are demonstrated through the events of the lunch counter sit-ins?

  • A central idea is that segregation is humiliating and unjust, but organized, disciplined, nonviolent action can challenge it (p. 83). Another central idea is that civic change is collective: students plan the sit-ins together, follow agreed-upon roles (only one person speaks), and keep returning to the department stores without incident, which builds credibility and momentum for the sit-ins (pp. 85–86). The text also shows that civic action grows fast, as evidenced in the volunteer numbers “swelled,” and the Greensboro protest “encourages” others to act (pp. 87–88).

Lead students in a whole-group discussion of their analysis, calling on one student in each group to explain their group’s answer to each question.

Part B: RACE Writing (RI.8.5, W.8.4, W.8.9.b) (15 minutes)

Transition students out of their groups to work independently. Provide them with the RACE Writing Strategy graphic organizer.

Say these Directions: Read the question and write your response using the RACE strategy. Before you write, gather one evidence detail from the 2009 panels and one evidence detail from the sit‑in memory. Then write one linking sentence using “because”/ “therefore.”

• Ask: Lewis chooses to flash forward to the 2009 inauguration as he starts to talk about the first official Nashville sit-in. Why might he choose to include the inauguration scenes and interactions on pp. 89–90? How does he contrast the past with his present-day life in 2009?

  • Lewis includes the 2009 inauguration scenes on pp. 89–90 to show how far the country has changed from the late 1950s to 2009 and to connect that present-day celebration to the risks he took as a young activist. He contrasts his past and present by showing he is now a respected congressional leader preparing for Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, then shifting to the 1959 sit-ins, where he faced danger and uncertainty by confronting segregation. The text notes that people tell him, “People need to see you. They need to see your face,” because Lewis is an important leader and should be seen at the inauguration of the first Black president. Lewis juxtaposes the cold of the 2009 inauguration with the first sit-in, in which he explains that there was “a half foot of snow” on the day they first sat in and that he “survived that” (pp. 89–90). Because the memoir places these moments side by side, the contrast highlights both the racial progress that has been made and the key people, like John Lewis, who made that progress happen. Therefore, the flash forward strengthens the message that civic change is built on remembered struggle and Lewis’s present-day role is directly connected to his earlier bravery and leadership.

Check for Understanding

Say these Directions: Reflect on your written responses by discussing them with a partner, providing each other with brief feedback on your writing. Use the following list of writing criteria to guide your feedback:  

• Restate: Does the topic sentence accurately restate the question as a declarative sentence? 

• Answer: Does the paragraph include a clear answer to the question? 

• Cite evidence: Does the paragraph include at least one well-integrated quote or precise paraphrase from March? Is the evidence introduced with a reporting verb (e.g., states, explains, argues, notes)? Are quotations punctuated correctly? 

• Explain: Does the explanation explicitly connect the evidence back to the answer (using because/as a result/therefore/this shows that)? 

Collect students’ paragraphs to assess their performance.

Scoring Rubric

Reflection: What information does an informational video provide about historical events versus reading about these same historical events in a book? Write your initial thoughts in your Journal to prepare for Lesson 26.