Lesson 13: March: Book One, Central Ideas of Going to School

Turn and Talk

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

• Lesson 12 Homework: Students were instructed to write their initial thoughts about what a developing central idea in pp. 47–56 of March might be.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner about the following question to prepare for today’s lesson.

• Which moments from pp. 47–56 feel most important for understanding the text excerpt overall?

  • The most important moments are when Lewis realizes that his daily life is shaped by unequal systems and unfair segregation, such as different buses, roads, and schools. The newspaper page announcing that school segregation is outlawed matters because it shows that Lewis feels hope for a more equal and integrated future, while others in his life experience worry, like his parents commenting, “Don’t get in trouble” (p. 54). The radio moment with Dr. King matters because it shows Lewis moving from noticing and experiencing the injustice to feeling like there are others who also are acknowledging and giving voice to the injustice, as Dr. King does through his “social gospel” (p. 56).

Connection to Today’s Learning:

Say: Today, you will return to pp. 47–56 to determine a central idea of the section and explain how the author develops it. You will track which details and scenes develop the central idea and how key moments deepen Lewis’s growing understanding of the impact of segregation.

Fluency Practice

Have students get out their copies of “Confrontations for Justice.” Tell them that they will be practicing fluency by reading part of the article while focusing on accuracy. 

Model Fluent Reading: Model reading aloud the first paragraph with accuracy. 

• While reading, what did I do to make sure I pronounced the words accurately? 

Class Echo-Read: Read the second paragraph aloud. This time, have students read aloud with you. 

• Did you read the paragraph accurately? Why or why not? 

Partner-Read: Place students in pairs to read aloud and practice fluency to focus on reading with accuracy.

Say these Directions: Read “Confrontations for Justice” aloud with a partner. Have the first partner read aloud a paragraph while the second partner listens. Then switch roles, having the second partner read aloud the same section while the first partner listens. Focus on reading with accuracy. 

• Did you have trouble reading any of the words accurately? If so, which words? 

• How can we improve? 

Transition:

• Say: Now that you’ve practiced reading the text fluently, you will be continuing close reading of pp 47-56 to focus on the developing central ideas in the text.

Part A: Summarizing a Text (RI.8.2) (15 minutes)

Give One, Get One

Keep students in pairs. Provide them with the Give One, Get One graphic organizer. Remind them that they have closely read and discussed pp. 47–56 of March.

Say these Directions: You will now use the Give One, Get One protocol to continue exploring this excerpt and build a 3–2–1 Summary of pages 47–56. As you share ideas with your classmates, give one idea from your reading and record one new idea you learn from others. Use these ideas to help you develop your 3–2–1 Summary. Use the graphic organizer to record:

• 3 important words/phrases (key ideas/events that matter)

• 2 key details or ideas 

• 1 sentence explaining what the excerpt is mostly about (gist sentence) 

Part B: Determining Central Idea (RI.8.2) (15 minutes)

Keep students in pairs. Remind them that they have closely read pp. 47–56 of March. Now, they will further engage with the text through the Think-Pair-Write-Share routine to determine a central idea of pp. 47–56.

Think-Pair-Write-Share

Say these Directions: Respond to the following question about pages 47–56 of March. First, think about your ideas independently. Next, work with a partner to share and refine your ideas by writing together. Finally, be prepared to share your ideas with the whole class.

• What is a central idea of pp. 47–56 of March? Include at least two pieces of textual evidence to support your response.

  • The central idea of pp. 47–56 is that segregation shapes nearly every part of Lewis’s daily life, and noticing these repeated unfair differences helps him understand why change is necessary. For example, Lewis explains that riding the bus to school is “another sad reminder” of how different Black children’s lives were from white children’s lives (p. 47), and he notices unequal resources in public life when the county “didn’t bother paving roads into ‘colored’ communities” and his bus and school experience are clearly inferior (p. 48). Later, the headline “Segregation in Schools Outlawed!” and the reference to the Brown v. Board ruling connect these personal, everyday injustices to broader national changes, and Lewis starts to see that eradicating segregation could change Southern Black lives for the better. For example, after Brown v. Board, Lewis thinks that “come fall, I’d be riding a state-of-the-art bus to a state-of-the-art school. An integrated school” (p. 54).

Reflection

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Say these Directions: Reflect on your ability to determine the central idea of an excerpt using the Reflection routine. Then write a sentence or two about your level of confidence and goals for next time.

• Ask: Based on our work today, how confident are you in determining a central idea for future excerpts of March? What goal would you like to accomplish next?

Instruct students to read pp. 56-62 of March and annotate for the following prompt in their journals.

• Read pp. 56–62 of March: Book One, annotating for connections among events, ideas, and individuals; panels or moments that seem structurally important; and key details that develop the section’s central idea. Remember to take notes in your Journal.