Lesson 34: Comparing and Contrasting March and a News Report

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

• Lesson 33 Homework: Students were instructed to reflect on the question “What is fact versus interpretation?”

Lead students in a whole-group discussion about the question they reflected on for homework.

• Ask: What is fact versus interpretation?

  • A fact is something that can be checked and proven with evidence, like a date, a direct quote, or an event that clearly happened in the text. An interpretation is what someone thinks the facts mean or why they matter, so different people can interpret the same event differently depending on their own understanding and point of view.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we will compare March to a news report about the Nashville City Hall march. We will sort what each source presents as facts and then analyze where they disagree in interpretation, including how word choice, emphasis, and point of view shape the message.

Vocabulary Review: Example/Non-Example

Target Words: non-violence, passive resistance, humiliating, dehumanize, fury, powers-that-be, progressive, conservative

Review the Words: Provide students with 3-Column Chart graphic organizers.

• Say: You’ve seen these words in previous lessons. Today, we’re going to review them by identifying examples and non-examples of each word.

Model Examples and Non-Examples: Write two scenarios on the board for the word eradicate, labeling them “A” and “B.”

A. “After a new rule is passed, the school removes all vending machines and stops selling sugary drinks to completely eliminate them from campus.”

B. “The school adds a poster reminding students to choose healthy snacks.”

Then model determining which is an example and which is a non-example of eradicate.

• Say: “A” is an example because eradicate means “to get rid of something completely,” and the school removes the source, so the sugary drinks are no longer available.

• Say: “B” is a non-example because the poster might encourage change, but it does not remove the problem or eliminate it.

• Say: When I’m unsure, I look for context clues. In this case, I look for clues that show total removal, like “removes all” or “no longer available.” Those clues tell me “A” is a proper example of eradicate.

Identify Examples and Non-Examples: Write the examples and non-examples for each word below on the board in scrambled order. Then, for each word, have students write the correct example in the center column and the non-example in the right column in that word’s row of the graphic organizer, as shown below.

Lead a whole-group share out of students’ Example/Non-Example charts.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, pay attention to how vocabulary can shape interpretation. When we watch the news report and compare it to March, we will notice how different sources may describe the same event with different word connotations, which can change what the audience thinks happened and why it matters.

Part A: Watching a News Report (RI.8.9) (15 minutes)

Find and display a news report about the bombing of the Loobys’ home and the subsequent march on Nashville City Hall, such as The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom: Nashville-Confrontation at City Hall. Transition students into watching the brief news report about the march on Nashville City Hall. Show the video twice.

Watch and Listen (Viewing 1): Instruct students to watch the video and listen with the following question in mind: “How does this news report agree or disagree with Lewis's testimony of the same events?” Remind students to think about not only what they are hearing but also what they are seeing in the video.

Watch and Take Notes (Viewing 2): Instruct students to watch the video again and take notes on the same question.

Part B: Comparing Text to Video (RI.8.9, SL.8.2) (15 minutes)

Transition students into small groups to engage in the Group Accountability Share protocol. Provide them with the Venn Diagram graphic organizer as an option for them to record their ideas.

Group Accountability Share

Explain to students that they are going to compare and contrast the information they learned from the video with the information they previously analyzed in pp. 111–121 of March. Instruct students to collaborate with their group members to agree on one response to the following questions, citing evidence for support.

• Ask: How do each source, the video, and March, present facts similarly or differently?

  • Both sources explain the same key facts: Looby’s home is bombed, the community marches to City Hall, and Diane Nash questions Mayor West until he admits segregation is wrong. The video adds specific factual labels and framing like “April 19” and calls it the “climax,” while March adds extra facts and context about leadership tensions and what the movement does next, which makes the City Hall scene feel like part of a larger strategy, not just one moment.

• Ask: What is the purpose of the news report’s visuals and interviews, and what is the purpose of March’s panels and narration of the same event?

  • The purpose of the news report’s visuals and interviews is to help viewers quickly understand the event and feel its urgency through a quick explanation of the situation, visuals of the damage to Looby’s home, and official reactions from Diane Nash and others, like the Mayor. The purpose of March’s panels and narration is to slow readers down and show what the event meant inside the larger Civil Rights Movement. The news report is immediate factual information and reactions from those involved, while March is more reflective and provides historical information within the larger context of Lewis's story.

• Ask: What motives might shape how each source presents the City Hall March?

  • The news report seems shaped by a social and political motive to inform the public while also focusing on public order and official response, so it highlights dramatic footage and interview clips with important people like Diane Nash and Mayor West. Another motive might be to present Mayor West in the best possible light since he is a public leader. March seems shaped by a social and historical motive to preserve civic memory from Lewis’s point of view and honor organized student activism. Because of those motives, the report makes the event feel like a breaking story, while March makes it feel like a turning point in a longer struggle for civil rights.

• Ask: How are Diane Nash’s and Mayor West's interpretations of the events similar to or different from how Lewis reflects on the events in March?

  • Nash interprets the march as a powerful, unifying moment and describes it as “spontaneous,” while West interprets the crowd as “emotionally upset” and says he was not intimidated. This interpretation contrasts with March in that the graphics on pp. 118-119 reflect an upset and worried Mayor West. Mayor West says he felt “outraged” along with the protestors and that they were after the “same thing” in the news report. But Lewis’s testimony shows a different interpretation of Mayor West’s feelings that day. Instead, he says that “you all have the power” and “let’s not have any mobs” (p. 118). This shows that Mayor West was not necessarily as “outraged” as he said, but more worried about the crowds and his powerlessness against the student protestors.

Transition students into reflecting on their learning from the lesson by completing a Quick Write response.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Write a one-to-two-sentence response to the following question:

• Ask: How are Diane Nash’s and Mayor West's interpretations of the events similar to or different from how Lewis reflects on the events in March?

  • Nash interprets the march as a powerful, unifying moment and describes it as “spontaneous,” while West interprets the crowd as “emotionally upset” and says he was not intimidated. This interpretation contrasts with March in that the graphics on pp. 118-119 reflect an upset and worried Mayor West. Mayor West says he felt “outraged” along with the protestors and that they were after the “same thing” in the news report. But Lewis’s testimony shows a different interpretation of Mayor West’s feelings that day. Instead, he says that “you all have the power” and “let’s not have any mobs” (p. 118). This shows that Mayor West was not necessarily as “outraged” as he said, but more worried about the crowds and his powerlessness against the student protestors.

Students read their independent reading book for 20 minutes and complete a reading log entry.