D2.Civ.14.6-8: Comparing Historical and Contemporary Means of Changing Society

Overview

Lesson Procedure

55-80 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction15-20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes
4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Suppose your neighborhood wanted a new park. How could people have made it happen 70 years ago, before phones and the internet? How could they make it happen today?"

   List answers in two columns, Then and Now. Circle any idea that appears in both columns, such as meeting together or asking the government. Tell students that today they will compare the ways people changed their communities in the past with the ways they do it now.

2. Direct Instruction15-20 minutes

   Part 1: Key words. A means (the word is the same in the singular and plural) is a way or method of getting something done. Changing society means changing the rules, customs or conditions that shape how people live together. The common good is what benefits a whole community, not just a few people, such as safe streets, clean parks or help after a disaster. Historical means are ones people used in the past; contemporary means are ones people use today.

   Some means of changing society and promoting the common good (examples, not a complete list)

   Means	What it is	Used then, now, or both
   Government program	A plan run by the government, with paid workers or volunteers	Both
   Boycott	Refusing to buy or use something until a change is made	Both
   Lawsuit	Asking a court to decide that a law or practice is unfair or illegal	Both
   Volunteer service	Giving time to help others without pay or for a small allowance	Both
   Printed leaflets and mass meetings	Spreading news on paper and gathering in large groups	Mostly then, still used
   Online petition and video	Collecting names and sharing a message on the internet	Now

   Part 2: A historical government program. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression (a time when many businesses failed and millions of people lost their jobs), the national government tried new ways to help. Source 1 comes from the National Park Service. Glosses: unemployment rate is the share of workers who want a job but cannot find one; relief rolls were lists of families getting government help; an indelible mark is one that cannot be erased; erosion is the wearing away of soil and rock by water or wind; riprap is a wall of loose rocks along a stream bank; to meander is to wind back and forth. At Muir Woods, near San Francisco, CCC crews built riprap walls along Redwood Creek in the 1930s to protect trails and trees from floods.

   1In the 1930s, the Great Depression loomed over America; the unemployment rate rose to 25% and workers across the country struggled to provide for their families. In 1933, the recently elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt created several new agencies designed to get people back to work. The Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) was one of his most successful and popular agencies. Across the country, this powerful program, originally known as the Emergency Conservation Work program, employed tens of thousands of young unemployed and unskilled men. They lived together in army-managed work camps, that provided food, clothing and a $30 a month salary, most of which was to be sent back to their impoverished families. The CCC crews represented a wide range of men: the Junior Enrollees were young men (ages 18 -26) whose families were on relief rolls; Reservation Native Americans, who worked close to their reservations; local experienced men who were recruited for their forestry experience and over 25,000 older war veterans. By 1942, when American’s entrance into World War II prompted the end of the program, over 2.5 million men had served in the CCC.

   2From more than 4,500 working camps across the country, the CCC made an indelible mark on the nation’s parks and forests. The crews planted millions of trees, lumbered land, fought forest fires, constructed trails, bridges and campground facilities; cleared and maintained access roads, and managed water features and wildlife refuges. Today, many of our visitor’s favorite national park buildings and trails were a result of the tremendous CCC construction efforts.

   [...]

   3Since the 1930s, we’ve learned a lot about how streams and forests work. We now know that by turning the stream into a straight channel, riprap actually makes the water flow faster, which makes erosion worse. We know that streams need space to move, meander, and change over time. We know that fish need bends, pools, rocky areas, tree roots, and logs where they can shelter and feed.

   4When you visit Muir Woods today, you can still see parts of the CCC's work. Some sections of riprap are still visible along the banks of Redwood Creek. But where salmon need it most, the park is removing the riprap and letting the creek return to its natural flow.

   Part 3: A contemporary program. Source 2 describes AmeriCorps NCCC (the National Civilian Community Corps), a program run today by AmeriCorps, a federal agency. Glosses: national service is full-time work for the community, for a set time, with a small living allowance; to deploy is to send a team to where it is needed; FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency; mitigation means making a danger less severe. Read Source 2 and fill the bottom row of Diagram 1.

   1AmeriCorps NCCC is a 10‑month, team-based, national service program for young adults ages 18–24. Volunteers deploy across the country to support missions in disaster preparedness and response, environmental stewardship, infrastructure improvement and urban and rural development.

   2AmeriCorps NCCC provides Volunteers with housing, travel, and structured leadership development throughout their term of service. Volunteers receive a modest living allowance, may qualify for student loan deferment, and are eligible to receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion.

   [...]

   3Serve in one of two roles in AmeriCorps NCCC's three program tracks. Volunteers are ages 18–24, and Team Leaders are 18+ with no upper age limit.

   4Traditional Corps

   5Serve alongside nonprofits; local, state, and federal agencies; faith-based organizations; and tribal groups.

   6Support projects such as environmental stewardship, infrastructure improvement, long-term disaster recovery, tax preparation, and urban and rural development.

   [...]

   7Forest Corps

   8Serve alongside the United States Forest Service performing hands-on service.

   9Support projects in wildfire risk mitigation, fuels reduction, reforestation, wildland fire response, and resource management.

   [...]

   10FEMA Corps

   11Serve alongside FEMA staff on projects identified by FEMA.

   12Support disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery projects.

   [...]

   13Up to 500 AmeriCorps Volunteers serve in the AmeriCorps NCCC Traditional, NCCC Forest Corps, and NCCC FEMA Corps programs each year. Volunteers are trained and deployed from one of our campuses located in Sacramento, CA, or Aurora, CO. Additionally, NCCC FEMA Corps Volunteers may train and deploy from the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, MD, or the FEMA Incident Workforce Academy in Anniston, AL. Volunteers remain on campus during initial training and may return to a campus between projects for “transition.” The remainder of the service term is typically spent away from campus at assigned project locations throughout the country.

3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes

   A historical means of changing society. In 1955, a city law in Montgomery, Alabama, required segregation (separating people by race) on city buses. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing a bus driver's order to give up her seat to a white passenger. Source 3, from the National Park Service, tells how the city's Black residents responded. Glosses: to mimeograph was to copy pages on an early copying machine; to spearhead is to lead; patrons are customers; a dispatcher sends drivers where they are needed; to harass is to bother or threaten again and again; petty means small or minor.

   1Montgomery's black citizens reacted decisively to the incident. By December 2, schoolteacher Jo Ann Robinson had mimeographed and delivered 50,000 protest leaflets around town. E.D. Nixon, a local labor leader, organized a December 4 meeting at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where local black leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)to spearhead a boycott and negotiate with the bus company.

   2Over 70% of the cities bus patrons were African American and the one-day boycott was 90% effective. The MIA elected as their president a new but charismatic preacher, Martin Luther King Jr. Under his leadership, the boycott continued with astonishing success. The MIA established a carpool for African Americans. Over 200 people volunteered their car for a car pool and roughly 100 pickup stations operated within the city. To help fund the car pool, the MIA held mass gatherings at various African American churches where donations were collected and members heard news about the success of the boycott.

   [...]

   3For nearly a year, buses were virtually empty in Montgomery. Boycott supporters walked to work--as many as eight miles a day--or they used a sophisticated system of carpools with volunteer drivers and dispatchers. Some took station-wagon "rolling taxis" donated by local churches.

   4Montgomery City Lines lost between 30,000 and 40,000 bus fares each day during the boycott. [...] Local police began to harass King and other MIA leaders. Car pool drivers were arrested and taken to court for petty traffic violations. Despite all the harassment, the boycott remained over 90% successful. African Americans took pride in the inconveniences caused by limited transportation. One elderly African American woman replied that, “My soul has been tired for a long time. Now my feet are tired, and my soul is resting.” The promise of equality declared in Brown v. Board of Education for Montgomery African Americans helped motivate them to continue the boycott.

   5The company reluctantly desegregated its buses only after November 13, 1956, when the Supreme Court ruled Alabama's bus segregation laws unconstitutional.

   • Historical means, common good (Source 1)

     What problem was the CCC meant to solve, and what did the crews do?

     Result: Paragraph 1 says that during the Great Depression "the unemployment rate rose to 25%." The CCC "employed tens of thousands of young unemployed and unskilled men" in "army-managed work camps." Paragraph 2 lists their work: "The crews planted millions of trees, lumbered land, fought forest fires, constructed trails, bridges and campground facilities." The means was a government work program that helped two groups at once: people who needed income and everyone who uses public parks and forests.

   • Contemporary means, common good (Source 2)

     How does AmeriCorps NCCC organize its volunteers?

     Result: Paragraph 1 calls it "a 10‑month, team-based, national service program." Volunteers "deploy across the country," and paragraph 13 says they are "trained and deployed from one of our campuses" and spend most of their term "at assigned project locations throughout the country." The means is national service by teams that travel. When students compare it with the CCC, they should look at who joins, how long they serve and what kind of work they do.

   • Judging a past means with new knowledge (Source 1)

     The CCC built riprap walls at Muir Woods to stop erosion. What does the park say about them today?

     Result: Paragraph 3 says that "we’ve learned a lot about how streams and forests work" since the 1930s, and paragraph 4 says that "where salmon need it most, the park is removing the riprap." A means that promoted the common good in its time can be changed later when people know more. Comparing historical and contemporary means includes asking what each generation knew.

   • Historical means, changing society (Source 3)

     Find two means the Montgomery boycott used to keep going for nearly a year.

     Result: Paragraph 3 says boycott supporters "walked to work--as many as eight miles a day--or they used a sophisticated system of carpools with volunteer drivers and dispatchers," and some rode in station wagons "donated by local churches." The boycott was a refusal to ride, but it needed a second means, an organized ride system run by volunteers, so that people could still get to work.

   Pair task: Fill the top-left box of Diagram 1 with at least four means from Source 3, each with a paragraph number. Then predict which contemporary tools people might use for each one today.

4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes

   Then and now chart. Each student completes a comparison chart for the two rows of Diagram 1. For each pair (Montgomery and a contemporary campaign, the CCC and AmeriCorps NCCC), students write one similarity and one difference, using these questions: Who could take part? How fast did the means work? What did it cost, and who paid? What risks did people face? Students finish with a two-sentence answer to the question "Which is harder today than in the past, and which is easier?" Diagram 2 places the events on a timeline drawn to scale.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Exit ticket: "Name one means from the past that people still use today, and one that has changed. Explain the change in one sentence."

   Teacher note: Sources 1-3 are written by federal agencies. Source 3 uses the terms "black" and "African American," as the National Park Service wrote them; the lesson's own text capitalizes Black. The lesson presents the Montgomery boycott as a documented historical event and focuses on the means people used. Source 4 is invented; the activities simulate campaigns and never ask students to contact real officials or to post or sign anything.

   Homework passage. Source 4 is an invented scenario about students who used contemporary means to change something in their town.

   1Students at Ridgeview Middle School (an invented school) cross Route 9, a busy four-lane road, to reach the town library after school. There is no crosswalk for half a mile. A student club decided to ask the town for one.

   2First, the club collected facts. On three afternoons, members stood at a safe spot and counted the cars that passed between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m.: 412, 388 and 430. They also asked 150 students in a survey how often they crossed Route 9; 96 said at least once a week.

   3Next, the club wrote an online petition asking the Town Council to build a crosswalk with flashing lights. In two weeks, 640 people signed it. The club also made a two-minute video with a teacher's help, and the school shared it on its own web page. Three students and a parent signed up to speak during the public comment time at a council meeting, when any resident may speak for up to three minutes.

   4The council asked the town engineer to study the crossing. Two months later, the engineer reported that a crosswalk with flashing lights would cost $38,000. The council voted 5 to 2 to build it. One council member who voted no said the money should go first to fixing sidewalks across town. The crosswalk opened the next spring, and the club now meets each fall to decide on a new project.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 1, paragraph 1, why did President Franklin D. Roosevelt create the CCC?

   ATo train young soldiers for a war overseas BTo give people jobs in the Depression CTo replace park rangers who had retired DTo build highways between large cities

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 1, what happened to most of a CCC worker's $30 monthly pay?

   AHe saved it in a bank near camp BIt paid for his food and clothes CIt was sent back to his family DIt went to the national parks

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which of these is not listed in Source 1, paragraph 2, as CCC work?

   APlanting millions of trees BFighting forest fires CBuilding trails and bridges DTeaching in city schools

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 1, why is the park now removing some of the riprap the CCC built at Muir Woods?

   AIt makes water flow faster, so erosion gets worse BThe rocks were taken from land the park did not own CVisitors complained that it blocked their view DThe rocks were too small to stop winter floods

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which kind of AmeriCorps NCCC work in Source 2 is most like the CCC work described in Source 1?

   AFEMA Corps work on disaster planning BTraditional Corps tax preparation CForest Corps tree and fire work DTraining on campuses in two cities

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which difference between the CCC and AmeriCorps NCCC do Sources 1 and 2 show?

   ACCC workers got no pay, and NCCC volunteers do BThe CCC took only men; NCCC takes young adults CNCCC volunteers get no housing, and CCC men did DCCC crews worked in one state, NCCC across the nation

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 2, what does NCCC FEMA Corps support?

   ATax preparation for families BBuilding new national parks CTraining new Forest Service staff DGetting ready for disasters

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 1 says over 2.5 million men served in the CCC. Source 2 says up to 500 volunteers serve in NCCC each year. At 500 a year, how many years would NCCC need to reach 2.5 million?

   A5,000 years B500 years C50,000 years D2,500 years

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 3, paragraph 1, where was the Montgomery Improvement Association formed?

   AAt the city bus company's main office BAt the courthouse after Rosa Parks's trial CAt a meeting at a Baptist church DAt a schoolteacher's home on December 2

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    According to Source 3, how did the MIA raise money to pay for the carpool?

    AIt charged each rider a dollar a day BIt took donations at church meetings CIt sold leaflets to people around town DIt asked the city to repay the lost bus fares

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Source 3 says over 70% of bus riders were African American and the one-day boycott was 90% effective. If 90% of the African American riders stayed off, about how many of every 100 riders stayed off?

    A90 B160 C20 D63

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    According to Source 3, paragraph 4, what did local authorities do while the boycott went on?

    APolice harassed leaders and drivers BThe city lowered bus fares for every rider CThe bus company hired Black drivers DThe mayor asked churches to stop the meetings

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Source 3, an elderly woman says, "My soul has been tired for a long time. Now my feet are tired, and my soul is resting." What does she mean?

    AShe wants the boycott to end so she can rest BWalking tires her, but protesting gives her peace CShe plans to take the carpool from now on instead of walking DHer church has asked her to stop walking to work

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In 1955, Jo Ann Robinson spread the news with 50,000 printed leaflets. A group today wants to tell 5,000 neighbors about a meeting. Which contemporary means does the same job?

    AFiling a lawsuit in a state court BAsking a council member to vote yes CStarting a volunteer service team DPosting on a neighborhood app

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Compare the CCC (Source 1) with AmeriCorps NCCC (Source 2). Give two ways they are alike and one way they are different, with evidence from both sources.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    The Montgomery boycott used printed leaflets, mass meetings and a carpool with dispatchers. Choose two of these means and explain how people might do the same jobs today. For each, name one thing that is easier and one that is harder now.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Was the Montgomery bus boycott a means of changing society, of promoting the common good, or both? Explain with evidence from Source 3.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    The CCC built riprap walls to protect Muir Woods, and today the park is removing some of them. What does this example teach about comparing historical and contemporary means of promoting the common good?

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Choose one means from Source 3 that people still use in much the same way today, and one that has mostly been replaced by a newer tool. Explain each choice.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Think of a change that would help your school or community. Describe one historical means and one contemporary means you could use, and explain which would work better and why.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to D2.Civ.14.6-8: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.