Lesson by Maria Miraballes
Essay by Geraldo L. Cadava, Northwestern University
Grade Level: 7–12
Number of Class Periods: 5
Primary Theme: Latina/Latino History
About This Lesson Plan Unit
The objective of the unit is to have students recognize the economic, social, and political challenges faced by Latinas and Latinos throughout the United States from the 1930s through the 1960s, as well as the triumphs they achieved. Over the course of the five lessons the students will analyze primary sources that include court documents, speeches, and policy statements as well as visuals such as photographs and artwork reflecting the experiences of men and women who fought for equal economic, social, and political treatment in the United States. Students will then write an argumentative written response evaluating the challenges that led to the civil rights movement as well as the achievements Latinos and Latinas made during this time period.
Lesson Plan Author: Maria Miraballes
Additional Research by: José A. Gregory
Historical Background Scholar: Geraldo L. Cadava, Northwestern University
Additional Information About This Unit
Common Core State Standards
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social or economic aspects of history/social science.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.6: Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
How have Latinos and Latinas contributed to American politics and culture?
How have prominent Latinos and Latinas uplifted their communities?
Documents
Documents
Adelina (Nina) Otero-Warren, photograph by Bain News Service, July 11, 1923
Photograph of “Senator Catron Receiving a Delegation of Suffragists,” New Mexico, 1915.
Photograph of Macario Garcia with Medal of Honor, ca. 1945
Photograph of President Harry Truman awarding the Congressional Medal of Honor to Macario Garcia in 1945
Service Record for Roberto Clemente Walker, September 30, 1958
Jim Hansen, Photograph of “Roberto Clemente and other members of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team during the playing of the National Anthem at the beginning of a baseball game,” March 23, 1967
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Portrait of Sonia Sotomayor, June 2010
Fred Schilling, Photograph of the Supreme Court as composed June 30, 2022
“Spanish Don’s Daughter Among 4 Women in Race for Congress,” New-York Tribune, September 14, 1922, p. 6
“Mrs. Otero-Warren Dies At Home,” Albuquerque Journal, January 4, 1965
Recommendation for Award of the Medal of Honor for Macario Garcia, 1945
“War Hero Dies in Car Crash,” Silver City Daily Press (Silver City, NM), December 26, 1972
Letter from Former State Senator John M. Walker of Pennsylvania to US Senator Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, February 9, 1959
Pete Coutros, “Roberto Clemente Crash Victim,” New York Daily News, January 2, 1973
Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President Nominating Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court,” May 26, 2009 (A Spanish-language translation prepared by the Office of the Press Secretary is also included.)
Sonia Sotomayor, “Response to the Remarks by the President Nominating Her to the United States Supreme Court,” May 26, 2009