Grade 5 Social Studies students spent the last month learning about important historic events in the civil rights movement. In class, the students learned what African Americans endured in their fight to
gain their most basic rights The students took these individual stories and
wrote their own scripts which were presented in a moving timeline. The
stories were very powerful and stirring and were presented during the Living History program.
During the program, Grade 6 Social Studies students presented the Reader’s Theater play, “ Now Let Me Fly” to honor the historic achievements of African Americans in the fight to end segregation of public schools.“ Now “Let Me Fly” is the story of Thurgood Marshall’s’ tireless effort to take this fight to the highest court in the land. The story shows the lives of ordinary African Americans who became activists in the fight to overturn segregated
schools. The students worked very hard over the last six weeks, learning
their lines, putting together props, background scenery, programs, lighting
etc. The students embraced the story and were very proud of their final presentation.
Grades 7 and 8 culminated Black History Month with CHP’s annual Living History Day presentations, honoring those who worked to extend human rights and human dignity for all. This year, we organized our 3 1/2 hour program in 40 minute shifts, with room changes and presentations in groups of four. When not presenting, students had a schedule of locations to serve as audience members for their classmates. Among the students’ presentations were a debate between Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, an interview between Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens, a show of ground-breaking art by African American sculptor Augusta Savage, a memoir and sing-along with human-rights activist and world-class performer Harry Belafonte, and even a human-rights debate between Anne Frank and Adolf Hitler!
