Let The Children March

By Monica Clark-Robinson
Illustrated by Frank Morrison
Summary/Key Details
Let the Children March On is a realistic fiction picture book that represents
the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his movement towards
desegregation in the United States. This book tells the story of two young
African American children who have decided to take the place of their
parents in the march to Alabama alongside Dr. King. During the march, the
children, along with many others, endure angry police, dog attacks, strong
water force, and even jail, but persevere through the adversity in order to
make change in their country.
Social Justice Topic
Civil Rights and the Children’s Crusade-
African American children are marching for equal rights in Birmingham,
Alabama in 1963.

Social Justice Standards:

● Justice 13 JU.3-5.13- I know that words, behaviors, rules and laws that
treat people unfairly based on their group identities cause real harm.
● Action 19, AC.3-5.19- I will speak up or do something when I see
unfairness, and I will not let others convince me to go along with
injustice
ELA Standards/Connections
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main
idea.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text
as the basis for the answers.

Connection: These two standards connect to the lesson we are doing with the multicultural book
Let the Children March, because after reading the story, students will have to determine the
main idea of each major event and record it on their timeline. They will also be participating in
class discussion about the story, which will show their understanding of it.
Math Standards/Connections
Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms
based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship
between addition and subtraction.

Show the data by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked
off in appropriate units— whole numbers, halves, or quarters.

Connection: Students will meet these standards by adding or subtracting

the dates to determine how many days they are apart and then create a
visual representation (timeline) with all the data.
Assessments
Timeline of Events:

ELA- Students will show their understanding through their collective ability to fill in the timeline
with a paraphrased response based on the events from the story

Math- Students will show their understanding through their collective ability to identify and label
the difference between the dates on the timeline using addition and subtraction

Closing Questions:

Social Justice- Students will show their understanding through their ability to orally answer the
given questions that are based on their understanding of the story and the social justice issue(s)
included in the story
Message from our Lesson
How is your lesson EMPOWERING your students to think/do social
justice action/hope?

● Students will gain an understanding what children their age went through during this time
period.
● Students will also see an example of how big of an impact young children can have on a
society and how their voices can be heard towards topics they are passionate about.
● Students will begin to understand this by reading through a story that shows how young
children participated in the march for Civil Rights and stood up for what they believed in,
known as the Children’s Crusade.
Classroom Observation
What did we learn during the observation/ what the teacher told us about students &
dynamic...
● Mathematical abilities of the class as a whole
● How much social studies content the class has covered
● Which students have IEPs or 504s and strategies that can be used to help accommodate
● The students are already grouped in three groups
● There are three ELL students in the class, one attending an intervention once a day and two
receiving sheltered instruction

How will we used what we learned for our lesson…

We will use what we learned about the students and their classroom to tie on their strengths and
weaknesses during our lesson, while also accommodating for differing needs of the students.
Lesson Plan Walkthrough
Intro/Hook: Segregation Activity and Simulation-
● Split class in half, ask how they would feel if they can’t interact, play, talk with classmates from the
other group
ELA/Social Studies link-
● Introduce Let the Children March, explain connection between book and previous activity
● Read book, putting an emphasis on the timeline of events (dates) and how the children are playing
a major role in the civil rights movement
Math/ELA link-
● Break students up into 3 groups, one teacher per group
● Each group is assigned five events to create a timeline and will find the main idea of each event
● Determine how many days apart each event was using addition or subtraction
● Once each group is finished, come together as a whole group and piece timelines together.
Wrap up:
● How does what the children in the book went through make you feel?
● Do the bravery of these children encourage you to fight for what you believe in?