Daily Activities – Griffin Bell
The daily activities created for each of the Today in Georgia History segments are designed to meet the Georgia Performance Standards for Reading Across the Curriculum, and Grade Eight: Georgia Studies. For each date, educators can choose from three optional activities differentiated for various levels of student ability. Each activity focuses on engaging the student in context specific vocabulary and improving the student’s ability to communicate about historical topics.
One suggestion is to use the Today in Georgia History video segments and daily activities as a “bell ringer” at the beginning of each class period. Using the same activity daily provides consistency and structure for the students and may help teachers utilize the first 15-20 minutes of class more effectively.
Optional Activities:
Level 1: Provide the students with the vocabulary list and have them use their textbook, a dictionary, or other teacher provided materials to define each term. After watching the video have the students write a complete sentence for each of the vocabulary terms. Student created sentences should reflect the meaning of the word based on the context of the video segment. Have students share a sampling of sentences as a way to check for understanding.
Level 2: Provide the students with the vocabulary list for that day’s segment before watching the video and have them guess the meaning of each word based on their previous knowledge. The teacher may choose to let the students work alone or in groups. After watching the video, have the students revise their definitions to better reflect the meaning of the words based on the context of the video. As a final step, have the students compare and contrast their definitions to their textbook, dictionary or other teacher provided materials definitions.
Level 3: Provide the students with the vocabulary list and have them use their textbook, a dictionary, or other teacher provided materials to define each term. After watching the video, have the students write a five sentence paragraph based on the provided writing prompts.
Vocabulary/Writing Prompts:
Attorney General
Rural
Appointed
Moderate
Facilitated
Desegregation
Court of Appeals
Implementing
Iran Contra
Writing Prompts
1. Do the math, if Griffin Bell was born in 1918 and died in 2009 how long did he live? In a five-sentence paragraph tell how long Griffin Bell lived and summarize his achievements.
2. What do the words moderate and facilitated have in common? In a five-sentence paragraph define these two terms in your own words and explain how Griffin Bell acted as a moderator and facilitator throughout the process of desegregation.
3. Griffin Bell served under three separate presidents. In a five-sentence paragraph describe the personal and professional qualities Griffin Bell must have possessed to be trusted by three individual presidents.
Related Georgia Performance Standards:
Reading Across the Curriculum (Grades 6-12)
SSRC1 Students will enhance reading in all curriculum areas by:
c. Building vocabulary knowledge
• Demonstrate an understanding of contextual vocabulary in various subjects.
• Use content vocabulary in writing and speaking.
• Explore understanding of new words found in subject area texts.
d. Establishing context
• Explore life experiences related to subject area content.
• Discuss in both writing and speaking how certain words are subject area related.
• Determine strategies for finding content and contextual meaning for unknown words.
Grade 8 Georgia Studies
SS8H10 The student will evaluate key post-World War II developments of Georgia from 1945 to 1970.
a. Analyze the impact of the transformation of agriculture on Georgia’s growth.
b. Explain how the development of Atlanta, including the roles of mayors William B. Hartsfield and Ivan Allen, Jr., and major league sports, contributed to the growth of Georgia.
c. Discuss the impact of Ellis Arnall.
SS8H11 The student will evaluate the role of Georgia in the modern civil rights movement.
a. Describe major developments in civil rights and Georgia’s role during the 1940s and 1950s; include the roles of Herman Talmadge, Benjamin Mays, the 1946 governor’s race and the end of the white primary, Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 1956 state flag.
b. Analyze the role Georgia and prominent Georgians played in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s; include such events as the founding of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Sibley Commission, admission of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to the University of Georgia, Albany Movement, March on Washington, Civil Rights Act, the election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta, and the role of Lester Maddox.
c. Discuss the impact of Andrew Young on Georgia.
SS8H12 The student will explain the importance of significant social, economic, and political developments in Georgia since 1970.
a. Evaluate the consequences of the end of the county unit system and reapportionment.
b. Describe the role of Jimmy Carter in Georgia as state senator, governor, president, and past president.
c. Analyze the impact of the rise of the two-party system in Georgia.
d. Evaluate the effect of the 1996 Olympic Games on Georgia.
e. Evaluate the importance of new immigrant communities to the growth and economy of Georgia.
United States History, 9-12
SSUSH21 The student will explain the impact of technological development and economic growth on the United States, 1945-1975.
a. Describe the baby boom and its impact as shown by Levittown and the Interstate Highway Act.
b. Describe the impact television has had on American culture; include the presidential debates (Kennedy/Nixon, 1960) and news coverage of the Civil Rights Movement.
c. Analyze the impact of technology on American life; include the development of the personal computer and the expanded use of air conditioning.
d. Describe the impact of competition with the USSR as evidenced by the launch of Sputnik I and President Eisenhower’s actions.
SSUSH22 The student will identify dimensions of the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1970.
a. Explain the importance of President Truman’s order to integrate the U.S. military and the federal government.
b. Identify Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball.
c. Explain Brown v. Board of Education and efforts to resist the decision.
d. Describe the significance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail and his I Have a Dream Speech.
e. Describe the causes and consequences of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
SSUSH25 The student will describe changes in national politics since 1968.
a. Describe President Richard M. Nixon’s opening of China, his resignation due to the Watergate scandal, changing attitudes toward government, and the Presidency of Gerald Ford.
b. Explain the impact of Supreme Court decisions on ideas about civil liberties and civil rights; include such decisions as Roe v. Wade (1973) and the Bakke decision on affirmative action.
c. Explain the Carter administration’s efforts in the Middle East; include the Camp David Accords, his response to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the Iranian hostage crisis.
d. Describe domestic and international events of Ronald Reagan’s presidency; include Reaganomics, the Iran-contra scandal, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
e. Explain the relationship between Congress and President Bill Clinton; include the North American Free Trade Agreement and his impeachment and acquittal.
f. Analyze the 2000 presidential election and its outcome, emphasizing the role of the electoral college.
g. Analyze the response of President George W. Bush to the attacks of September 11, 2001, on the United States, the war against terrorism, and the subsequent American interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq.