Hall of Injustice, Part 1

Display slide 6. Introduce students to the Jigsaw strategy. This is intended to activate student interest and understanding about the events that occurred on May 31 and June 1, 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Pass out the attached Oklahoma Historical Society Article.

Before reading begins, have students first number the paragraphs in the article (a total of 15). Then, number students off based on the number of groups needed. For example, you might create five groups, numbering students from 1-5, and have each group read three paragraphs.

Invite students to use the Jigsaw strategy as they read and discuss the article from the Oklahoma Historical Society. Ask each group of students to read their assigned paragraphs, and using a marker, to write a 1–2 sentence summary on a plain sheet of paper. Each group should appoint a spokesperson to read the summary. Starting with the first group, have each spokesperson read their group’s summary. This way, the class works together to summarize the full article.

Display slide 8. Pass out a copy of the attached Dreamland Burning Excerpt to each student. This excerpt is from the historical fiction novel Dreamland Burning, by Jennifer Latham. Invite students to read the passage, which addresses the subject of injustice. As they are reading, ask students to think about the question, What is the injustice in this excerpt? Pass out the attached Categorical Highlighting handout, and ask students to use the Categorical Highlighting strategy as they read, keeping track of racially discriminatory and inflammatory language. Have students choose two highlighter colors, using one to highlight racially discriminatory language and the other to highlight inflammatory language.

Display slide 9, and pass out copies of the attached H-Chart handout. Utilizing the Paired Texts H-Chart strategy, invite students to take notes on the H-Chart handout using the text they highlighted in their reading in response to the question, What is the injustice in this excerpt? Ask students to provide text evidence with parenthetical documentation from the text they highlighted. After recording their answers on the left side of the H-Chart, have students discuss their answers with a partner.

Display slide 10. Next, invite students to read the more recent attached Tulsa World Article or have students access the article online: "Tulsa Race Massacre: 1921 Tulsa newspapers fueled racism, and one story is cited for sparking Greenwood's burning," (via digital or physical copy) pertaining to the Tulsa Race Massacre. Have students use the same Categorical Highlighting strategy to highlight discriminatory and inflammatory language. As with the previous article, you may choose to print copies of this article for your classroom, or have students access the article on their Internet-connected devices.

Display slide 11. Ask students to go back to their H-Charts and record notes from the text to answer the question "What are the examples of injustice in this article?" Ask them to also include evidence from the text to support their examples.

When students finish, display slide 12. Invite students to discuss the newspaper article and how it relates to the fiction piece with their partner. Then, have students write a paragraph that answers the following question in the center of their H-Chart: What do these two texts tell us about injustice?

Display slide 13. Invite pairs to use the Inverted Pyramid strategy, partnering with another pair to share their thoughts about injustice and how injustice in fiction relates to its focused historical event—in this case, the Tulsa Race Massacre. If time permits, combine each group of four with another group of four and repeat the process. End the activity by facilitating a whole-class discussion about what students learned regarding injustice.