About the materials

These materials were developed for students of various skill levels, and teachers should choose the level that works best for their students. Answers to the background questions, vocabulary, and activities can be found in the "Answers & Differentiation Ideas" tab under each case.

Background summary and questions to consider (by reading level)

• •••
• ••
• •

Important vocabulary (by reading level)

• •••/•• 
• •

Legal Concepts

• Equal Protection

Other useful background information

• Diagram of How the Case Moved Through the Court System
• Biographies:
  • Earl Warren
  • Thurgood Marshall

Activities*

The Case

• Does Treating People Equally Mean Treating Them the Same?

• Classifying Arguments for Each Side of the Case

• How a Dissent Can Presage a Ruling: The Case of Justice Harlan

• Immediate Reaction to the Decision: Comparing Regional Media Coverage

• Political Cartoon Analysis

• Paving the Way to Integrated Schools

After the Case

• All Deliberate Speed?

• If You Were a Supreme Court Justice ...

• Was the Promise of Brown Fulfilled?

* See the "Answers & Differentiation Ideas" tab for access to answers to the background questions, vocabulary, and activities.

Teaching strategies used

• Classifying Arguments

• Fish Bowl Tag Discussion

• Analyzing Political Cartoons and Photographs

• Role Plays

• WebQuest

Planning time and activities

If you have one day . . .

• Begin with the Does Treating People Equally Mean Treating Them the Same? activity.  
• Read the Background summary (•••, ••, •) as a class. Have students identify the arguments for each side and predict the outcome.  
• For homework, have students read the Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown I (1954) and Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown II (1955) and answer the accompanying questions.

If you have two days . . .

• Complete all activities for the first day.  
• Next, complete the Classifying Arguments for Each Side of the Case activity.  
• On the second day, read and discuss the Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown I (1954) and Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown II (1955).  
• Complete the How a Dissent Can Presage a Ruling: The Case of Justice Harlan activity.

If you have three days . . .

• Complete all activities suggested for the first and second days.  
• On the third day, have students complete the following activities: Immediate Reaction to the Decision: Comparing Regional Media Coverage and Analyzing Political Cartoons and Photographs.
• For homework, have students complete the All Deliberate Speed? activity.

If you have four days . . .

• Complete all the activities for the first, second, and third days.  
• On the fourth day, students should complete the Crisis at Little Rock Connection Questions. You could discuss the All Deliberate Speed? activity that students completed for homework and then complete the If You Were a Supreme Court Justice ... activity. 

• Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown I (1954) 
• Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown II (1955) 
• Summary of the Decision
• Full Text of the Majority Opinion (external link)

Recommended Resources

• Was the Promise of Brown Fulfilled? (Teaching Tolerance)
• Crisis at Little Rock (Facing History and Ourselves)
  
• Race and Schools: The Need for Action. (NEA)
• Teacher resources from the Smithsonian Museum of American History
• Teaching Tolerance's Mix It Up program

Use the link below to download this free resource. You will be prompted to sign into (or create) a Street Law Store account.

Free Resource

Note: As of March 2019, all LandmarkCases.org accounts have been taken out of service.

To access “Answers & Differentiation Ideas,” users must now use a Street Law Store account. If you don’t have one already, it’s free and easy to sign up. It will also give you access to hundreds of additional resources and Supreme Court case summaries!  

We apologize for any inconvenience, but hope that having only one Street Law account to remember will make your life easier.