CITIZEN ADVOCACY CENTER

Youth Movements

Lesson Plan and Activity

Grade Level: 9, 10

Subjects:

• Social Studies: U.S. Government and social trends
• Language Arts: Reading, Writing

Duration: Three class sessions.

Description: This lesson provides an overview of six youth movements in American History, as well as each movement’s methods for political and social change.

ISBE Standards:

1. Social Science:

§ 14.F.5: Interpret how changing geographical, economic, technological and social forces affect United States political ideas and traditions;

§ 14.F.4b: Describe how United States’ political ideas, practices and technologies have extended rights for Americans in the 20^th century;

§ 16A: Apply the skills of historical analysis and interpretation; and

§ 16B: Understand the development of significant political events.

2. Language Art:

§ 1A: Apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to comprehend selections;

§ 3A: Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and structure;

§ 3B: Compose well-organized and coherent writing for specific purposes and audiences;

§ 4A: Listen effectively in formal and informal situations; and

§ 4B: Speak effectively using language appropriate to the situation and audience.

Objectives:

• Understand prominent youth movements in American History;
• Obtain a basic understanding of the methods utilized by each Youth Movement to achieve its desired objectives;
• Identify those Youth Movements that were successful; and
• Create an action plan for a local issue utilizing the same methods studied.

Materials: (Note: In addition to the classroom activity there is a research project involved that will require the students to have access to a library with internet capabilities)

• Paper
• Pens

Instruction and Activity:

1. Many young people think that they are powerless to make a difference in American politics and policy. However, American History is full of examples of young people who organized and mobilized themselves into a powerful political force. Youth mobilization can take many forms on many issues from small, local issues to large, international issues.

For example, government students at York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois founded a group called “Save the Hot Dog Lady.” Elmhurst, Illinois has a cart hot dog vendor who has been doing business on the sidewalks of Elmhurst for years. She affectionately called “the Hot Dog Lady.” Some local competing businesses began to complain to the city that the Hot Dog Lady was interfering with their business, wasn’t paying the same level of taxes as businesses in buildings, didn’t have the proper permits, etc. In response, the city proposed significantly increasing the permit and insurance requirements for cart vendors. Such an extreme increase would effectively force the Hot Dog Lady out of business.

When it became clear that the Hot Dog Lady was in trouble, the York High School students started a campaign to stop the city from changing its cart vendor requirements. Students protested, got the press involved, wrote letters to the editor, gave public comment at city council meetings, developed t-shirts that said “Save the Hot Dog Lady,” and more. As a result of the students’ efforts, the city backed down from its original proposal. The city did raise cart vendor fees and insurance requirements, however, the increase was not as extreme as the original proposal. The Hot Dog Lady continues to do business in Elmhurst.

2. To begin, split the class into teams of four. Assign each team one of the following well-known youth movements to research. (Please see teacher’s note at the end of the lesson to find out more about each topic)
• American Youth Congress
• Mexican American Youth Organization
• Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
• Youth International Party or Yippie!
• Teach for America
• Free the Children
3. Each student should pick a subtopic within the larger topic.
• What inspired the Youth Movement (including: who where its leaders)
• An objective achieved by the movement (Note: Two students on each team should select this subtopic. Each student should do a different achievement and detail what method was utilized in achieving the desired objective.)
• Is the organization around today? If not, why and how could it have avoided its demise? If so, what has it done lately, where is it located?
4. Each team should turn in a 2-4 page paper on their research topic.
5. Each team should also be prepared to teach the class about its Youth Movement, including visual displays (ex. posters, pictures, videos) and handouts. This part of the lesson should take two days, thereby allowing enough class time for the students to really understand the Youth Movement.
6. After the presentations ask the class:
• What are the various methods utilized by the Youth Movements to achieve its goals?
• Which Youth Movement do you feel was the most effective? Why?
• Which Youth Movement do you feel was the least effective? Why?
7. Brainstorm local issues that affect local young people:
• Ex. curfew, school dress code, cafeteria food, etc.
8. Select one of the issues and ask the class how they would go about making a change concerning that issue. Encourage students to think about those methods that were effective for the Youth Movements that they have been studying. For example:
• Find out who is in charge of that issue … superintendent, city councilperson, etc. Then decide who affects those decision-makers.
• Write a letter to that public official
• Submit a petition to that public official
• Prepare and present a public comment during a public meeting
• Protest
• Contact the press who regularly cover the decision-makers
• Lobby
• The Op/Ed page is the most read section of the newspaper. What media outlets would be interested in hearing about your issue? What audience are you trying to target?
• Write an Op/Ed piece
• Notify local news programs
• Is there a pre-existing organization that is working on your issue?
• Join that organization
• Donate your time, money, or other needed items
9. Repeat if there is enough time.

Teacher Note:

• American Youth Congress: The American Youth Congress was founded in 1934 as an organization to counter the Roosevelt administration for not having provided enough relief to impoverished young Americans. With the help of Eleanor Roosevelt, the American Youth Congress partnered with the White House to establish various programs within the New Deal for unemployed youth during the Great Depression. For example, the American Youth Congress established the National Youth Administration. The National Youth Administration provided grants to high school and college students in exchange for work, and provided economic relief with on-the-job training in federally funded work projects designed to provide youth with marketable skills for the future. When World War II began, support for the American Youth Congress began to wane. It was dissolved when Congress suspended funding for the National Youth Administration in 1943.
• www.nps.gov/elro/glossary/american-youth-congress.htm
• newdeal.feri.org/students/ayc.htm (A copy of the National Youth Congress’ Declaration of Rights of American Youth)
• Mexican American Youth Organization: The Mexican American Youth Organization began in San Antonio, Texas in 1967. It used direct political confrontation and mass demonstration to promote economic independence, local control of education, and political strength and unity through a third party. The Mexican American Youth Movement was mostly known for organizing numerous walk-outs in public schools. The walk-outs were to protest school authorities’ treatment of Mexican-Americans. The Mexican American Youth Organization demanded that schools employ more Mexican-American teachers and staff, and adopt Mexican American history into the curriculum.
• members.aol.com/_ht_a/jmt81/myhomepage/
• www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/ online/articles/view/MM/wem1.html
• Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee: The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee began in 1960 at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was originally designed to help coordinate lunch counter sit-ins during the civil rights movement. The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee evolved into a leading force in the fight to overturn segregation in the South and to give young African-Americans a stronger voice in the civil rights movement. Some of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee’s achievements include the Freedom Rides of 1961 that challenged segregated restrooms, restaurants, and waiting rooms at interstate bus facilities in the South and Freedom Summer during 1964 that helped register thousands of African-Americans to vote in rural, Southern communities.
• www.ncsu.edu.chass/mds/sncchist.html
• www.ibiblio.org/sncc/
• Youth International Committee or Yippie!: The Youth International Committee was the brainchild of Abbie Hoffman. Designed to be a political off-shot of the Hippie counter-culture of the 1960s, the Yippie! movement chose highly controversial means to achieve its goals of “humanitarian cooperation and equality.” The Yippie! movement is most remembered for its clash with Chicago police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
• www.louwho.com/yippie.html
• Teach for America: Teach for America was founded by Wendy Knopp in 1990. It originated as her undergraduate senior thesis at Princeton University. Designed to eliminate educational inequality in the United States, Teach for America recruits volunteers to teach for two years in low-income, rural and urban communities. To this day it has directly impacted over 1.5 million students lives.
• www.teachforamerica.org
• Free the Children: Free the Children was started in 1995 by12 year old Craig Kulburger. Free the Children’s objectives include freeing children from poverty and exploitations, freeing children and young people from the idea that they are powerless to bring about positive social change, and to improve the lives of their peers. Free the Children utilizes various tactics to achieve its goals including letter writing campaigns, education campaigns, and fundraising events. Free the Children has helped build primary schools in Kenya, and lobbied high-ranking government officials to end child labor throughout the world.
• www.freethechildren.org

©Copyright 2005 Citizen Advocacy Center. All rights reserved. No part of this lesson plan may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior, written permission of the Citizen Advocacy Center. The Citizen Advocacy Center is a 501(c)(3) non-pofit, non-partisan community based legal organization. For information about the Center, or to make a tax deductible contribution, visit www.citizenadvocacycenter.org, call 630.833.4080. The Center is located at 238 N. York Rd., Elmhurst IL 60126