Full text of Classroom Lesson: Scraps of Time: Abby Takes a Stand

View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS OF ST. LOUIS AND PHILADELPHIA

ECONOMIC EDUCATION

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand
By Patricia C. McKissack / ISBN: 0-14-240687-2

Lesson Author
Barbara Flowers, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Standards and Benchmarks (see page 14)
Lesson Description
In this lesson, students read about incidents of racial discrimination and how those
incidents were met with methods of protest. They engage in an activity that matches
programs for low-income people with the type of economic inequity the program
addresses and observe an activity simulating tax payments and transfers.

Grade Level
6-8

Concepts
Boycott
Economic equity
Sit-in
Taxes
Transfer payments
Transfer programs

Objectives
Students will be able to
•

define boycott and sit-in;

•

define transfer payments, transfer programs, and taxes;

•

explain the purpose of transfer payments;

•

explain how transfer payments are funded;

© 2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

•

define economic equity; and

•

provide examples of programs designed to further the goal of economic equity.

Time Required
45-60 minutes

Materials
•

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand by Patricia C. McKissack
(ISBN: 0-14-240687-2)

•

Visual 1

•

Handout 1, one copy for each group of 4 or 5 students, cut apart

•

Handout 1, one copy (uncut) for the teacher

•

Six index cards folded to produce six table tents, one for each jar, labeled as
follows: Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Group 4, Group 5, and The Government

•

Six small, clear jars or glasses

•

One bag of dried beans placed into the jars as follows: Group 1, 85 beans;
Group 2, 40 beans; Group 3, 20 beans; Group 4, 15 beans; Group 5, 9 whole
beans and ½ bean.

•

Two pieces of paper folded into table tents with one labeled “Government Goods
and Services” and the other labeled “Transfer Payments”

Procedure
1.

Ask students if there are some rides at amusement parks on which they are not
allowed. If they answer no, ask if they were ever barred from certain rides when they
were younger. (Answers will vary. The students may be of an age and size that allows
them access to all rides, but they should remember a time when they were considered
too short or too light to ride on rides such as roller coasters.)

Ask students if there are places they are not allowed and have them explain where
and why. (Answers will vary but may include the following: movies rated PG-13 and R
because they are too violent or contain content young people should not see; taverns
and nightclubs because they serve alcohol and adults there may do or say things
young people shouldn’t be exposed to; behind the wheel of a car because young
people are not mature enough to take on the responsibility of driving.)

Point out that these are cases in which young people are denied access so they remain
safe. However, there was a time in this country when young people (and adults) were
not allowed to participate in certain activities and go to certain places for no other
reason than the color of their skin.

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

Introduce the book Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand as the story of a young
girl who joins others in peaceful protests to gain the right to go to any store, restaurant,
or theater they want. Read the story.

When you have finished reading the story, ask the following questions:
•

At what store did Mama refuse to shop because the manager humiliated Abby?
(Harveys)

•

When Mama said she would shop at Harveys “no more,” what did the rest of
the people in the meeting shout? (They shouted “no more” also. See pages 38-39.)

Explain that all societies have economic goals, and often one of these economic goals
is economic equity. Economic equity, also called economic equality, means a more
equal distribution of goods and services among citizens.

Reread Chapter 2, “The Monkey Bar Grill,” and Chapter 3, “Turned Away.” Discuss
the following:

•

What are some examples from the book of how black people were separated
from white people? (Abby and Patsy attended an all-black school; black people
could not get certain jobs; blacks had to live in “black” neighborhoods. There
were “blacks only” stores on Jefferson Street. The Hi-Style Hair Salon and
Southland Restaurant had signs that said “Whites Only.” Abby was not allowed
to eat at the Monkey Bar Grill.)

•

What did Abby do when she walked by the Hi-Style Hair Salon and the Southland
Restaurant? (Abby turned her head so she wouldn’t see the “Whites Only” signs.)

•

Why was Abby turned away from the Monkey Bar Grill? (Abby was turned away
because she was a black girl.)

•

What economic inequalities did Abby and her family face? (Answers will vary but
may include the following: Abby and her family often couldn’t buy what they
wanted where they wanted to buy it; they were unable to receive the education
they wanted; and there were limited types of jobs available for black people.)

•

What do you think was done to ensure economic equity for Abby and others?
(Answers will vary. Students might state that laws were passed and court cases
were won that protected people from discrimination. They may know of programs
that were established or expanded to address economic inequities.)

Explain that because black people were denied access to so many stores and restaurants,
they were unable to participate fully in the economy. Black people, and many white
people too, became angry. These people got together and decided to boycott businesses. A boycott is a method of protest where people show a business that they are
angry by refusing to buy the goods or services it produces. A sit-in is another type of
protest where people take all of the seats in a restaurant or other business and remain

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

there all day if they are not served so that no other customers can buy the business’s
goods and/or services. (Optional: re-read the first two pages of Chapter 8, “Sacrifices,”
to students.) Discuss the following:

•

How did the organizers of the protest get the word out about the boycott?
(The Flyer Brigade prepared and handed out leaflets.)

•

Did the leaflets work in persuading everyone to boycott the segregated store?
(No. Some boycotted and others were afraid to get involved.)

•

What other form of nonviolent protest did the people use toward the restaurants
that would not serve blacks? (Sit-ins)

•

Describe a sit-in. (People take all of the seats in a restaurant or other business
and remain there all day if they are not served so that no other customers can
buy the business’s goods and/or services.)

•

How does a sit-in hurt a restaurant? (The restaurant owners cannot sell food to
any other customers because there is nowhere for them to sit, and the business
loses money.)

•

Were the downtown stores that decided to serve black people eventually better
off or worse off? (They were eventually better off. An increase in consumers
increases the demand for goods and services.)

•

How did boycotts and sit-ins help gain economic equity for Abby and other
black people? (Businesses, such as Harveys, lost money during the boycott
because black families refused to shop there. Harveys and other businesses
opened every part of their business to black people in order to end the boycott.
Businesses experiencing sit-ins lost money because other customers could not
enter the business to buy goods and services. In some cases, business owners
recognized that it was unfair to discriminate against black people.)

Explain that people who were angry because blacks were discriminated against boycotted and conducted sit-ins at businesses in many cities. Boycotts and sit-ins often
worked, but sometimes they didn’t. Review the timeline at the end of the story
“Remembering How It Was” (pages 100-103) with the students. Discuss the following:
•

What happened to people who participated in sit-ins back then? (They were
subject to arrest, jail, tear gas, and bombings. James Lawson was expelled from
college.)

10. Explain that people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson, along with boycotts, sit-ins, and marches, brought attention to economic injustices, such as the
inability of blacks to get jobs at white businesses and the denial of welfare benefits
and Social Security to the majority of black people. There were many court cases where
people argued that discrimination was wrong. Congress passed laws that made it illegal
to discriminate against people because of their race. And the programs designed to
give aid to low-income families were adjusted to provide greater fairness for minorities.

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

11. Explain that funds dispersed to people through government programs are called
transfer payments. Transfer payments are money collected from some people and
distributed to other people. These payments are designed to improve economic equity.
Economic equity means a more equal distribution of goods and services among citizens.
Transfer payments support transfer programs that help low-income families get the
food, shelter, and health care they aren’t able to obtain for themselves. When lowincome families are given these things, it makes the way they live more equal with the
way higher-income families live.
12. Ask students to identify government programs designed to improve economic equity.
(Answers will vary. Students may be aware of government programs such as the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP, a.k.a. food stamps], low-income
housing, Social Security, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF], Head Start,
and Medicaid.)
13. If students are not familiar with these government programs, explain the following:
•

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is commonly
known as food stamps, allows people to buy nutritious food. People are given a
card similar to a debit card. The state in which the person lives places money in
an account and money is withdrawn from that account every time the card is used.

•

Low-income housing is provided in a couple of ways. Some people live in apartment complexes specifically designated as low-income housing. Others are provided with vouchers they can use to pay their rent, in part or in full, depending
on their income level, the size of their family, and the amount of the rent.

•

Social Security provides some income to retired people and minor children of a
parent who has died.

•

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provides money for families who
have or are expecting children and provides parents with other benefits, such as
job preparation.

•

Head Start is a program to prepare low-income children for school by teaching
them language, reading, mathematics, and science, as well as helping them learn
how to make friends and enjoy learning.

•

Medicaid helps low-income people with their health care expenses so that people
can get healthy and stay healthy.

14. Explain that these programs, except for Social Security, provide temporary help to
people who have lost their jobs or have had some other problem that has caused
them to have less money.

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

15. Divide the class into groups of four or five students. Provide a set of cards from
Handout 1: Situation and Program Cards to each group and instruct students to match
the situation card with the program card. Review student answers. Refer to your copy
of Handout 1 for answers.
16. When students have matched the cards, ask students where the money comes from
to pay for these programs. (Students may say from taxes.) Clarify their answers by
explaining that the money for these programs is transferred through taxes. Taxes are
required payments to the government. Explain that the government collects taxes to
pay for goods and services the government provides, such as highways, national parks,
and fighter jets, and to operate the government. Some of the money is collected from
higher-income people and distributed to lower-income people through these programs.
17. Discuss the following:
•

How does SNAP (food stamps) improve economic equity? (Higher-income people
pay taxes so that low-income families can buy food and health care products.)

•

How does low-income housing improve economic equity? (Higher-income people
pay taxes so that families who can’t afford to rent an apartment can get housing.)

•

How does Medicaid improve economic equity? (Higher-income people pay taxes
so that low-income families can get more health care.)

•

How does TANF improve economic equity? (Higher-income people pay taxes to
provide income for people who are having a hard time economically.)

18. Beginning with the tent card for Group 1 and ending with the tent card for The
Government, display the six tent cards on a table in front of the classroom. Explain
that “Groups 1-5” represent all of the households in the United States. The households are broken into five groups, so each group represents 20 percent of the households. The Government tent card represents the government of the United States.
19. Place the jars next to their corresponding tent card, one at a time, as follows:
•

Group 1: Explain that these households earn the most money each year. Show
students the number of beans in the jar and place the jar next to its table tent.
Explain that the beans in the jar represent the amount of income earned by these
households.

•

Group 2: Explain that these households earn the second-most amount of money
each year. Show students the number of beans in the jar, pointing out the difference in the level of beans compared with the first jar, and place the jar near its
table tent. Remind the students that the beans in this jar represent the income
earned by this group.

•

Group 3: Explain that these households earn less each year than the first two
groups. Point out the level of beans compared with the first two jars, and place
the jar near its table tent.

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

•

Group 4: Explain that these households make less money each year than the first
three groups. Point out the level of beans compared with the first three groups,
and place the jar near its table tent.

•

Group 5: Explain that these households make the least amount of money of all
of the groups. Point out the level of beans compared with the others, and place
the jar near its table tent.

20. Reiterate that all of the beans in these jars represent all of the income earned by
American families in one year, and each family is required to pay some amount of tax
on the income it earns. Explain that the government collects taxes to pay for goods
and services the government provides, such as highways, national parks, and fighter
jets. Some of the money collected in taxes is used to take care of low-income households through transfer payments.
21. Start with the Group 1 jar. Remove 20 beans and place them in The Government jar.
Explain that this group pays the largest amount of taxes. Continue taking beans from
the other groups and placing the beans in The Government jar as follows:
Group 2—8 beans
Group 3—3 beans
Group 4—1 bean
Group 5—½ bean
22. Place the table tent cards that say “Government Goods and Services” and “Transfer
Programs” on the table near The Government jar. Remove 20 beans from The Government jar and place them on the table near the table tent that says “Government Goods
and Services.” Remove the remaining beans from the jar and place them on the table
near the table tent that says Transfer Programs.
23. Some of the money collected in taxes pays for goods and services the government
provides. Ask students for examples of goods and services provided by the government.
(Answers will vary but may include national defense, highways, or national parks.)
Some of the money collected pays for transfer programs. Ask students for examples of
transfer programs. (SNAP, a.k.a. food stamps; low-income housing assistance; Social
Security; TANF; Head Start; and Medicaid.)

Closure
24. Discuss the following:
•

What does economic equity mean? (Economic equity means a more equal
distribution of goods and services among citizens.)

•

What are taxes? (Taxes are required payments to the government.)

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

•

What are some examples of government-provided goods and services? (Answers
will vary but may include national defense, highways, or national parks.)

•

What are transfer payments? (Transfer payments are money collected by the
government from some people and distributed to other people.)

•

What is the purpose of transfer payments? (The purpose of transfer payments is
to improve economic equity.)

•

What are some examples of transfer programs? (SNAP, a.k.a. food stamps; lowincome housing assistance; Social Security; TANF; Head Start; and Medicaid)

•

What does SNAP provide? (SNAP provides food.)

•

How does low-income housing assistance help families? (Low-income housing
assistance provides a place to live for families who cannot afford to pay rent.)

•

How does Head Start help families? (Head Start prepares children from lowincome families for success in school.)

•

What protest method has people refusing to buy a business’s goods and services?
(A boycott)

•

What protest method has people taking up all of the seats at a business?
(A sit-in)

•

Are these methods of protest successful? (Answers will vary. They have sometimes
been successful and sometimes not.)

•

What did black leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson do to
gain economic equity beyond boycotts and sit-ins? (They brought attention to
discrimination, leading to laws and court decisions to correct discrimination.)

Assessment
25. Use Visual 1: Economic Equity to assign a brief essay covering each of the following
points as a separate paragraph. Points that might be included in each paragraph are
shown below for each topic.
Economic Equity
•

What is economic equity? (Economic equity is a goal for our society to provide a
more equal distribution of goods and services among citizens.)

•

Is economic equity an important goal for our government? Explain your answer.
(Answers will vary.)

•

How is the goal of economic equity achieved? (Economic equity is achieved
through transfer programs.)

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

Transfer Programs
•

What are transfer programs? (Students can discuss any of the various programs,
including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a.k.a. food
stamps; low-income housing assistance; Social Security; Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF); Head Start; and Medicaid or research a program that was
not mentioned in this lesson.)

•

Who are transfer programs for? (Transfer programs are designed to aid lowincome families.)

•

How do transfer programs address economic equity? (Transfer programs provide
goods and services for low-income families, to make the way low-income families
live more equal to the way higher-income families live.)

Taxes and Transfer Payments
•

What are taxes? (Taxes are required payments to the government.)

•

From whom are taxes collected? (Taxes are collected from nearly everyone. They
are collected through several means, including income tax.)

•

How are tax monies spent? (The money received from tax payments is spent on
government-provided goods and services, operation of the government, and
transfer programs.)

The Student’s Conclusion
•

Is economic equity an important goal for our society? Explain your answer.
(Answers will vary.)

•

Should transfer payments be provided by the government? Explain your answer.
(Restate your opinion from the first paragraph.) (Answers will vary.)

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

Visual 1: Economic Equity

Economic equity
What is economic equity?
Is economic equity an important goal for our government? Explain your answer.
How is the goal of economic equity achieved?
Transfer programs
What are transfer programs?
Who are transfer programs for?
How do transfer programs address economic equity?
Taxes and transfer payments
What are taxes?
From whom are taxes collected?
How are tax monies spent?
The student’s conclusion
Is economic equity an important goal for our society?
Explain your answer.
Should transfer payments be provided by the government? Explain your answer. (Restate your opinion from
the first paragraph.)

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

Handout 1: Situation and Program Cards (page 1 of 3)

Situation

Program

The Smith family recently moved from Michigan to Ohio in
search of a job for Mr. Smith. Money is tight. The move was
expensive. The Smiths had to find an apartment, pay the
first and last month’s rent, and pay the security deposit.
They have very little money left over for food, and it seems
that this could be a problem that will last for a while.

Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program
(SNAP, a.k.a.
food stamps)

Mrs. Jackson is a widow with four children. She works, but
her wages are so low she earns only about one-third of
what most people in her city earn. She lives in a run-down,
two-bedroom apartment but was recently told she’d have
to move. Her landlord has not been making payments on
the property, and it is being foreclosed. As shabby as the
apartment is, it is cheap, and Mrs. Jackson can’t find any
place else that she can afford. She is afraid she will have to
move her family to a homeless shelter.

Low-income housing

Mr. Rocko is retiring soon, so his regular paycheck from
the company where he works will stop coming soon. He
will, however, begin to receive some income from the
government.

Social Security

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

Handout 1: Situation and Program Cards (page 2 of 3)

Situation

Program

Carmen and Jasmine are twin sisters getting ready to apply
to colleges. Next year they will be living in a dorm with
many other girls. They are about as happy and excited as
they could possibly be. However, 10 years ago they weren’t
certain they would ever be happy again. That’s when their
dad died in a car accident. Their mom couldn’t afford the
house payment, so on top of the sadness they were terribly
worried that they would have to move. Fortunately, there
was a government benefit that each of them was eligible
to receive. They were able to stay in their home.

Social Security

Sam and Elyze have three children, 1-year-old twins and a
3-year-old. Neither Sam nor Elyze has been able to get more
than a minimum-wage job and, at the moment, neither one
is working. They have contacted their state’s aid office and
have been told that they are eligible for cash payments to
get them through this rough time. However, as a requirement of the program, they will both have to commit to a
job-training program. That’s all right with them!

Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families
(TANF)

John and Mary are young parents. John is 22 and Mary is
21, and they have three children ages 1, 2, and 3. The 3year-old child does not speak yet. John and Mary are afraid
that their own lack of education may be a disadvantage to
their children and that each of their children could benefit
from starting an early-education program.

Head Start

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

Handout 1: Situation and Program Cards (page 3 of 3)

Situation

Leah has three children, and she can’t find work. She already receives Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and
she receives food stamps. However, her youngest daughter
needs to get her vaccinations, and those programs do not
help with the doctor bills.

Program

Medicaid

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

Content Standards and Benchmarks
National Standards in Economics
Standard 16: There is an economic role for government in a market economy whenever the
benefits of a government policy outweigh its costs. Governments often provide for national
defense, address environmental concerns, define and protect property rights, and attempt
to make markets more competitive. Most government policies also have direct or indirect
effects on people’s incomes.
•

Benchmark 1,Grade 4: Governments provide certain kinds of goods and
services in a market economy.

•

Benchmark 2, Grade 4: Governments pay for the goods and services they use
or provide by taxing or borrowing.

•

Benchmark 3, Grade 8: Most federal government tax revenue comes from
personal income and payroll taxes. Payments to Social Security recipients, the
costs of national defense and homeland security, medical expenditures (such as
Medicare), transfers to state and local governments, and interest payments on
the national debt constitute the bulk of federal government spending.

Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts
Speaking & Listening
•

Comprehension and Collaboration
(CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1:
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups,
and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building
on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.a: Come to discussions prepared, having read or
researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by
referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on
ideas under discussion.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.b: Follow rules for collegial discussions and decisionmaking, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define
individual roles as needed.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.c: Pose questions that connect the ideas of several
speakers and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant
evidence, observations, and ideas.

Lesson Plan

Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand

Common Core State Standards: Grades 6-12 Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science, & Technical Subjects
History/Social Studies
•

Key Ideas and Details
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a
primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct
from prior knowledge or opinions.

•

Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as
they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/
social studies.

Writing
•

Text Types and Purposes
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including
the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical
processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2.a: Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what
is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories
as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings),
graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2.b: Develop the topic with relevant, wellchosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information
and examples.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2.c: Use appropriate and varied transitions to
create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. Use
precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain
the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2.d: Establish and maintain a formal style and
objective tone.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2.e: Provide a concluding statement or section
that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.

Full text of Classroom Lesson: Scraps of Time: Abby Takes a Stand

FRASER