Assignment: After watching the film "Four Little Girls," students will answer the following questions in a four-paragraph essay: What challenges did African Americans face in Birmingham and how did they overcome them?
Outline for "Four Little Girls" essay
I. Introduction paragraph
a. hook the reader
b. explain the question you are answering
c. give a preview of how you will answer it (this is your THESIS sentence)
During the 1950s and 1960s, Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States. African Americans in Birmingham faced many challenges, including violence and segregation, including bombings. They overcame these challenges by using non-violent protests.
II. First body paragraph (challenges)
a. topic sentence
b. first supporting detail from film
c. explain how this detail connects to your topic sentence
d. second supporting detail from film
e. explain how this detail connects to your topic sentence
The government of Alabama presented the biggest challenge to African-Americans in Birmingham. It allowed segregation that prevented blacks from shopping, going to school and even using the same public bathrooms and drinking fountains as whites. Another problem was that many whites, including the Ku Klux Klan, used violence against blacks who spoke up for their rights. They put bombs outside houses, including the house of Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. Even though these people were not part of the government, most blacks believed that the police were sympathetic to whites. "One third of the police was active in the Klan," said Reverend Shuttlesworth in the film. And when large protests began, it was the police who used firehoses and dogs to attack the demonstrators, and it was the police who put children in jail. These are the most serious challenges that African-Americans faced.
III. Second body paragraph (how they overcame these challenges)
IV. Closing
"Four Little Girls" (teacher example)
