In this second unit, students will continue to closely examine the case study of the Little Rock Nine in A Mighty Long Way. They will expand their study as they learn about the role of various mediums in telling the story of the Little Rock Nine, including the introduction and reading of another text, Little Rock Girl 1957. As students read both texts, they will focus on the question “How do various mediums shape the story?” This concept will be analyzed through an investigation of the ways in which the press at the time portrayed the Little Rock Nine. As students engage in this investigation, they will work with several primary sources.  Students will continue reading A Mighty Long Way, however for some lessons Carlotta’s story will fade into the background as the focus shifts to other texts and the broader context of the civil rights era. 

In the mid-unit assessment, students will build on the background knowledge they have gained about the civil rights movement and the Little Rock Nine as they analyze various mediums used to convey information about segregation. Students will also evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums to communicate information during this mid-unit assessment.

For the end of unit assessment, students will write an informational essay in which they use the strongest evidence from both texts to show how the various mediums illuminated a story, as well as how, at times, various mediums presented an incomplete or inaccurate picture of events, which also shaped a story.