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Thurgood Marshall Makes a Difference

Thurgood Marshall Makes a Difference

Thurgood Marshall profoundly impacted the lives of many people, especially Black Americans. Students will learn about his life and accomplishments and create a diorama about him.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Heavy Paper
  • Recycled Cardboard
  • Tape

Steps

  • Step 1

    Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist. He was the first African American justice to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1967-1991). Have students learn about his life and notable accomplishments, which included leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, winning the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, and playing a significant role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

  • Step 2

    Ask students to create a diorama depicting Thurgood Marshall and one or more of his accomplishments. They can use a recycled cardboard box as the base and make embellishments by cutting out and illustrating parts of the box or heavy paper. They can extend the diorama by creating a large portrait of Marshall and taping it to the front of the box.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their dioramas and discuss the important achievements of Thurgood Marshall.

Standards

SS: Time, Continuity, and Change: Analyze the causes and consequences of past events and developments, and place these in the context of the institutions, values and beliefs of the period in which they took place. 

SS: Power, Authority, and Governance: Develop awareness of rights and responsibilities of people, in specific contexts.

Adaptations

Thurgood Marshall fought to end Jim Crow segregation. Have students investigate Jim Crow laws. When and where were they enacted? What were some of the restrictions enforced by these laws? How was "grandfathering" used to allow illiterate white citizens to vote while preventing literate Black citizens from voting? 

Have students investigate the origin of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), the largest and oldest civil rights group in the U.S. Who were its founders? What is its mission? What are some of its current programs?