Capturing the Unseen: Unveiling the Role of Women Activists in the Greensboro Sit-Ins through Historical Inquiry

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Capturing the Unseen: Unveiling the Role of Women Activists in the Greensboro Sit-Ins through Historical Inquiry
Language: English
Authors: Ryan E. Hughes, Kathelene McCarty Smith, Patrick Dollar, Lauryn Peten
Source: Social Studies and the Young Learner. 2025 38(2):14-20.
Availability: National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 Sixteenth Street #500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 800-683-0812; Tel: 301-588-1800; Fax: 301-588-2049; e-mail: membership@ncss.org; Web site: http://www.socialstudies.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 7
Publication Date: 2025
Intended Audience: Teachers
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Grade 4
Intermediate Grades
Descriptors: Grade 4, Activism, United States History, Inquiry, Civil Rights, Social Justice, Elementary Education, Local History, Females, African Americans, Racism
Geographic Terms: North Carolina (Greensboro)
ISSN: 1056-0300
Abstract: This article presents a historical inquiry designed to teach fourth-grade students how to develop counternarratives that challenge prevailing, and often-simplified, accounts of the 1960 Greensboro Sit-Ins, a pivotal civil rights event. Inspired by college-level classes, an elementary social studies teacher educator and two university archivists tailored the inquiry for elementary teachers who want to explore this historical event and consider alternative perspectives. To this end, the authors developed a five-phase inquiry to investigate "Who planned and carried out the Greensboro Sit-Ins of 1960?" While this inquiry focuses on the Greensboro Sit-Ins, the framework is flexible for other civil rights topics or social movements. Educators can guide students in local histories, incorporating Learning for Justice principles--helping students reveal untold stories and challenge dominant narratives.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2025
Access URL: https://www.socialstudies.org/social-studies-and-young-learner/38/2
Accession Number: EJ1489849
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:This article presents a historical inquiry designed to teach fourth-grade students how to develop counternarratives that challenge prevailing, and often-simplified, accounts of the 1960 Greensboro Sit-Ins, a pivotal civil rights event. Inspired by college-level classes, an elementary social studies teacher educator and two university archivists tailored the inquiry for elementary teachers who want to explore this historical event and consider alternative perspectives. To this end, the authors developed a five-phase inquiry to investigate "Who planned and carried out the Greensboro Sit-Ins of 1960?" While this inquiry focuses on the Greensboro Sit-Ins, the framework is flexible for other civil rights topics or social movements. Educators can guide students in local histories, incorporating Learning for Justice principles--helping students reveal untold stories and challenge dominant narratives.
ISSN:1056-0300