Now Let Me Fly --
A Black History Reader's Theater Script
Subjects
Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
--Literature
Social Studies
--Civics
--History
----U.S. History
Grade
3-5
6-8
9-12
Advanced
Brief Description
Celebrate Black History Month by staging a classroom reading of this play.
Objectives
Students
learn about African American history by performing a Reader's Theater script.
gain a different perspective about African American history that only the arts/a script such as this can afford.
learn about the history of Jim Crow laws and "separate but equal" statutes, the Brown v. Board decision, and other important concepts/events in Black history.
Keywords
Black History Month, African American, play, Reader's Theater, script, Now Let Me Fly, Jim Crow, Brown v. Board, separate but equal, Marcia Cebulska
Materials Needed
copies of the Now Let Me Fly Reader's Theater script (link provided below)
Lesson Plan
The Supreme Court's 1958 decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka stands as a landmark decision in the history of the United States. But the decision made in Brown v. Board was not one that came out of the blue. It was the culmination of decades of oppression; countless incidents of people who recognized and courageously stood up to the fact that "separate but equal" statutes were not working; and many years of unsuccessful court challenges. The Brown v. Board decision is brought to life beautifully and powerfully in Marcia Cebulska's play Now Let Me Fly. The Now Let Me Fly script is available online, and you can use it to create a wonderful Reader's Theater experience in your classroom -- during Black History Month or any time of year. The script is available in three versions:
Easier Youth Version -- suitable for elementary school audiences, special education classes, classroom readings with young student actors, and those needing an abbreviated version
Youth Version -- recommended for middle and high school students
Full Version - for community productions (include some powerful language that might be considered sensitive or controversial)
We have been in contact with the author, and the script is still available (2006) free of charge for classroom use.
About the Play
It is 1950 and Thurgood Marshall is exuberant in his enthusiasm to fly in the face of tradition and overthrow the United States Supreme Court doctrine of "Separate But Equal." But when the ghost of his mentor, Charles Houston, visits him, he is stricken with doubt. Houston takes Marshall on a journey, looking in on the lives and losses of the men and women working in the grassroots struggle against segregation. Together they visit places such as Washington D.C.; Farmville, Virginia; Hockessin, Delaware; Somerton, South Carolina; and Topeka, Kansas. They collect the thumbprints of the ordinary people who became activists in all five of the cases that went to the Supreme Court. Together, the thumbprints form a picture of determination, dignity, and success. Now Let Me Fly is the story of the unsung heroes and heroines behind the struggle to end legalized segregation in America.
The Script Now Let Me Fly makes an excellent culminating activity to your students' study of Black history. To access the script, go to the script author's Download Everything You Need page.
Assessment
You might ask students to reflect in their journals about the experience of reading this play. What did they learn? How did reading the play help them to see our nation's history in a different perspective that they might not otherwise have had?
FINE ARTS: Theatre GRADES K - 4 NA-T.K-4.5 Researching By Finding Information to Support Classroom Dramatizations NA-T.K-4.7 Analyzing and Explaining Personal Preferences and Constructing Meanings from Classroom Dramatizations and from Theatre, Film, Television, and Electronic Media Productions NA-T.K-4.8 Understanding Context by Recognizing the Role of Theatre, Film, Television, and Electronic Media in Daily Life GRADES 5 - 8 NA-T.5-8.5 Researching By Finding Information to Support Classroom Dramatizations NA-T.5-8.7 Analyzing and Explaining Personal Preferences and Constructing Meanings from Classroom Dramatizations and from Theatre, Film, Television, and Electronic Media Productions NA-T.5-8.8 Understanding Context by Recognizing the Role of Theatre, Film, Television, and Electronic Media in Daily Life GRADES 9 - 12 NA-T.9-12.5 Researching By Finding Information to Support Classroom Dramatizations NA-T.9-12.7 Analyzing and Explaining Personal Preferences and Constructing Meanings from Classroom Dramatizations and from Theatre, Film, Television, and Electronic Media Productions NA-T.9-12.8 Understanding Context by Recognizing the Role
of Theatre, Film, Television, and Electronic Media in Daily Life
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Civics GRADES K - 4 NSS-C.K-4.2 Values and Principles of Democracy NSS-C.K-4.5 Roles of the Citizen GRADES 5 - 8 NSS-C.5-8.2 Foundations of the American Political System NSS-C.5-8.5 Roles of the Citizen GRADES 9 - 12 NSS-C.9-12.2 Foundations of the Political System NSS-C.9-12.5 Roles of the Citizen
SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History GRADES K - 4 NSS-USH.K-4.1 Living and Working together in Families and Communities, Now and Long Ago NSS-USH.K-4.2 The History of Students' Own State or Region NSS-USH.K-4.3 The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage GRADES 5 - 12 NSS-USH.5-12.5 Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877) NSS-USH.5-12.6 Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900) NSS-USH.5-12.7 Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930) NSS-USH.5-12.8 Era 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945) NSS-USH.5-12.9 Era 9: Postwar United States (1945
to early 1970s)
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Now Let Me Fly --