Grade: 1-6Subject: English Language Arts, Social Studies, U.S. History
Number of Activities: 2
For Filipino-American farm workers in California, working and living conditions were very poor. They were paid extremely low wages, discrimination prevented many workers from having families, and they were not protected if they became hurt or sick on the job. By the 1960s, worsening conditions encouraged Filipino farm workers to participate in social activism in order to demand greater justice. Led by Larry Itliong, Filipino workers partnered with Cesar Chavez and Mexican-American workers to overcome unfair treatment. Together they formed the United Farm Workers Movement that ultimately improved working conditions for all farm workers.
Students will be able to:
- Describe how Asian Americans worked with different groups of people to build a coalition and the outcomes of such coalitions
- Explain how Asian Americans used activism to overcome unfair treatment during this time period (1960s)
- Identify ways in which Asian Americans were being treated unjustly during this time period (1960s).
- Identify the goals of social activism and explain the difference between being a bystander, an ally, and an accomplice.
During the 1960s, Asian Americans sought justice against discrimination and negative treatment in the United States through
social activism. Through
protests, Asian Americans worked together with people from different racial and ethnic groups towards a common purpose. An important example of Asian American activism and coalition building was Filipinos’ leadership and participation in the farmworkers’ movement.
The Filipino farmworkers were mostly men and known as “manongs,” which is a term of respect for elderly Filipino men. Filipinos had been discriminated against since they first immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s. For example, they were not allowed to live in most neighborhoods or marry white women. Filipino farmworkers had been laboring under terrible conditions for decades before the farmworkers movement. They worked long hours in dusty fields that made it hard for them to breathe and caused health problems. Health benefits were not provided, and they were paid little money with very few breaks. They did not have a union to help them demand for better conditions and rights. The manongs wanted increased wages and better treatment, but were ignored.
Larry Itliong, a central leader of the farmworkers movement, was a Filipino farmworker who had been organizing laborers for years throughout the west coast. In the summer of 1965 in Delano, California , he saw a great opportunity to fight for better working conditions and organized the manongs to strike against the farm owners. This meant that they would stop working until the owners listened to their demands for more rights. While they were on strike, Mexican American farmworkers were laboring on these same farms under terrible treatment. Separately, they organized under the leadership of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, and were not planning to go on
strike as the Filipinos did. Itliong recognized that if Filipinos did not work in solidarity with Mexican Americans, all farmworkers would not be able to gain better wages and more fair treatment. He saw the importance of working together across racial differences to achieve common goals. Thus, Itliong persuaded Cesar Chavez to form a coalition to strike for better working conditions. Together, they created the United Farm Workers
Union and led a grape
boycott that spread nationwide. Many Americans around the U.S. and the world heard about the boycott and joined in to show solidarity with the farmworkers. In the end, this
coalition of Filipinos and Mexican Americans achieved better conditions for all farmworkers.The joint effort of these activists is a reminder of the justice and progress that is possible when people can come together to take action.
- Boycott: a type of protest when people refuse to buy certain products in order to demand a change
- Coalition: when different groups come together as one organization for a common purpose
- Protest: a way to show action for certain belief or changes
- Social Activism: organized action to bring about social change such as better pay, improved working and living conditions, voting rights, etc.
- Strike: a protest where people stop working to force an employer to meet their demands
- Union: an organization created to protect workers’ rights; also known as a labor union
- How were Filipino farmworkers treated unfairly?
- How did Filipino farmworkers try to change this unfair treatment?
- Why might it have been a difficult decision to go on strike?
- Why was it important for the United Farm Workers Union to be united?
Activity 1:
Analyzing Causes and Effects
Have students work in pairs. Give each pair a sheet of paper and title it “Analyzing Causes and Effects.” Then have them create a T-chart and title the left column “Causes” and the right column “Effects.”
Explain how all actions have causes and effects and that they will learn about this concept by using the information they learned about the Filipino farmworkers.
Have students complete their T-chart by answering the following questions. They may write as many different answers to the questions as they like.
CAUSE: In the Cause column, have students answer:
- How were Filipino American farmworkers treated unfairly?
EFFECT: In the Effect column, have students answer:
- What did the farmworkers do about this unfair treatment?
- What happened as a result of their actions?
Convene as a whole group and facilitate a discussion by reviewing the questions that were posed.
Activity 2: Activism Role Play
Divide students up into groups of four.
Have each group research or think about a social problem that needs to be solved or fixed. It can be a local or global issue. You may provide some examples or facilitate a classroom discussion to brainstorm ideas for consideration.
Instruct small groups to brainstorm a plan to get the problem solved and write their ideas on a sheet of paper.
Each group will demonstrate their ideas by presenting them to the class or acting them out in front of the whole class.
Facilitate a discussion by asking them these questions:
- What did you learn from the video clip when considering ideas to fix your selected problem?
- How can you apply what Filipino farmworkers did to what you might want to change in the future?
- The farmworkers in the video clip worked together to achieve change. How can you work with others to support your goal(s)?
California Common Core Standards Addressed
Social Studies C3 Framework:
D2.Civ.14.3-5.
Illustrate historical and contemporary means of changing society.
D2.Civ.6.3-5.
Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families
D2.Civ.8.3-5.
Identify core civic virtues and democratic principles that guide government, society, and communities.
D2.His.3.K-2.
Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped a significant historical change.
D2.His.3.3-5
Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped a significant historical change.
D2.His.5.3-5.
Explain connections among historical contexts and people’s perspectives at the time.
D2.His.14.K-2.
Generate possible reasons for an event or development in the past.
D2.His.14.3-5.
Explain probable causes d effects of events and developments
D4.6.3-5.
Draw on disciplinary concepts to explain the challenges people have faced and opportunities they have created, in addressing local, regional, and global problems at various times and places.
D4.7.3-5.
Explain different strategies and approaches students and other could take in working alone and together to address local, regional, and global problems, and predict possible results of their actions.
Common Core:
Grade 1:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.2
Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.8
With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.2
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
CSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.3
Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.4
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.5
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
Grade 2:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.2
Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.2
Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.3
Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.4
Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.
Grade 3:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.2
Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.3
Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.4
Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
Grade 4:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2
Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.8
Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.2
Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.3
Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.4
Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5
Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Grade 5:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.8
Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.2
Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.3
Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.4
Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Grade 6:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.1.
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.7.
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1.c.
Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.2.
Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.