DBQuest

The Nashville Sit-Ins

TEACHER GUIDE

Step-by-Step Instructions
Time Needed: 1-2 class periods Objectives: Students will be able to...
Materials: • Use evidence from informational texts to support
• Computers or tablets with internet analysis and answer questions.
access (external keyboard best with tablets) • Identify an author’s point of view or purpose.
• Teacher account at iCivics.org • Integrate visual information with other information
• Student usernames & passwords for in print and digital texts.
iCivics.org • Draw on several sources to generate questions that
allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
Student Handouts: • Describe the role of actors and significant events
• Glossary (1 page; class set) during the Civil Rights Movement, with a focus on
• Document Guide (3 pages; class set) non-violence.
• Reflection Activity (1 page; class set) • Assess the economic and social impact of segregation.

 Work Through the DBQuest module yourself first so you’ll be able to answer students’
questions and to determine which mode is appropriate for your students.
 Preview the teacher guide to get tips for teaching DBQuest, and look at the student
handouts to decide which ones you want to use with your class.
 Confirm that your students have iCivics.org usernames and passwords and that they
know their usernames and passwords.
 Assign the DBQuest module from your My iCivics dashboard. This lets students access
the module and lets you track their progress and get their completed work.

 Anticipate the DBQuest activity by asking students what “segregation” means. How would
they know it if they saw it? What might it look like?
 Explain to the class that they will be exploring an event where students not much
older than they are changed the rules of segregation in Nashville, Tennessee.
 Distribute the Glossary and Document Guide if you plan to use them.
 Read Bonus Document #1 (Textbook Excerpt) with the class if you plan to use it as
an introduction. Ask the supporting questions in the Teacher Guide.
 Tell students whether to choose Guided or Freeform mode. Tell the entire class or
quietly let students know as everyone is logging in.
 Direct students to log into the iCivics website and launch the DBQuest assignment
from their My iCivics page.
 Circulate to assist students, using the Guiding Prompts in the teacher guide to support
struggling students.
 Check students’ progress each day and intervene as needed.
 Read Bonus Document #2 (Lawson Interview) with the class if you want to extend
the lesson with a deeper explanation of non-violent protest.
 Close by assigning the Reflection Activity after the class has completed DBQuest and
discussing students’ answers together.

 Print or download students’ completed work. (More about this in the teacher guide.)

© 2018 iCivics, Inc. You may copy, distribute, or transmit this work for noncommercial purposes only. This copyright notice or a legally valid equivalent such as “© 2018 iCivics Inc.” shall
be included in all such copies, distributions or transmittals. All other rights reserved. Find this resource and other materials at www.iCivics.org.
DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
TEACHER GUIDE P.2

DBQuest Teaching
Basics & FAQs
Q: How can I make the most out of the DBQuest experience with my class?
A: Remember: DBQuest is not a game—it’s a tool. Make use of the supplemental printed materials
and circulate the room while students are working. This way, you can be available to prompt
students who have questions and make sure students are doing their best work in the free-
response parts of the tool. Reinforce the DBQuest experience by using the support materials
to facilitate discussions about the documents to help students further engage with the sources.
Q: What’s the difference between Guided and Freeform Mode?
A: DBQuest offers two different modes to encourage personalized learning:
• Guided Mode supports students with additional scaffolding through pre-selected evidence
options and just-in-time feedback. This helps students new to primary source analysis and to
using DBQuest.
• Freeform Mode allows students to select any piece of evidence from a source, and does not
give feedback on their selections. This allows for more creative engagement with the primary
sources for students who have greater experience with this kind of analysis.
Q: How long will it take my students to complete DBQuest?
A: There are three documents in the tool, and each document within DBQuest should take between
7 and 10 minutes. However, students may progress at a faster or slower pace.
• For students who finish early: Challenge them to think of three more questions they would
like to ask each of the sources. Ask students to investigate and create a list of 3-5 additional
documents that could help address the Big Question by providing additional evidence.
• For students who need more time: Students with internet access outside school can log in
and resume work remotely from home or from a library. Otherwise, you may need to help
students find another place where they can access the internet and finish DBQuest.
Q: How can I monitor my students’ progress?
A: On the DBQuest landing page, click “View Report” to see the class progress while they are working
on DBQuest. Once they are finished, you can print or download their work.
Q: How can I print or download my students’ completed work?
A. Reports are available through your My iCivics account or the DBQuest landing page. DBQuest
allows you to print individual student work or the work of an entire class. If you view/print the
whole class, the completed work for all your students will appear in a single .txt file. This file
will be large, so we suggest you copy and paste the contents of the .txt file into a text editing
program like Word where you can add page breaks and other formatting. Also, we highly
recommend that you wait until all students have finished before you print.
Q. Can a student re-do part or all of DBQuest? How do I receive their revised work?
A. When students open DBQuest, they can choose to start a new session or continue an incomplete
session. Inside DBQuest, students can choose to re-do the work on an individual document only
after they have completed that document. You will have access to the students’ updated version
through the My iCivics assignment, but to avoid generating another whole-class text file, have the
student save their work and share it with you in a digital format.

© 2018 iCivics, Inc.

DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
TEACHER GUIDE P.3

Supporting Students
As They Work
Guided Mode = Extra Support
If you know particular students will need extra support, consider having them choose Guided Mode.
Just be aware that even in Guided Mode, students need to think critically and make decisions about
text and evidence:
• The evidence is not designed to directly answer the questions. Students should use the “notes”
they collect from the sources to help them use supporting evidence to answer the questions in
their own words.
• There may be more pieces of acceptable evidence in the text than there are boxes available to
put evidence, so students to think critically and choose which excerpts work best for them.
• If students have trouble choosing among acceptable pieces of evidence, remind them they can
always look at the source again when it’s time to answer the question in their own words.
Let Our Guiding Prompts Help You Help Them
The tables below include guiding prompts to help you direct students to the best evidence. Use
them to prompt students who are stuck on a particular question within a source.

D ocument One : Bernie Schweid Interview T ranscript

Please note: This source may be challenging for some students due to the conversational tone and the
economic concepts used. Consider discussing the economic vocabulary and concepts beforehand.
Support Questions Use T hese Guiding Prompts
What were the retailers worried about?
ff
How does Mr. Schweid describe the boycott of the businesses?
ff
What were the businessmen afraid of?
ff
What is an example of an Suggested excerpts:
economic hardship faced
• starts to hit your pocketbook
by downtown businesses?
• pretty effective boycott
• businessmen afraid their business were going bankrupt
• Business got worse and worse
Explain that a ‘turning point’ is a time when something changes
ff
direction or course.
What was the Mayor’s response to Diane Nash?
ff
Why does Schweid think How did many of the merchants respond to the Mayor’s statement?
ff
that the Mayor’s response Suggested excerpts:
was a turning point? • “In my heart I have to say I think that’s wrong.”
• the merchants who were afraid to move on their own were almost
looking for an excuse
• “Well, if that’s what the mayor thinks, then we ought to go ahead.”
How did all the negative attention impact business?
ff
What effect did the sit-ins
Suggested excerpts:
and the boycotts have on
downtown businesses? • businessmen afraid their business were going bankrupt
• Business got worse and worse

© 2018 iCivics, Inc.

DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
D ocument T wo: Newspaper Photograph
A description of the evidence appears above the photo when students click a tagged area of the image.
Support Questions
What actions are being
taken by the African
American student
protesters?
How are the white men
at the lunch counter
responding to the protest?
How did the seated
protesters react to their
treatment?
D ocument T hree : D iane Nash Interview
Students can follow along with the transcript below the video or expand the transcript to see the entire text.
Support Questions
According to Ms. Nash,
who needed to bring about
change?
How did the students
prepare for the protests?
What impact did individual
sit-ins have on other people Suggested excerpts:
in the movement?
TEACHER GUIDE P.4
Supporting Students
As They Work
Use T hese Guiding Prompts
Which men are the protesters?
ff
What are they doing?
ff
It can be difficult to distinguish between their actions, and
ff
their reactions within this image. But reading the first and last
question should help with the difference between the two.
Suggested evidence:
 Sitting down at counter  Keeping hands on counter
Where do you see a customer directly interacting with a protester?
ff
Where are customers making contact with the protesters?
ff
Suggested evidence:
 Pulling man out of seat  Hitting protester
Are the protesters reacting as you would expect?
ff
What aren’t they doing in response to the customers’ abuse?
ff
Suggested evidence:
 Not fighting back  Not reacting  Keeping hands on counter
with T ranscript
Use T hese Guiding Prompts
Who was she around before the sit-ins started?
ff
Who actually participated in the protests?
ff
Suggested excerpts:
• people in the dormitories at school and on campus
• many of those same students
Does Ms. Nash mention any training prior to the sit-ins?
ff
Did the students visit the lunch counters before the sit-in?
ff
What did they do after they heard about the Greensboro sit in?
ff
Suggested excerpts:
• workshops  testing the lunch counters  we simply made plans
How do you know that there were other sit-ins?
ff
Does Ms. Nash describe how these sit-ins made her feel?
ff
What did she think the movement did for people?
ff
• reports of other cities joining in the sit-ins
• we started feeling the power of the idea
• bringing out things you didn’t know were there. Such as courage.
© 2018 iCivics, Inc.
DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
TEACHER GUIDE P.5

Extend the Quest

Among the handouts, you will find two Bonus Documents that are not in the DBQuest tool. Use the
handouts along with the questions/prompts below to get even more out of the DBQuest activity.

BONUS D ocument #1: T extbook Excerpt

Use this excerpt to introduce the Nashville sit-ins before students begin DBQuest.
Support Questions Use T hese Guiding Prompts
ffHow does the text explain what segregation is?
ffHow does the text describe what segregation looked like?
ffWhat happened when people didn’t follow the rules of segregation?
Describe how segregation Suggested evidence:
worked. • limiting where people could go and what people did based on the
color of their skin
• different sections for blacks and whites
• arrested, harassed, or assaulted
ff Where does the excerpt specifically mention businesses?
ff Where does the text explain the location of the sit-in?
What kind of businesses
did the protesters work to Suggested evidence:
desegregate? • segregated lunch counters
• restaurants and department store lunch counters of downtown
Nashville, Tennessee
What non-violent actions Where does the text mention specific non-violent actions?
ff
were taken by the Suggested evidence:
protesters?  Sit-ins  Boycott of downtown stores  Marched

BONUS D ocument #2: R everend J ames Lawson Interview T ranscript

Use this transcript to expand on the non-violent protests introduced by Diane Nash in DBQuest.
Support Questions Use T hese Guiding Prompts
Where does Rev. Lawson discuss goals?
ff
What did he want the business owners to see?
ff
What were the non-
violent protesters trying Suggested excerpts:
to do? • create a more just society
• show them how it could be done without violence and conflict and
without affecting their business
Where does Rev. Lawson mention respect?
ff
What role does respect Suggested excerpts:
play in nonviolence? • change that situation by continuing not only to respect your own life,
but to respect the person who’s doing the accosting
ff Another word for a business owner is merchant.
What did business owners ff Are merchants mentioned in this interview?
worry would happen if
they did desegregate? Suggested excerpts:
• there would be violence in their places

© 2018 iCivics, Inc.

DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
TEACHER GUIDE P.6

Student Handouts

© 2018 iCivics, Inc.

DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
Name:
accost – (v.) to attack; tease; confront
agitator – (n.) troublemaker
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth – the
punishment is the same as the crime
animosity – (n.) conflict; hatred
anticipate – (v.) to expect
assault – (v.) to attack
astonish – (v.) to surprise
bankrupt – (adj.) unable to pay debts and costs
associated with doing business
boycott – (v.) to stop buying or using products
from certain stores or companies
chain – (n.) group of stores with the same name
and owner (ex: McDonald’s or Walmart)
confront – (v.) to stand up to; oppose
defuse – (v.) to make less dangerous; calm down
desegregate – (v.) to stop practicing segregation
or racial separation
dignity – (n.) honor; self-respect
discriminate – (v.) to single out a group and
treat that group less favorably
economic hardship – (n.) problems caused by
not having enough money
engaged – (adj.) involved; interested
establish – (v.) to create; prove to be true
excerpt – (n.) part of a larger work or text
formulate – (v.) to develop; plan; create
harass – (v.) to bother; tease
hoods – (n.) troublemakers, usually young men
hostile – (adj.) unfriendly; hateful
immoral – (adj.) bad; wrong
infinite – (adj.) unlimited; can’t be measured
© 2018 iCivics, Inc.
Glossary
inkling – (n.) idea; hint; expectation
just – (adj.) fair; equal; based on what’s
considered right
march – (n.) organized group of people walking
to call attention to a purpose or cause
merchant – (n.) shop owner; retailer;
businessman or woman
the movement – (n.) the Civil Rights Movement
of the 1960s; in this case, specifically the
Nashville Sit-in Movement
nonviolence – (n.) practice of solving issues
peacefully and without violent action
philosophy – (n.) belief; way of thinking or
looking at the world
perspective – (n.) point of view; outlook
pocketbook – (n.) profit; the financial resources
of a person or business
protest – (v.) to object; take action against
something disagreed with
protester – (n.) person who takes action against
something they disagree with
race – n.) the idea that people are grouped by
looks and features like skin color
segregation – (n.) practice of limiting where
people can go and what people can do
based upon the color of their skin
shoulder – (v.) possess; carry; take on
sit-in – (n.) protest during which protesters
occupy seats forbidden to them and refuse
to leave
supreme – (adj.) very serious; most important
sympathetic – (adj.) in agreement with a cause
(ex: the civil rights movement)
transcript – (n.) an exact written copy that is a
word-for-word version of what was said
workshop – (n.) planning session; training
DBQuest | Glossary Handout
DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
Name:

Document Guide p.1

Bernie Schweid Interview Transcript
I don't know if And, when he was asked, I think it was by Diane
there was one Nash, “Do you really think that the merchants in
event that made town should sell things to people and then not
it sink in. What let ‘em sit at a lunch counter or try on dresses or
made it sink in whatever, this-’n’-that.” He said, well, he thought
for the retailers about it, and he said, “In my heart I have to
—those the ones
say I think that’s wrong.” And that seemed to
that I knew best
be kind of a turning point, because I think the
being a retailer
myself, and I was merchants who were afraid to move on their
on Church Street own were almost looking for an excuse for say,
then in the main “Well, if that’s what the mayor thinks, then we
part of downtown ought to go ahead.”
Nashville. When it
hits—starts to hit [...] it seems like people don’t give up stuff until
your pocketbook, they almost have to, till some supreme violence
Bernie and Adele Mills Schweid in then you realize or an economic hardship forces them to do it.
front of their downtown Nashville
"Hey, this is
bookstore. Photo: Nashville Post.
serious." And, you Interview with Bernie Schweid, conducted by
know all of a sudden there was a pretty effective Blackside, Inc. on November 5, 1985, for Eyes
on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years (1954-
boycott that the black people were having. And,
1965). Washington University Libraries, Film and
then there was some violence, blacks and some Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection.
sympathetic whites were hit over the head by
these blond-headed hoods that seemed to
come out of the sewer for such occasions and
this created a fear so that then white people
Newspaper Photograph
started to be afraid to come to shop too.

So there's a lot of fear in the air. Some of the

older blacks were afraid of some of the younger
blacks, what they were doing, they thought they
were trying to go too fast. Some of the young
ones afraid they're gonna be put in jail. And
then the whites afraid, and the businessmen
afraid their business were going bankrupt.

Business got worse and worse over this period

of the boycott, and with the violence that was
going on and everything else, there wasn't
hardly anybody coming into town. Finally, the
students had a large, maybe the largest march Source: Cooley, Vic. Agitators Attack a Sit-in
yet, where they went down and confronted Demonstrator. 1960. Nashville Public Library,
Civil Rights Collection, Nashville. (As seen in the
Mayor Ben West.
Nashville Banner, February 27, 1960). Print.
Continued...
© 2018 iCivics, Inc. DBQuest | Document Guide Handout p.1
DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
Name:

Document Guide p.2

Diane Nash Interview with Transcript

You know, we had, after—during the workshops,

we had begun what we called testing the lunch
counters. We had actually sent teams of people
into department store restaurants, to attempt
to be served, and we had anticipated that we’d
be refused, and we were. And we established
the fact that we were not able to be served, and
we asked to speak to the manager, and engaged
him in a conversation about, why not, the
fact that it really was immoral to discriminate
against people because of their skin color.

And then Christmas break had happened. And

we had intended to start the demonstrations
afterwards, and we hadn't really started up
again. So when the students in Greensboro sat-
...my goodness, I came to college to grow,
in on February 1, we simply made plans to join
and expand and here I am shut in. And in
their effort by sitting-in at the same chains that
Chicago, I had had access, at least, to public
that they sat-in at. After we had started sitting-
accommodations, and lunch counters and what
in, we were surprised and delighted to hear
have you. So, my response was, who’s trying
reports of other cities joining in the sit-ins. And
to change it, change these things. And I recall
I think we started feeling the power of the idea
talking to a number of people in the dormitories
whose time had come. Before we did the things
at school and on campus, and asking them if
that we did, we had no inkling that the—the
they knew any people who were trying to—to
movement would become as widespread as it,
bring about some type of change.
as it was.
...And then, I did talk to Paul Laprad, who told
The movement had a way of reaching inside
me about the non-violent workshops that Jim
you and bringing out things that even you
Lawson was conducting. They were taking place
didn't know were there. Such as courage. When
a couple of blocks off campus. And the reason
it—when it was time to go jail, I was much
that I said earlier that I thought the other students
too busy to be afraid. The sit-ins were really
were apathetic was that after the movement
highly charged, emotionally. I'm—I'm thinking
got started, and there was something that they
of one in particular where, in our nonviolent
could do, i.e., sit at a lunch counter, march, take
workshops, we had decided to be respectful to
part, many of those same students, who were
the opposition, and try to keep issues geared
right there, going to jail, taking part in marches,
towards desegregation, not get sidetracked.
and sit-ins, and what have you. It was that they
didn’t have a concept of what they really could
do, so when they got one, they were on fire. Source: Interview with Diane Nash, conducted by
Blackside, Inc. on November 12, 1985, for Eyes
They wanted to—a change. on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-
1965). Washington University Libraries, Film and
Continued... Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection.

© 2018 iCivics, Inc. DBQuest | Document Guide Handout p.2

DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
Name:
Textbook Excerpt
It is hard to imagine today, but less than 70
years ago many state and local laws kept people
of different races separate in almost every area
of life. Segregation was the practice of limiting
where people could go and what people did
based on the color of their skin. Public places
like restaurants, water fountains, and bus
stations were divided into different sections
for blacks and whites. If someone crossed that
imaginary line, they could be arrested, harassed,
or assaulted.
A group of black and white college students
and community leaders set their eyes on
desegregating the restaurants and department
store lunch counters of downtown Nashville,
Tennessee. They used a non-violent approach
that asked protestors to bring attention to
a problem and propose a solution, without
violence. Non-violent actions included sit-ins,
marches, boycotts, and community meetings.
The students staged sit-ins at segregated lunch
counters in February 1960. Ignored at first,
they returned again and again. Eventually, they
were harassed by white customers, beaten
and jailed by the police. The outrage in the
African American community led to a boycott of
downtown stores. Many white shoppers began
to avoid the area too. Business leaders pushed
for a solution so their customers would return.
As the violence increased, the students marched
on city hall and confronted Mayor Ben West.
After he was forced to admit that segregation
was wrong, Nashville started to desegregate.
On May 10, six downtown stores served black
customers at their lunch counters for the first
time.
Source: “Teachers | iCivics.” . iCivics, Inc., 1 May
2014. Web. 21 July 2014. <https://www.icivics.
org/teachers>.
© 2018 iCivics, Inc.
Document Guide p.3
Bonus Documents
Rev. James Lawson Interview Transcript
[...] We’re trying to
create a more just
society. And how do
you do that? Well,
you cannot do it if
you exaggerate the
animosities. Martin
Photo by Bill Preston, courtesy of
The Tennessean. King used to say all
the time if you use
the law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth, then you end up with everybody blind
and toothless, which is right. So nonviolence
had the philosophy that, when this battle is
over, we expect to be able to live side by side,
our children go to the same schools, we expect
black people to have the kinds of jobs they want
everywhere and anywhere, to live wherever
they want to live, to be what they want to be,
and that means, therefore, we have to be able
to live with one another.
Well, nonviolence in many ways was an effort
to help people see that they were of infinite
worth and dignity. [...] Now, nonviolence
suggests to you that you are at your best when
you determine that in a hostile situation, that
you can defuse and change that situation by
continuing not only to respect your own life, but
to respect the person who’s doing the accosting.
The merchants were convinced that if they
desegregated, there would be violence in their
places, so that we basically had to show them
how it could be done without violence and
conflict and without affecting their business.
And when they finally agreed to do it, and it
worked, they themselves were astonished.
Source: Interview with Rev. James Lawson,
conducted by Blackside, Inc. on December
2, 1985, for Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil
Rights Years (1954-1965). Washington University
Libraries, Film and Media Archive, Henry
Hampton Collection.
DBQuest | Document Guide Handout p.3
DBQuest
The Nashville Sit-Ins
Name:

Reflection Activity
A. Consider the Source. In each column, write at least one thing you remember about the source.
Then, share something more: What surprised you? What challenged something you thought you
already knew? Think of a reaction you had to that source and explain it.

Bernie Schweid Interview Newspaper Photograph Diane Nash Interview

Recollection: Recollection: Recollection:

Something More: Something More: Something More:

B. Get Curious. Next, put a star next to the source that raised the most questions in your mind.
On the pad below, write three questions you would ask the author, speaker, photographer, or the
people photographed if you had the chance.

Question #1: Question #2: Question #3:

© 2018 iCivics, Inc. DBQuest | Reflection Activity Handout