Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Social Justice Timeline”

In this activity, students create a timeline including both historical events described in the novel and relevant present-day events.

Dreamland Burning has story details from 1921 and story details that represent the current social climate. Create a timeline of the events in the novel to illustrate the passage of time and the changes that have been made since the 1921 massacre. For each event, provide a brief description and explain how it is connected to Dreamland Burning.

You may use the questions below to help you. You may also include other important events in the civil rights movement that are not listed below.

• When did Prohibition begin and end?
• When did Guardianship Laws begin and end?
• When was the KKK established?
• When did Jim Crow laws begin and end?
• When were schools in Tulsa desegregated?
• When were the riots in Greenwood?
• When was Trayvon Martin killed?
• When was Michael Brown killed?
• When was Laquan McDonald killed?

Be prepared to present your timeline to your classmates

Teaching Suggestion: Consider providing students with poster paper or using one of these free slide templates to achieve the look of a timeline.