Virginia SOL 1.5.d

Social Studies1st Grade

The Standard

Barrier Breakers: John Mercer Langston, Booker T. Washington, Maggie L. Walker, Barbara Johns, Arthur R. Ashe, Jr., and L. Douglas Wilder

Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students match each person with the area where that person made change, such as education, government, banking, sports, or school equality. They explain how the person challenged an unfair limit.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students connect Langston and Wilder to public office, Washington to education, Walker to banking, Johns to school equality, and Ashe to tennis. They can describe one barrier each person helped break.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think a barrier is only a wall, rather than an unfair rule, custom, or limit. They may confuse Walker with Johns or assume all six people worked in government.
How to Assess It: Give students six portraits and six achievement cards. Have them match the cards, then complete: “One barrier breaker was ___, who helped change ___.”

Lesson moves

Give pairs portrait and achievement cards to match, then sort each pair under education, government, business, sports, or school equality.
Ask, “Which person faced an unfair limit, and what did that person do to change it?”
Play a memory game by matching each name card with the correct portrait and achievement card.
Have students identify one unfair limit at school and draw a safe, respectful action that could help change it.

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