AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Discussion Questions,Role Play, and Vocabulary Review
By Laura Greenwald, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC

Objective:
This lesson plan focuses on the affirmative action debate in America. After examining both sides of the issue by listening to the NewsHour report on Affirmative Action, students will debate the pros and cons of affirmative action. In a small group role play, students will act as university admissions officers, making recommendations on admissions policy. Will they consider diversity an important goal? Through analysis of the current debate on affirmative action, students will develop their critical thinking and debating skills. This lesson consists of four parts, which can be used separately or together:

• Warm-up Activity: What is affirmative action?: Students will become familiar with the topic by researching affirmative action on the Internet. Outside links are provided.
  
• Understanding Main Themes: After listening to the NewsHour report, students will discuss the main themes as well as compare and contrast attitudes of interviewees. Compare and contrast viewpoints: A classroom or homework option centers on the interviewees' perspectives.
• Vocabulary Multiple Choice: Students will review vocabulary from the report and use the words in their own sentences.
• Role Play: Admissions Officers Outline University Policy: In the small group role play, students will debate the pros and cons of an affirmative action policy. They will examine policy alternatives and present recommended actions for their university.

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (December 3, 2002): Affirmative Action
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec02/action_12-03.html

Correlations to National Standards

Warm-up Activity-What is affirmative action?:

Procedure: Before students watch the NewsHour report on affirmative action, they should conduct background research on the history of affirmative action. The teacher can provide supplemental materials and/or Internet links before the lesson. A few helpful Web site links are provided below. Students may also review older NewsHour reports on affirmative action.

Websites resources:

The Supreme Court

University of Michigan Law School

The Center for Individual Rights

American Association for Affirmative Action

Opening Questions (before listening to the report)

1. What is affirmative action? What is diversity? How do they differ?

2. Do you think diversity is important in education? Explain.

3. Would you consider diversity when applying to college? Why or why not?

Understanding Main Themes - Viewing Activities for Affirmative Action

Procedure: Each student should receive a handout with the discussion questions. First, place students in small discussion groups so they can share ideas about the main themes, compare and contrast attitudes, and express opinions on key issues. Students should write short answers to the discussion questions based on the small group interaction. Then, moderate a larger discussion.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the affirmative action cases that will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. What issues are at stake?

2. What is Dean Lehman's rationale for maintaining the affirmative action policy at the University of Michigan?

3. Summarize the main points of the 1978 Supreme Court case -- the Bakke Decision.

4. Compare and contrast the views of Terence Pell and Christopher Edley regarding affirmative action and the potential impact on society.

Compare and Contrast Viewpoints - Classroom or Homework Assignment: Question #4 can be assigned as homework. Ask students to summarize the arguments presented by Terence Pell and Christopher Edley. Which arguments do they find the most convincing and why? At the next class meeting, students can exchange their summaries with a partner. If this activity is completed in class, discussion teams may focus primarily on one interviewee's perspective and report their analyses back to the class.

Vocabulary Review

Procedure: The vocabulary task may precede or follow the viewing of the NewsHour report. Pass out the handout. In this exercise, ask students to read the excerpts from Affirmative Action (students may work in pairs). For each excerpt, students should choose the best synonym for the underlined vocabulary word. Then, students should write sample sentences for each vocabulary word.

Vocabulary Multiple Choice/Sample Sentences: Read the following excerpts from the NewsHour report. Choose the best synonym for the underlined vocabulary words/expressions. Then, write your own sentences using the underlined vocabulary words.

1. RAY SUAREZ "To bolster its argument, the university cited a landmark Supreme Court case from 1978, known as the Bakke Decision."

bolster
a. reinforce
b. weaken
c. convince

landmark
a. controversial
b. groundbreaking
c. trivial

Sample sentences:

bolster:

landmark:

2. JEFFREY LEHMAN: "It's not a colorblind society. Opportunity is not distributed without regard to race. And therefore in order to have a racially integrated student body, it is necessary to pay attention to race in the admissions process."

a. biased
b. unprejudiced
c. intolerant

Sample sentence:

3. RAY SUAREZ: "Grutter sued Michigan, and a federal judge last year deemed the school's consideration of race unconstitutional."

a. interrupted
b. reversed
c. judged

Sample sentence:

4. RAY SUAREZ: "The second case involves Jennifer Gratz. She applied to the university's undergraduate campus at Ann Arbor in '95. Gratz was waitlisted."

a. admitted
b. rejected
c. placed on a waiting list for admittance

Sample sentence:

5. RAY SUAREZ: "On one hand, the Court deemed illegal a quota system-- saving a preset number of slots for minorities. On the other hand, it endorsed racial diversity as a 'compelling government interest.'"

a. inconclusive
b. forceful or persuasive
c. diminishing

Sample sentence:

6. TERENCE PELL: "We think that there may be reasons for the state sometimes to prefer applicants on the basis of race but diversity is just simply too amorphous a goal to license the state to be picking and choosing on the basis of skin color."

a. realistic
b. vague
c. detailed

Sample sentence:

7. CHRISTOPHER EDLEY: "And by no means is California or the flagship institutions serving a reasonable proportion of Latinos in particular, which is of course an extremely fast growing component of the population in California."

a. leading
b. second-rate
c. rescued

Sample sentence:

Role Play: University Admissions Board

Procedure: Place students in small groups for the role play, in which students will represent admissions officers of a university. Ask students to examine focus questions. Students should make at least three policy recommendations addressing key issues raised in the focus questions. You may require students to write responses to the focus questions as a classroom or homework assignment. Finally, join all "Admissions Boards" together for a class discussion/debate on the focus questions and policy recommendations.

Focus Questions

1. What qualities should your university look for in applicants?

2. Should race be considered a key factor in your admissions policy? Explain.

3. Make three recommendations regarding inclusion or exclusion of an affirmative action policy at your university. If you include an affirmative action policy, how will your policy be implemented?

Correlations to National Standards:

MCREL United States History- Standard 31
*Understands economic, social, and cultural developments in the
contemporary United States

MCREL United States History- Standard 31, Level IV
*Understands major contemporary social issues and the groups involved
(e.g., the current debate over affirmative action and to what degree
affirmative action policies have reached their goal).

MCREL Thinking and Reasoning Standards

*Standard 1-Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument
*Standard 2-Understands and applies basic principles of logic and reasoning
*Standard 4-Understands and applies basic principles of hypothesis testing and scientific inquiry
*Standard 5-Applies basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques
*Standard 6-Applies decision-making techniques

MCREL Life Skills, Working with Others Standards:

*Standard 1-Contributes to the overall effort of the group
*Standard 4 -Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
*Standard 5 - Demonstrates leadership skills

Author Laura Greenwald teaches English for International Relations at The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC. She has a Master's Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a Master's Degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University SAIS. She has a B.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University.

To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org