Description

The students will be reading a biography about Ruby Bridges called, Ruby Bridges Goes to School, My True Story (Bridges, 2009). She is an American activist who became a symbol of the Civil Rights movement. At age six, she became amongst the youngest of a group of African American students to integrate schools in the south. She was the first black child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana in 1960. The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn about the struggles that African-American children faced in trying to get an equal education, here in the United States around the 1960's. This lesson is taught in English during the social studies block.

Content

Student Engagement/Motivation

The teacher introduces who Ruby Bridges is by asking the class if they had ever heard of her. The teacher waits for responses. If the students do not know who she was, say to the students that, today they will learn about who she was and how she impacted education in the Unites States in the 1960's by reading her story. The teacher explains to the students that they will be reading a biography by Ruby Bridges about her experience when she went to an all white school at the age of six.

Learning Targets and Criteria for Success

Learning Targets:

I can describe the contributions made by an important historical figure.

I can write an opinion and state reasons that support my opinion .

I can answer who, what, where, why, when and how questions.

I can participate in conversations and collaborate with my peers to share ideas and opinions about a topic.

Criteria for Success:

I will read a biography about Ruby Bridges with a partner to identify the contributions she made towards education in the United States of America.

I will use opinion writing to state my opinion after reading Ruby Bridges Goes to School, My True Story and describe reasons that support my opinion.

I will write a reflection to describe my viewpoint on Martin Luther King Jr. as a leader and answer whether or not  his "Dream" has come true in the United States of America.

I will answer who, what, where, why, when and how questions orally after reading Ruby Bridges Goes to School, My True Story by Ruby Bridges.

I will participate in class discussions and share ideas and opinions about Ruby Bridges and her contributions to education in the United States of America. 

Supplies/Resources

Supplies:

• Book:Ruby Bridges Goes to School, My True Story by Ruby Bridges, for each student, pairs of students to share or an individual copy (for teacher read aloud)

• Computer
• Smartboard/board
• Global Folders
• Reflection writing questions for each student, cut out into little strips for Day 1, Do You Think That Ruby Bridges Was Brave (See attachments)
• Reflection questions for each student, cut out into little strips for Day 2, Reflection MLK Day 2 (See attachments)
• Notebook paper
• Glue stick
• Pencils

Resources:

http://viewpure.com/qwb5xsRO1yc?ref=search

Learning Tasks and Practice

Day 1 (45 minutes)

1. The teacher will show the students the cover of the book and ask the students,  "Who do you think she was and what do you think she did to contribute towards education changes in the Unites States of America."
2. Students will turn and talk to a nearby classmate about their prediction of who Ruby Bridges was and what her contribution to education might be. The teacher will allow 2-3 minutes for partner discussion.
3. The teacher will get the students attention again. The students will take turns sharing their predictions to the teacher.
4. The teacher will hand out a copy of the book, Ruby Bridges Goes to School, My True Story by Ruby Bridges, to each student if available, or a copy of the book to each pair of students. (If only one copy of the book is available to the teacher, this lesson can be done as a "teacher read-aloud").
5. The students will go to a designated area chosen by the teacher, to read the story.
6. The teacher may need to read with a small group of students who are less proficient in reading in English or with ESL students.
7. After reading, the students and teacher will gather together to discuss the story. The teacher will ask the students to identify what the problem was in the story that Ruby Bridges faced. The students work in pairs to identify the problem and write it on a piece of notebook paper.
8. The students will take turns sharing with the class what they wrote on their paper to identify the problem that Ruby Bridges faced.
9.  The teacher will lead the class using these discussion questions: "What is segregation? Why did Ruby's family want her to go to the William Frantz Elementary School? What year did Ruby go to kindergarten? What did the government say about her going to this school? Describe what her first day was like when she was in 1st grade and went to the Frants school. Who was Mrs. Henry? Where did the other children from her class go? Why did they leave? What did some famous American people do in her honor? How do you think that Ruby Bridges impacted education in the Unites States for African American children and white American children?" The students will take turns responding to these questions orally with the class. The teacher will remind the students to be respectful by listening carefully to one another and not interrupt a person while he/she is speaking.
10.  The students will respond to this writing prompt at their tables or desks: Do you think Ruby Bridges was brave?What would you have done in her situation? (see attachments). The students will paste this question using a glue stick on notebook paper or writing journal and write their opinion in the form of a reflection.
11. The reflection sheet will get added to the students' Global Folder.  Student examples of their reflection are available in the attachments, Ruby Bridges Student Reflection Examples.

Day 2 (45 minutes)

1. The teacher and students will review who Ruby Bridges is and how she impacted education in the United States of America for African American children and white American children.
2. The teacher will share a video with the students about Ruby Bridges as an adult when she was interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey show on a series called, Where Are They Now? On this show (from 1996), Ruby Bridges sees Mrs. Henry (her 1st grade teacher at Frantz Elementary) for the first time as an adult. The video is available on the website link and also here (this video is 2 minutes and 8 seconds long) : http://viewpure.com/qwb5xsRO1yc?ref=search
3. After the video, the students will share their emotions or thoughts after watching this uplifting video.
4. Now the teacher will direct the students to think about who Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was. The teacher will allow the students to share their background knowledge on who he was and what he contributed to our country.
5. The teacher will show parts of this video of Martin Luther King Jr and his March in Washington D.C. when he presented his, I Have a Dream speech. The teacher will pause the video after his commentary about all black children being together with all white children in schools. This is the video: http://viewpure.com/I47Y6VHc3Ms?ref=search
6. The teacher will discuss these questions after the video: Give examples of how Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader. Has his "dream" been achieved in the United States of America? Why or why not?  Students will turn and talk to a nearby partner about his/her opinion on this topic.
7.  Students will return to his/her desk or work space to respond to this writing prompt: How was Martin Luther King Jr. a leader? Has his "dream" been achieved in the United States? Why or why not?, Reflection MLK Day 2 (see attachments). Students will paste the writing prompt paper on notebook paper or a writing journal and and write his/her opinion in the form of a reflection.
8. After the students have had a chance to write their reflection, the teacher will allow for students to share their individual written opinion.
9. The students will add their reflection sheet to their Global Folder.

Technological Engagement

On day 2, the teacher will share a video with the students about Ruby Bridges as an adult when she was interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey show on a series called, Where Are They Now? On this show (from 1996), Ruby Bridges sees Mrs. Henry (her 1st grade teacher at Frantz Elementary) for the first time as an adult.  http://viewpure.com/qwb5xsRO1yc?ref=search. The teacher will use a computer and Smartboard/board to project the video.

The teacher will also use the Smartboard/board and her computer to project part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, during the march in Washington D.C.,  when he presented his, I Have a Dream speech:  http://viewpure.com/I47Y6VHc3Ms?ref=search.

Collecting and Documenting Evidence of Learning

• Completion of a written reflection, opinion writing from Day 1 and Day 2 and added to the students' Global Folder.
• Informal observations during class discussions for student understanding of the topic and participation in discussions.

Student Self-Reflection and Action Steps

A majority of the students' written reflections agreed that Ruby Bridges was brave, and many students said that they would have gone to the "all-white" school so that they could get a better education and make friends with white children. Many students did not know who she was and were able to learn more about a historical figure who helped reform education in the 1960's.

Extended Learning Opportunities

This lesson would be a good lesson to use as a stand alone lesson in the month of January when Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is observed. Students could research more about the contributions that Martin Luther King Jr. made to help establish a more unified and less segragated country.

In addition, the teacher could use this lesson to extend learning by helping students learn about states in the United States of America that are still somewhat separated by race. Some students in states like Mississippi still go to public schools that are separated by race and attend public schools where the education for African-American and/or Hispanic/Latino is not as good as public schools where mostly white citizens attend.

Teacher Reflection of Learning

I teach in a very diverse school, and my class is multiracial. When I introduced this topic about children who were separated in schools because of the color of their skin, my students had a look of shock in their faces. They looked around the room and made comments like, "I can't imagine not being in a class with _____________ (student's name)". It brought so much joy to see that my students do not judge one another by the color of their skin but rather enjoy being in a school that serves children of all races and ethnicities.