Weekly Goal: Weekly Goal: Students will be able to retell a story by sharing a story's events in
chronological order.
Student-friendly Weekly Goal: I can retell a story from beginning to end.
Anchor Text Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story by Ruby Bridges
Vocabulary
Civil rights movement: a mass protest across the United States against racial
segregation and discrimination
Courage: the ability to do something difficult or frightening
Discrimination: the act of treating some people worse than others because of
prejudice
Inequality: the quality of not being equal or not having the same rights
Equal: the same or alike
Justice: fairness for all people or everyone being treated the same
Injustice: the lack of fairness or people not being treated the same
Integration: the end of the separation of races or people who are African American
or Black, White, Latino, and Asian people being able to come together
Prejudice: an opinion that is formed without knowing or considering all the facts or
opinions people formed without having all the information they need
Race: a way of characterizing people with similar experiences and physical traits;
examples include African Americans, Black, White, Latino, and Asian people
Racism: unfair treatment of people based on the opinion that one race is better than
another race or races
Separate: kept apart
Separate but equal: a legal term that was part of a Supreme Court ruling. The ruling
said it was legal to separate groups of people as long as they were treated the same
way in their separate areas
Unfair: to be unkind to a person or to treat one person better than the another
person
Objectives Students will be able to use book's characters, illustrations, and texts to retell the events of
the book.
Students will be able to use book's characters, illustrations, and texts to define the word
unfair or the word injustice.
Students will be able to use the book's characters, illustrations, and texts to describe how to
take action against unfairness and injustices.
Type of Read Nonfiction
Main Idea of Text Ruby Bridges was one of the first African-American children to integrate schools in the
South. When she attended an all-white school in 1960, Ruby Bridges had to be courageous
in order to overcome society's racism and prejudice.
Questions: Who are the characters in the book?
Who is the book's main character?
What did the book's main character do?
Was the main character treated fairly or unfairly?
How did the main character respond to be treated unfairly?
How did people respond to the main character's actions?
Before Reading (5 Today, we are going to read a new book: Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story by
mins) Ruby Bridges. This story is about Ruby Bridges, who helped change the world as a little girl.
Ruby Bridges is the book's main character. Remember a character can be a person who
plays a part in the story.
Ruby Bridges is African-American. In 1960, she was one of the first African-Americans to go
to an all-white school. Her actions helped bring children of all races together. She helped to
make it OK for Latinos, Blacks, Whites, Asians, and others to go to school together and learn
side by side.
When we read today, I want you to pay attention to the book's main character, Ruby
Bridges. I want you to pay close attention to what happens to Ruby Bridges and how she
responds. I want you to imagine you're Ruby Bridges and think about how you would feel
and how you would react.
During Reading During the read aloud, I will pause to review the following vocabulary words as they come
up in the book:
Civil rights movement: a mass protest across the United States against racial
segregation and discrimination
Courage: the ability to do something difficult or frightening
Discrimination: the act of treating some people worse than others because of
prejudice
Inequality: the quality of not being equal or not having the same rights
Equal: the same or alike
Justice: fairness for all people or everyone being treated the same
Injustice: the lack of fairness or people not being treated the same
Integration: the end of the separation of races or people who are African American
or Black, White, Latino, and Asian people being able to come together
Prejudice: an opinion that is formed without knowing or considering all the facts or
opinions people formed without having all the information they need
Race: a way of characterizing people with similar experiences and physical traits;
examples include African Americans, Black, White, Latino, and Asian people
Racism: unfair treatment of people based on the opinion that one race is better than
another race or races
Separate: kept apart
Separate but equal: a legal term that was part of a Supreme Court ruling. The ruling
said it was legal to separate groups of people as long as they were treated the same
way in their separate areas
Unfair: to be unkind to a person or to treat one person better than the another
As I review the vocabulary, I will take a moment to summarize the events of the book up to
the point where I have read. My summary will clearly highlight the injustice featured in the
book. Once I have completed my summary, I will take time to ask my students a few
questions. Who is the main character? What do you think about the main character? What
they think about what is happening in the book? How do you feel about what is happening
in the book? Do they think it is OK? Do you think it is unfair? How would you react if you
were in a similar situation?
After Reading After I have read the book, I will summarize the book. My summary will highlight the book's
main themes of injustice and courage. Once I have summarized the book, I will enter a
broader conversation with my students on the topic of injustice. I will ask them for examples
of injustices and I will ask them for examples of how we can challenge injustices. During our
discussion, I will reference the book we read and note how the book's main character
responded to an injustice.
In addition, my students will paint in illustrations of Ruby Bridges for classroom gallery. As
my students paint the illustrations, I will review the book's characters, vocabulary words,
and themes with each of my students individually to help prepare them to present their
artwork during a gallery walk. The gallery walk will allow my students to share what they
learned about injustice with teachers and other students.
Following the gallery walk, my students and I will have a broader discussion about injustice.
During our discussion, I will ask my students to give me examples of injustices and I will ask
them to provide me with examples of how we can challenge the injustices.
