Lesson

Ruth and the Green Book

Lesson Overview

This lesson introduces students to the difficulties faced by African Americans during the middle twentieth century. Using the book Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, students learn about “safe spaces” available to African Americans as they traveled in the United States. Student learning is enhanced by translating textual clues in the story onto a road map of the United States. This lesson is designed as a geography, history, and reading combination for grade 5 and is adaptable for middle level instruction.  The student will construct a map from textual clues and assess whether the best travel route was selected.
 

Duration
Multiple days
Lesson Type
Project Based Lesson

Essential Question

Determine the impact of discriminatory laws on the United States socially, politically and economically.
 

Grade(s):

Subject(s):

Other Instructional Materials or Notes:

3, 5

Transparency sheets
Dry erase markers
Tape

You can check out Ruth and the Green Book from your school or local county library.
If you are not able to access the book from your school or county library you can access the book via the betterlesson.com website.  You will need to create an account in order to download the book.   

Where to find free travel brochure templates

  1. Instruct students to go to https://www.canva.com/create/brochures/
    • Students can create an account with their Google account.
  2. Students can also access free accounts at Lucidpress
  3. Students can use free online templates from Microsoft Office

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Lesson Created By: SharlaBrown, Jerry T. Mitchell, Larianne Collins

Lesson Partners: South Carolina Geographic Alliance