Lesson Name: Green Book and Jim Crow Laws
Grade: 6th grade
Time Needed: 2 hours
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to describe the differences between a primary and secondary source.
Students will be able to find and analyze primary documents to examine the experiences of African Americans on Route 66.
Students will be able to compare and contrast the varying experiences on the road.
Standards
C3 Framework and Arizona State Standards
Disciplinary skills
SP1: Chronological reasoning requires understanding processes of change and continuity over time, which means assessing similarities and differences between historical periods and between the past and present.
SP2: Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to identify, compare, and evaluate multiple perspectives about a given event to draw conclusions about that event since there are multiple points of view about events and issues.
SP3: Historians and Social Scientist gather, interpret, and use evidence to develop claims and answer historical, economic, geographical, and political questions and communicate their conclusions.
SP4: Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to analyze relationships among causes and effects and to create and support arguments using relevant evidence.
Arizona Social Studies standards
Citizens have individual rights, roles, and responsibilities
6.C2.1 Analyze the beliefs, experiences, perspectives, and values that underlie points of view regarding civic issues in the time period and regions studied.
Patterns of social and political interactions have shaped people, places, and events throughout history and continue to shape the modern world.
6.H4.1 Describe how different group identities such as racial, ethnic, class, gender, regional, and immigrant/migration status emerged and contributed to societal and regional development, characteristics, and interactions over time. (Example of the Green book)
Arizona ELA standards
6.RI.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
6.RI.7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
6.RI.8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
6.RI.9 Compare and contrast one author's presentation of events with that of another author. Text Types and Purposes
6.W.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
a. Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.
b. Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.
Materials
Whiteboards
Molly and Ruth Book
Taylor Candacy Video
Paper to take notes
Introduction Activity
To start the lesson, we will begin with a KWL Chart. We are going to write down vocabulary terms on the whiteboard. These terms will be segregation, Jim Crow, Green Book, sundown town, primary source, and secondary source. Then as a group, we will complete a KWL chart about these terms. The students will write down the information for their KWL chart on note paper so that they can have this information for the next lesson as well.
To further the introduction activity, we will show the students the Taylor Candacy film. We will have the students take notes while watching the video. They will take notes on the terms discussed when doing the KWL chart.
Activity
To begin the activity, we will introduce the literature we are going to read to the students. We will start with the book Molly’s Route 66 Adventure. Before reading the book, we will explain to the students that it is about a white family taking a trip on Route 66. We will then read them the book. Next, we will introduce the book Ruth and the Green Book. We will explain to the students that it is about an African American family taking a trip on Route 66. We will then read them the book.
After reading the books, we will complete a Venn Diagram as a group on the whiteboard. We will compare the similarities and differences between the two books. Our focus will be on the differences white and African American families faced while traveling during the Jim Crow era.
To have the students learn further about the vocabulary terms introduced with the KWL chart, we will allow the students to work individually by using the online resources provided (these resources can be found on the Route 66 website with our other lessons). Each student will use the online resource that leads them to digital copies of actual Green Books. Their job will be to find three restaurants, three hotels, and three attractions they could safely go to if they were African American traveling on Route 66 in either Kansas or Missouri. Each student will then share their findings with the group.
To close the activities, we will come together as a group and have a discussion. We will discuss what they learned from their research. We will ask them questions to further their thinking about the topic of the treatment of African Americans on Route 66.
Assessment
To assess the students on what they learned, we will come back together at the end to finish our KWL chart. We will ask them what they learned throughout the several activities.
Our Venn diagram that will be completed after reading the books will also act as an assessment. We will take pictures of each of these items to assess our students and reflect on what they learned.