Amanda Labinski

Clintondale Middle School

Seventh Grade
English Language Arts
Multiculturalism/Black History Unit
Ruby Bridges group work
One Class Period
1)

Learners and Learning Environment

A)
The students participating in this lesson are very diverse, the district they
are in has a shrinking student population and most of the students come
from a lower income socioeconomic background. There are no students with
handicaps that would prevent them from moving around the room or
conversing with their classmates.
All of the students this lesson is designed for are at the required level and
will be able to actively participate in cooperative group discussion with their
classmates.
B) Materials and Digital Tools Needed
The movie has already been watched and the correlating book has already
been read. For this assignment students will need a pen and some paper to
brainstorm with their groups.
Students will be provided with a different colored marker to write their
responses on the poster board.
A timer, in this case on the teachers phone or a program on the computer
can/will be used to alert students so they know when it is time to move on to
the next question. A 1-2 minute warning will be given.

2)

Outcomes and Assessment

A) State Standards and Learning Outcomes - Learning Goals

 Students will be working in randomized cooperating groups with other

students for a common purpose, critically thinking about the text and film
and drawing similarities between the two to answer predetermined questions
about Ruby Bridges life and segregation/integration.
(CCSS. RI.7.1) Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text.

(CCSS.W.7.2d) Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a

topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection,
organization, and analysis of relevant content. Use precise language and
domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

(CCSS.W.7.4) Produce clear and coherent writing in which

the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose,
and audience.

(CCSS.W.7.7 & 9) (7) Conduct short research projects to answer

a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related,
focused questions for further research and investigation. (9b) Draw
evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literary nonfiction.

B) Assessment and Evaluation

Students will prove what they have learned about the text/movie by the
answers they provide within their groups. The poster boards will be signed
by the students using their team name so an appropriate grade can be given
based on answers agreed upon by the whole group.
3)

Instructional Practices

A) Introduction: Students will already have been introduced to the lesson and
given the following questions.

Write down your thoughts about segregation.

Describe Rubys teacher, Mrs. Henry.
Write down your thoughts about integration.
Write details about Ruby Bridges 1st day at William Frantz.
Write down what protesters were doing/saying when Ruby was walking into
her new school.

B) Instructional Procedure:
The students are already familiar with the text/film and will be required to
use their understanding of segregation/integration and Ruby Bridges life to
complete the group work which focuses on proving that they understand
complex political thought during the integration of American schools.
They will use their prior knowledge to recall facts from the book/film to
connect their assignment with their resources.
They will critically think about the way the book/movie made them feel and
use these emotions to answer questions about integration and segregation.
I will be rotating around the classroom and visiting with the groups as they
answer questions and move from one question to the next. They will also
know that they can ask questions if they need help with sentence structure
or clarification.
C) Technology as a Tool:
A cell phone timer will be used so groups know how much time they have
left to finish a certain question.
The overhead projector with be on and displaying the definitions for the
words segregation, integration, and diversity.

D) Closure- Students Summarizing and Synthesizing Their Learning

 The closure of this lesson will consist of a short discussion and an

introduction to the essay and culture box, which will be the next assignments
in the Multicultural unit.
4) References and Resources
Bridges, Ruby. (1999). Through My Eyes. New York. Scholastic Publishing.
Producer, Hopkins, Anne. (Producer) & Director, Palcy, Euzhan (Director)(1998).
Ruby Bridges. (Motion Picture) United States. Disney.
5)

Professional Responsibilities and Teaching Reflection

Portions of the lesson that worked well included the group work itself. The majority
of students worked well with each other and got their task done before getting or
being a distraction to other groups. After the assignment was done about 90% of
the students said that they enjoyed working on a group assignment like this one.
The rotating around the classroom also worked well, no one got confused and
everyone moved around without a problem.
The portion of the lesson that did not go as well as planned was having the cell
phone as a timer. It was distracting and took away from interacting with students
because I kept checking how much time was left.
Next time something like this happens I would look into different options for a timer
so I do not have to keep looking at the phone.
The questions were all answered generally correctly. The biggest problem that
arose was the apparent need for a grammar lesson. Many students were not
capitalizing proper nouns, first words of sentences, and did not know where to put
commas and periods.
The problem that is outlined above is one of the reasons that between the end of
this unit and the next there is going to be a grammar lesson. The students need a
refresher on proper sentence structure and punctuation. They would also benefit

from more essay assignments, to get them used to writing longer works, instead of
just a few sentences for each box on a worksheet.