KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate:
Group Size:

20

Erin Miller______

Allotted Time _60

Date:

2/15/17
Grade Level

Topic: ______Using and Analyzing Primary Sources____

Standards:
D2.His.13.3-5: Use information about a historical source, including the
maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose to judge the
extent to which the source is useful for studying a particular topic.
I.

Objectives:
a. The fourth grade students will judge the extent to which Green
Book is useful for studying the safety of African American travels
and for making assumptions about culture during the 1950s by
analyzing and reflecting on a travel route scenario provided by
the teacher.

II.

Instructional Materials
a. 1 Copy of Ruth and the Green Book
b. Multiple recent travel documents 5-8 (2014 or newer)
c. Reflection page (attached)
d. PDF of Green Book
e. 2 computer per work group
f. Webquest Website
i. http://ruthandthegreenbookwebquest.weebly.com/
g. Pencils
h. Green Book Graphic Organizer (attached)
i. Travel Route Map Website
i. https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?
mid=zq5v1rFVTuA8.k40X0VM3oLOk&usp=sharing

III.

Subject Matter:
a. Outline of new Content

i. Ruth and her family decide to go on a trip to visit their

Grandma. As they travel, they start to notice that
wherever they stop, many shops are refusing to service
them since they are African American. After many days of
struggling, a friend of Ruths Dad tells them about the
Green Book. This book tells them all the shops and
services that welcome African Americans. Once they have
the book, the familys travels become much easier.
ii. Segregation occurred through all of the United States for
many years, so African Americans were only allowed in
designated black buildings and stores.
iii. Entering an areas that were not designated as black
would mean that the persons safety was in question or the
employees would refuse to service the customer.
iv. The Green Book aka the Negro Motorist Green Book was
a way for African Americans to travel safely through the
Unites States, Bermuda, Mexico and Canada, labeling
businesses and other locations that serviced African
American and hence could safely be used. It included
hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and businesses that
would serve African Americans.
v. The Green Book was written by an African American living
in New York named Victory Green.
vi. Information learned directly from the Green Book
1. Primary sources provide insight into cultural aspects
of the time they were used
2. Segregation was not located in just one are of
America or even the world, but was included in all of
the United States, Bermuda, Mexico, and Canada.
3. It provides insight into which cities included many
location that welcomed African Americans and hence
were more welcoming to them. It also shows the
areas that these businesses are located, which may
show that only a specific area of a city may be extra
welcoming to African Americans. It also shows that
there are expanses of the United States that may not
have had any areas that would service African
Americans.
4. Other topics that book revealsLocations with more
businesses listed may be larger cities, locations with
less may have been more rural and did not have
many businesses in general.
vii. New Vocabulary
1. Primary Source: Documents or accounts by people
that were written/used/involved in the time in
question.

b. Big Idea
i. In the time of segregation, before laws of nondiscrimination and equality, there were documents that
allowed African Americans to travel safely. By analyzing
these documents, one can gain valuable knowledge about
many cultural aspects of the time.
IV.

Implementation
a. Introduction
i. Have students gather on the reading carpet, teacher has a
closed box with travel materials inside next to her
ii. For this unit, weve been discussing Civil Rights and
Segregation. Weve also been discussing primary sources
and how to use them. With this in mind, lets take a look at
what I have in this box
iii. From the box, remove travel documents, one at a time
1. Show how many hotels are in one city, show how
many grocery stores, show repair shops, etc
iv. Have students turn to a partner and share what they
believe the lesson will be about.
v. As a whole group, have 3-4 students share their ideas
vi. Now boys are girls, we are going to learn about how
segregation affected travel as an African American and
look in detail at one of their resources to see what more we
can learn about the time from the document.
b. Development
i. Read Ruth and the Green Book
1. Before
a. Discuss the front cover, looking at important
details
i. Note the Green Book in girls hand
ii. Note what the father is doing
b. Have students predict what the Green Book is
and why its used
c. Now, boys and girls, were going to read the
book. I want you to pay close attention to the
progression of the familys travel. Think what
was hard, what was easy and why.
2. During
a. Stop on the page with the Gas Station. Discuss
how it would have felt to not be able to use the
restrooms
b. Stop on the page with the hotel. Discuss how it
would feel to not be able to stay in a hotel that
had available rooms

ii.
iii.

iv.
v.

c. Stop on the page where they leave Eddys. Ask

the students how they feel about having to ask
family or friends what they are allowed to do or
where they are allowed to stay in a specific
city/town? Have them come up with ideas with
how to better handle traveling.
d. Stop on the page with the introduction of the
Green BookState that this is how African
Americans knew where they could safely go
when traveling.
e. Stop on the page where they stop at Palm Leaf.
Have students discuss the difference between
traveling without the Green Book to traveling
with the Green Book
3. After
a. Have students turn to a partner and discuss
their thoughts on the use of the green book.
State how they thought it helped.
State, Now boys and girls, we are going to use the actual
Green Book to see what it can show us about traveling as
an African American during the 1940s-1970s.
Have students get into groups of 3-4.
1. These groups are listed on the provided sheet and
will be displayed for student reference
2. Within the groups, roles will be defined
a. Student 1: Controls the Webquest
b. Student 2: Controls the Green Book PDF
c. Student 3: Records what is said
d. Student 4: Overlooks the group to make sure
they are on task and tracks time
i. If there is not a 4th student in the group,
have student 3 keep students on task
and student 2 be the timekeeper
Have each group sit at a computer station with the
computer screens off
Turn on the overhead projector and open the Webquest to
model what to do for the students
1. Show the home page, stating that this will allow
them to further explore the Green Book
2. Open The Green Book tab.
a. Explain that they should read the information
to more of an understanding of what it is.
b. Open the Activity Tabclick on Route Map
and The Green Book.
i. Explain the activityYoure going to
assist Ruth and her family with their trip.

ii.
iii.

iv.
v.

vi.

vii.

I have drawn out their route and on the

way, there are stops and an activity that
must be completed there. Lets work
through the first one together to get
more of an idea of what youre doing.
Click on the second red marker,
Bathroom Break between Chicago and
Indianapolis
Read the statement out loudexplain
that you are looking for a tavern,
restaurant, service station, or tourist
home listed under a nearby city in the
Green Book
Zoom in to the red dot, revealing more
cities nearby
Open up the Green Book PDF showing
the cities
1. Scroll down until Indiana is
showing.
2. Show that Indianapolis or Lafayette
is close by and show the services
within.
3. Choose Lafayette since there is a
tavern there, which would have a
restroom for the family and it is
closer to where they are currently
stopped.
Pass out graphic organizer
1. Explain how to fill out organizer
2. Model filling out for Bathroom
Break
a. See Answer Sheet for how
to properly complete this
Click on the third statement down,
Lunch, read the statement out loud
1. Explain that for this one youre
looking for restaurants in the city.
2. Allow students to turn on their
computer screen/iPad and open the
Ruth and the Green Book Webquest
Activity and Green Book PDF
3. Have student pair share where they
can stop
4. Teachers walk around to the tables
and assist as needed

vi.
vii.
viii.

ix.

5. After 2-3 minutes have students

share out and write down answers
on graphic organizer
a. Anticipated answer: family is
already in Indianapolis, so
open to Indianapolis, Indiana
in the Green Book. Show that
there are plenty of
restaurants in the city, so
they can stay there to eat.
c. Click on the second marker: Dinner Time
i. Explain that for this one theyre looking
for restaurants or taverns again.
ii. Have students pare share where they can
stop
1. Teachers walk around to the tables
and assist as needed
d. Have 2-3 students share the cities they found
and explain why.
i. Louisville is the best response for this
answer, but any other nearby city with
hotels or tourist homes will do.
1. Remind students that they should
be thinking about what the Green
Book can tell us about life in this
time period.
Allow students to turn on their computer screen and open
the Ruth and the Green Book Webquest.
Pass out Reflection sheet
Have students work on the next red marker, Need to
Sleep! in their groups.
1. Students click on the marker, zoom into that are to
see surrounding cities, use those cities to see if
theyre located in the Green Book, analyze the
amenities in the city, then decide on one that best
fits the needs of that issue.
2. Remind students to be looking for service stations or
garages
3. Have students share the cities they found and
explain why.
a. Louisville is the best response for this answer,
but any other nearby city with hotels or tourist
homes will do.
Remind students that they should be thinking about what
the Green Book can tell us about life in this time period.

x. Students complete the Webquest with teacher assistance

as needed, stating time checks
1. 10 minutes after starting, students should have 2
stops completed
2. 15 minutes after starting, students should have 3-4
stops completed
3. 20 minutes after starting, students should be
finished. If theyre not, they should move on to the
reflection
xi. Still in the group, students can discuss and begin the first
reflection question
1. Provide 5 minutes for this
c. Closure
i. Students return to individual seats
ii. Allow students time to discuss what theyve learned at
their table groups
iii. Have students individually fill out the reflection page and
turn it in
1. If students do not finish in the 10 minutes provided,
allow further time later in the day for a student to
finish
d. Accommodations
i. Students will be working in groups of 3-4. These groups
will include students at many different levels, so lower
level students have assistance
1. Groups and roles will be assigned for each student
based on their academic ability. These will be
provided on a chart and posed for students to refer
to.
ii. Students will be provided different graphic organizers
based on their ability. Lower leveled students will have an
organizer that gives more information, such as listing city
options and requires them to choose only 3 stops on the
trip to analyze, higher level students will have one that
provides less information and more stops.
iii. Worksheets can be either written, typed, or spoken.
Students can choose to write or draw their responses
depending on their ability.
iv. An effort will be made to work with parent volunteers and
other classroom assistants to assist with technical glitches
and student needs
e. Evaluation
i. Formative
1. None included in this lesson
ii. Summative

1. Reflection on how useful the Green Book and primary

sources are for gaining knowledge on how society
was during a specific time period. This will be
graded using the rubric listed below:

Information in
Reflection

Grammar in
Reflection

Questions
Answered in
Reflection

3-Excellent

2-Good

1-Below
Average

-Strong
understanding
of primary
sources shown
-Refers to
information
from the
Green Book

-Somewhat of
an understand
of primary
sources shown
-Refers to
information
from the
Green Book

-Little
understanding
of primary
sources shown
-Refers little to
information
from the
Green Book

(triple points)

(triple points)

(triple points)

No spelling or
punctuation
mistakes

1-2 spelling or
punctuation
mistakes
Answered all
questions, but
some
information is
lacking

3-4 spelling or
punctuation
mistakes

Answered all
questions
thoroughly

(double
points)

Graphic
Organizer

V.

Fully
completed

(double
points)
Completed,
but may be
missing one or
two pieces of
information

Answered 1-2
questions only

(double
points)
Completed,
but is missing
many pieces
of information

0-Needs
Improvement
-Little to no
understanding
of primary
sources shown
-Does not
refer to
information
from the
Green Book
(triple points)
5+ spelling or
punctuation
mistakes
Did not
answer any
questions

(double
points)
Did not
complete

Reflective Response
a. Report of Students Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives

b. Personal Reflection
i. How can I improve the Webquest to better students
learning?

ii. Is there a better way to present the travel route so

students gain more about primary sources from it?

iii. What strategies can I use to better clarify the information I

am presenting to the students and the directions for
activity they are completing?

iv. What strategies can I use to effectively monitor student

progress in a group size this large?

VI.

Resources
a. Green, V. (1949). The negro motorist green-book (1949 ed.). New
York, New York: Victor H. Green & Co.
b. Miller, E. (2015). Ruth and the green book travel map. Retrieved
September 12, 2015, from <https://www.google.com/maps/d/
edit?mid=zq5v1rFVTuA8.k40X0VM3oLOk&usp=sharing>
c. Miller, E. (2015). Ruth and the green book webquest. Retrieved
September 12, 2015, from
<http://ruthandthegreenbookwebquest.weebly.com/>
d. Ramsey, C. A. (2010). Ruth and the Green Book. Minneapolis, MN:
Carolrhoda Books.