RUBY BRIDGES GOES TO SCHOOL:  STUDY GUIDE FOR GRADE 1
prepared by Cathy Kaemmerlen

SS1H1 a and b, SS1G1 d, SS1CG1

ARTIST’S BACKGROUND:
Mama Koku/Donna “Kokumo” Buie is a Master Storyteller for children of all ages, performing professionally for over 17 years.  Graduating with honors from North Carolina Central University, she majored in theatre arts with concentrations in performance and education.  She has been the official storyteller for the National Black Arts Festival’s Children’s Education Village and performs at the Wren’s Nest, MLK Center, Fulton County Teaching Museums, and Peach Seed Storytellers.

PROGRAM SUMMARY:
What was it like to go to first grade at a school where you were the only person of color?  Meet Ruby Bridges, the first African American student to attend the William Frantz School in New Orleans, LA in 1960.  The Supreme Court had just ruled against segregation in America’s schools.  With the support of her mother, her faith in the goodness of people,  and her religious faith, Ruby was the first to test this ruling at this New Orleans school.  Accompanied by US marshals, she faced significant challenges just entering the school with mobs of angry protesters.  But her friendship with her teacher, Barbara Henry, helped her to persevere.  Learn about segregation in the 60’s in America and Ruby’s story.  Her message is that we are all connected and share a common heart.

OBJECTIVES:
-To learn about the contributions of Ruby Bridges to open the doors for children of color to enter public schools
-To learn basic facts about segregation, discrimination, integration
-To learn how her courage as well as her parents and her teacher, Barbara Henry, helped her to
persevere through her first grade year
-To learn what it was like to face discrimination in the 1960’s in America.
-To learn how she was a role model for respect for others, courage, equality, tolerance, perseverance, and commitment.

NOTABLE QUOTES FROM RUBY BRIDGES:
-While we are different, we are all the same.  We are connected.
-Schools should be mixed and diverse—racism doesn’t have a place in the minds and hearts of our country.

-Racism is passed on and taught.  Children don’t start out as racists.
-Every child is a unique human being fashioned by God.”
-Everything we do should be done with LOVE.
-It takes courage to make change.
-Love thy neighbor is the key commandment.
-We the people form a more perfect union when we do that together.  We must find common ground and put our best ideas forward.
-Experience comes to us for a purpose.
-It is the content of your character that matters most.

BEFORE THE SHOW:
-Read a biography of Ruby Bridges.
-Talk about how your first day of first grade was different from hers and was similar.
-How do you think she felt her first day of school?
-How would you feel if you had to stay in your classroom all day and couldn’t even go outside for recess or to the cafeteria?

AFTER THE SHOW QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
-Do you think Ruby Bridges is an American hero?  Why or why not?  What qualifications should a hero have?
-Would you have gone to the William Frantz school knowing no one wanted you there?
-How did her teacher’s attitude affect Ruby?
-Why did the other teachers shun Mrs. Henry?
-Why do you think those “cheerleaders” protesters felt so strongly about not letting Ruby into their school
-Why do you think Ruby started her foundation and after school program?  Why did she go back to William Frantz Elementary many years later?
VOCABULARY:
Bullying:  to use greater strength or influence to force someone to do what they want
Mob:  a large disorderly crowd
Courage:  the quality of mind that enables one to face dancer and fear with confidence and bravery.
To judge:  to form an opinion or evaluation
Federal marshal:  a U.S. federal officer of a judicial district who carries out court orders and has duties similar to those of a sheriff
Segregation:  the act of separating people of different races, classes, or ethnic groups
Discrimination: the unjust treatment of people based on race, religion, gender
Nervous:  easily agitated or distressed
Empathy: identification with and understanding of another situation, feelings, motives, through the eyes or shoes of another
Alike: similar to each other
Different:  unlike someone
Change:  to make or become different
Diversity:  to have a range of ideas or offerings; to include others with different ideas or colors or religions
Respect: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something based on their qualities or achievements
Racism: prejudice, discrimination, anger directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior
Persevere: to continue a course of action when facing difficulty

RESOURCES:
www.tolerance.org
www.spicenter.org (Southern Poverty Law Center)
THE RUBY BRIDGES STORY—a Disney film. Dreamscape, 1995
Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester, Harper Collins, c 2006
Horace and Morris But Mostly Delores by James Howe, Aladdin Paperbacks, c 1999.
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, Greenwillow Books, c 1991
The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr Seuss, Random House c 1961.
Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, Harcourt Brace and Co, c 1994
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, Scholastic Press, c 1995.
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges, Scholastic Press, 1999
The Skin you Live In by Michael Tyler, Chicago Children’s Museum, c 2005
One by Kathryn Otoshi, KO Kids Books, c 2008 (printed in China)
The Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka, Tien Wah Press. Singapore, c 1994>
Whoever you Are by Mem Fox, Harcourt Brace, c 1997.
It’s Okay to be Different byTodd Parr, Megan Tingley Brooks of Little Brown and Co, c 2001.
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip C Stead, Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, c 2010
The Colors of US by Karen Katz, Henry Holt, c  1999.
Ruby Bridges, a Rookie Bio, by Simone T Ribke, Scholastic Press, c2015
Ruby Bridges Goes to School, My True Story by Ruby Bridges, Scholastic Press, c 2003.
The Ruby Bridges Foundation. http://genius.com/Ruby-bridges-foundation-ruby-bridges
3737 Lake Michel Court, Gretna, LA 70056