Ruby Bridges - Courage Shapes the World We Live In
- Balance Learning Resources
- Jan 23
- 5 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Grade Level: 3-5
Duration of video: 3 minutes, 53 seconds
Themes: Courage • Fairness • Belonging • Bystander vs. Upstander • Leadership • Justice Without Hate
Photo: U.S. federal marshals escort 6-year-old Ruby Bridges to school in New Orleans, 1960. Public Domain (U.S. Department of Justice), via Wikimedia Commons.
Description:
Students learn who Ruby Bridges was and why her actions mattered. Through a short video, guided discussion, and role-play, students examine how Ruby’s courage and kindness in the face of discrimination helped create change. Students also explore how telling trusted adults and making thoughtful, safe choices can help create more inclusive spaces for everyone.
Lesson Plan:
🎯 OBJECTIVES (SWBAT)
Identify unfair treatment and prejudice.
Explain the difference between a bystander and an upstander.
Analyze how people’s reactions affect others and the environment.
Practice upstander actions through role-play.
Explain why telling a trusted adult is an important upstander step.
🧰 MATERIALS:
Video: Ruby Bridges For Kids | Ruby Bridges Video For Elementary Students | Black History Videos For Kids
Student worksheet 1: Upstander Steps: how can I help and who can I trust (Printed for each student or digital copy)
Whiteboard and markers
📋 LESSON FLOW
Hook
Write the following on the board ask students:
“What makes going to a new place hard sometimes?”
“What helps you keep going when something feels scary or unfair?”
Say:
“Close your eyes for a moment and imagine walking into a place where you are not welcome.”
Pause 5 seconds.
Ask:
“How might that feel?”
Say:
“A little girl, named Ruby Bridges, did that every day as a child — and she was very brave.”
Before the video
Teacher Script (Read Aloud)
“Before we watch the video, it’s important to understand who Ruby Bridges was.”
“Ruby Bridges was a six-year-old girl who lived in Louisiana in 1960.”
“At that time, many schools were segregated, which meant Black and White children were not allowed to go to school together.”
“Ruby became the first Black child to attend an all-White elementary school in her city.”
“Every day, Ruby walked into that school knowing people might be unkind or unwelcoming - and she did it anyway.”
“As we watch, pay attention to how Ruby acted, who helped her, and what choices people made around her.”
Play video
Ruby Bridges For Kids | Ruby Bridges Video For Elementary Students | Black History Videos For Kids
Discuss
Ask:
“What kind of person do you think Ruby was?”
“What unfair treatment did Ruby face?”
“How do you think Ruby felt?”
“Were the adults who yelled and Ruby’s principal welcoming?”
“How do you think Ruby felt about them?”
“Was Ruby’s teacher, Mrs. Henry, welcoming?”
“How did Ruby feel about Mrs. Henry?”
“Why was Ruby the only student in her class?”
“What did Ruby wish for with all her heart?”
“How did Ruby help change things for Black children and all children in America?”
Activity - How Choices Shape a Place
Create two columns on the White Board or Smart Board:
1. When People Choose Fear or Silence
2. When People Choose Courage and Kindness
Students help fill in under appropriate column:
How people act
How others feel
What the place feels like
Teacher summarizes:
“The way people acted didn’t just affect Ruby — it shaped what school felt like for everyone.”
Teacher asks:
“What can we do when someone is being treated unfairly - or when we feel uncomfortable in a situation?”
Teacher hands out Student worksheet 1: Upstander Steps: how can I help and who can I trust Teacher explains:
“This sheet shows ways we can be upstanders (helpers) and who can help us when problems are too big to handle alone.”
Review the top half of Student worksheet 1: Upstander Steps: how can I help and who can I trust (printed for each student or digital copy)
Remind students that an upstander…
makes a situation safer
is brave and courageous
is kind
chooses safe actions
Ask: What are some ways we can be upstanders? “What if a situation doesn’t feel safe to handle on your own?”
Review Trusted Grown-Ups, the bottom half of Student worksheet 1: Upstander Steps: how can I help and who can I trust (printed for each student or digital copy)
Teacher says clearly:
“Sometimes the safest upstander choice is getting help from a trusted grown-up.”
On Student worksheet 1: Upstander Steps: how can I help and who can I trust have students write down or circle on the sheet which trusted adults they can count on.
Small Groups
Break students into groups of 3-4 and say:
“Now you’re going to practice how choices change how a place feels.”
Directions:
Tell students to choose a school situation where someone is behaving in a hurtful way like:
Someone being left out at recess / A student is teased while walking in the hallway. Other students see it but keep walking / Students whisper and laugh while looking at another student’s clothes or backpack. / During a group project, one student’s ideas are ignored. Others talk over them. / A student sits alone at lunch. Other students notice but don’t say anything. / In a class group chat, a mean message is sent about a student.
Act out the situation, but have at least one person use at least one of the Upstander Steps to help.
(Remind students: keep words and actions safe and school-appropriate.)
After each skit, discuss:
“What upstander step did you use?”
“Could a different step also help here?”
“How did each person feel before the help?”
“How did each person feel after the help?”
“Which actions made the place safer?”
Teacher reinforces:
“Notice how the situation changed when even one person helped.”
“One kind action can change how a place feels for everyone.”
Reflection
Ask:
“How did the steps you learned make it easier to speak up when something is unfair?”
“How can one kind action help others feel brave too?”
“How does it feel being in a welcoming environment where everyone wants to be kind and help?”
Exit Ticket
Students write:
“One choice I can make to help create a kind and safe environment is…”
Teacher Notes (3–5)
Remember not to excuse harm.
Emphasize cause-and-effect of behavior.
Reinforce that telling a trusted adult is responsible and brave.
Highlight that courage does not require yelling or confrontation.
Key takeaway: Our choices don’t just affect one person - they shape the places we all share.
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