The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a major social movement that brought international attention to the plight of African Americans.  The tenacity of the women who were plaintiffs in the Browder v Gayle lawsuit actually ended segregation.  This social protest and the lawsuit that followed was about equal rights of citizenship for all who called the United States of America home.  Students will become historians and sociologists as they examine the minutes of the Alabama Constitutional Convention of 1901 to expose the roots of segregation in Alabama and throughout the nation.  They will come to understand that segregation governed all areas of life from birth to death.  Every phase of life was segregated including hospitals, parks, schools, department stores, bank lines, cemeteries, libraries, restaurants, and even lines at the state operated Alcohol Beverage Control store. Students will also come to understand that some basic rights of citizenship like attending school, getting medical help, owing a home in the neighborhood of your choice, and voting, were greatly restricted depending upon the color of  your skin. In preparation for this unit of instruction the concepts, terms, court decisions, people, key events, important organizations, etc need to be identified and or explained.  An example would be the term civil rights.  When most people hear the term they tend to think about the struggle of African Americans against white oppression, never about the role of the government in securing the rights of citizenship for all citizens. To help students understand the deeper underlying forces that supported the move to challenge segregated seating on intra-city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, it is important that we look at the broader issues that gave the citizens the determination to walk until they could "sit down" in all the places that the seat on the bus symbolically represented.

Title of Plan:  More Than a Bus Ride  

Grade Level: With teacher modifications, this curriculum guide is appropriate for students in grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 12

Duration: One to two weeks  

Concept:  Justice  

Overview:  “More Than a Bus Ride” is a comprehensive, multi-media, interactive curriculum guide that tells the “true” story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the impact of the ensuing Browder v Gayle lawsuit.  The lawsuit ended segregated seating on intra-city buses, destroying the remaining vestiges of Jim crow segregation in the United States of America.  The curriculum guide commemorates the fortitude and accomplishments of Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, Aurelia S. Browder, Susie McDonald, and JoAnn Gibson Robinson in their unfailing quest for justice and equality in the  “. . . land of the free and the home of the brave.”  

Curriculum Guide Design: This curriculum guide was developed using the 4MAT model of instruction developed by Dr. Bernice McCarthy, founder of About Learning.  4MAT takes into consideration how the brain learns and the fact that students learn in different ways.  The plan uses right and left brain instructional strategies to actively engage all students.  Please visit Aboutlearning.com for a detailed explanation of this innovative approach to teaching and learning. This is a very comprehensive unit of instruction. The teacher is not expected to use every activity.  In some parts of the guide there is only one activity.  In that case, the activity is critical for mastery of content and the teacher should carryout the activity as outlined. The curriculum guide offers several opportunities for differentiated instruction. Options are given throughout the guide to maximize time on task by providing challenging yet engaging learning opportunities. Please select the activities that best meet your overall instructional goals and state standards. The guide was developed using national standards of United Sates history, Geography, Civics, and English Language Arts.

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