What is a virtual viewing party?
A Virtual Viewing Party is a shared viewing experience of the Discovery Education video, “Hero History: Ruby Bridges.”
Thousands of classrooms will access this video that tells the compelling story of Ruby Bridges, one of four children chosen to desegregate the public school system in New Orleans, Louisiana during 1960.
Essential questions:
- Why was Ruby Bridges a hero?
- What are civil rights?
- In what ways has Ruby’s strength and courage affected your lives?
Virtual Viewing Party video:
Download the video in advance of viewing. Log in to your Discovery Education account, locate the video “Hero History: Ruby Bridges,” and chose the download option.
Engage in the online discussion:
Join the conversation by following @DiscoveryEd on Twitter. Share photos of your classroom viewing, students’ Six Word Stories, reflections from AEIOU, and more using #CelebrateWithDE and #BlackHistory.
View all #CelebrateWithDE Tweets
Not on Twitter? Go to this Padlet and share reflections, photos, and outcomes, while seeing what other classes have to say. You do not need to register or have a username to use Padlet – just click anywhere on the screen and start typing.
Suggested viewing activities:
To make the most of the virtual viewing party with your class, we suggest the following activities:
- Before the viewing party: do a Picture It image sort with images from the civil rights movement. This strategy provides a visual stimulus and scaffold for students as they analyze and discuss the content being studied. Suggested images include: Black Students Integrate Little Rock’s Central High School, Rosa Parks Riding the Bus, Civil Rights Demonstrators, African Americans Voting, Martin Luther King Jr., Woman at Selma March, Martin Luther King Jr. in Jail, Malcolm X, Evers’ Funeral Procession
- During the video viewing: have students complete an AEIOU graphic organizer. This strategy helps students look for and remember key ideas about the information presented in the video. It also provides a conversation structure for debriefing with students.
- After the video viewing: have students create a Six Word Story and share in the online discussion. Six Word Stories help students practice summarizing and selective word choice as they convey a big idea using only six words.
What grade levels should participate?
We recommend the content and activities for grades three and above, but you can preview the video “Hero History: Ruby Bridges” to determine if it is appropriate for your students.
What if we can’t participate at 1 PM ET?
Your class can watch the video any time and join the discussion asynchronously. If you are participating after 1 PM ET, you may want to have students review the Padlet or Twitter discussion to compare ideas and make connections.
