Green Book Mapping Project for the Civil Rights Movement

This Green Book mapping project is a great activity to help students work on geography during the Civil Rights Movement and help understand the hardships African Americans faced during segregation.

The Negro Motorist Green Book was a travel guide that helped African Americans find safe places to stop during the Jim Crow Era of segregation. The 2018 Academy Award-winning movie Green Book, of course, brought the book back into the spotlight.

This lesson has students analyzing scanned copies of different Green Books online and using them to map out a road trip. Students must imagine that the discrimination African Americans faced at this time in history applied and they can only stop for gas, food, or hotels that are listed in the Green Book.

Students use maps or atlases (either print or online) paired with the services listed in the digital versions of the Green Book to plot our their trip. They have to find restaurants, hotels, and gas stations on a route to a city or tourist destination out of state.

After mapping out their trip, students describe their journey and reflect on the hardships and stress segregation placed on African American travelers.

Included with your download are:

• Lesson plan suggestions
• Links to multiple versions of the Green Book
• Printable (and editable) maps
• Links to recommended videos to pair with the lesson
• A worksheet with student directions and analysis questions
• Editable Google Doc version
• Rubric for grading
• Completed sample version
• Exit ticket video and discussion question

This is a great activity whether you have seen the movie or not. Students work on important geographic skills and also get to analyze an important primary source from the era.

Thanks so much to stop and check it out!

This activity can also be downloaded as part of my Civil Rights Movement Unit Bundle!