Students study Claudette Colvin's documented 1955 bus stand and its historical conditions, then build a clearly bounded choice simulation that separates verified history from imagined consequences and game logic.
Pacing
3 classes · 180 min
Grade
Grade 9
Coding
Advanced
Students codePlayer ActionsOn Page StartSequenceConditionals
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
How do individual choices interact with unjust systems to produce change?
Students will be able to
Research a real historical trailblazer and the injustice they challenged.
Analyze a pivotal decision and explore its risks, consequences, and impact.
Write a branching narrative that includes one real choice and one illusion of choice.
Code interactive logic using variables, conditional endings, and button navigation in Elementari.
Reflect on the real-life outcome and connect it to their own story's message.
Key vocabulary
boycottplaintiffsegregationconstraint
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
Every factual claim is sourced, every imagined route is labeled, both choices are understandable, and the endings avoid invented private thoughts or victim-blaming. Choice buttons, point changes, converging routes, comparison logic, and both endings behave exactly as the route map states.
The student journey
From reading to an interactive project
Elementari is a browser-based tool for creating illustrated, interactive stories and projects. Students plan their writing in the Student Kit, then add it to a digital project in the editor, called Studio.
1
📖
Read
The reading provides background knowledge or a model of writing for students to draw on. The lesson plan explains its connection to the project.
📖The Girl Who Would Not Stand Up
March 2, 1955. Montgomery, Alabama. A city bus fills up on the ride home from school, and the driver orders four Black passengers to give up their row so a white woman can sit. Three of them rise. The fourth — a fifteen-year-old student nam…
Students use the Student Kit's storyboard to plan and draft their project. Choose High Support, Guided Support, or Independent to adjust the writing scaffolds.
Student mission
Build an interactive justice simulator that puts players inside one courageous, history-changing choice.
2Student Kit · sneak peek
High Support
The [Trailblazer] Who ___
Key Words from the Passageboycottplaintiffsegregationconstraint
Glossary a kid-friendly definition for every key term
In the studio, students bring the project to life — adding art and following the exact writing and coding steps shown below. The Studio Compass walks them through it, one step at a time.
🧭Studio CompassStep 1 / 13
Choose & Research a Justice Trailblazer 📋
Choose a historical figure from the Justice Trailblazers List to research. Identify the injustice they faced and pinpoint a key moment of decision. Complete the Justice Simulator O
Key words — tap to learnon page start block
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 13 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1Choose & Research a Justice Trailblazer 📋
2Create the Title Page (Page 1) 🖼️
3Write Setup Page (Page 2) 🌍
4Write Real Choice (Page 3) ⚖️
5Code Real Choices (Page 3) 🎮
6Outcome of Bold Action (Page 4) 🌟
7Outcome of Safe Action (Page 5)😶
8Illusion of Choice (Page 6) 🌀
9Write Logic Check (Page 7) 🔁
10Write Justice Ending (Page 8) 🌟
11Inaction Ending (Page 9) 💬
12Code Logic Check (Page 7) 🔁
13Polish & Publish 🧼
4
🔁
Polish
ongoing
Teacher and peer feedback pin right onto the project — students revise until it's ready to share.
Feedback on the project2 pins
🍎
Add one more sentence here so readers get the full picture.
👍 2Teacher
A
The interaction is clear — it helps the reader follow the project!
Students finish and test their projects. Work submitted through a class goes to the teacher for review; publishing a project makes it public with a shareable link.
Open these resources as web pages, then use Print to print them or save a PDF. The Student Kit supports the writing; Studio provides the on-screen build steps.
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
One device per student or pair
Internet connection
Student Kit or printed organizer
Printed or digital evidence/counterfactual organizer
A device per student or pair
Prep before class
1Preview the designated builder story.
2Review the ordered milestones and Student Kit.
3Decide whether students work independently or in pairs.
Teacher background
What you need to know
Key terms
boycott
an organized refusal to use a service or buy from a business as a protest
plaintiff
a person who brings a case against another party in a court of law
segregation
the enforced separation of people by race
constraint
a limit that controls which choices are truly available
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
The simulation presents an invented private decision or emotion as documented fact. →Label the scene as simulated and move verified history into a separate sourced sentence.
✕
A safer response is framed as cowardice or as the cause of systemic injustice. →Rewrite both options as understandable under unequal conditions and locate responsibility in the system, not the individual.
✕
The points variable appears to measure justice or moral worth. →Call it a simulation score and state explicitly that it does not measure real courage, impact, or justice.
Standards alignment
Aligned to the standards you teach
Every task maps to a specific standard, so planning and reporting are covered.
Tracking 7 frameworks: Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, NGSS +4
CCSS · ELA6CSTA3ISTE11AASL3C315 frameworks · 24 standards · DOK 3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
6 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related questions when appropriate.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.8
Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, assess source credibility and accuracy, quote or paraphrase while avoiding plagiarism, and follow a standard citation format.
Also addressedCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.6
CSTA
CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards
3 standards
3A-AP-16
Design and iteratively develop computational artifacts for practical intent, personal expression, or to address a societal issue.
3A-AP-19
Systematically design and develop programs for broad audiences by incorporating feedback from users.
Also addressed3A-AP-23
ISTE
ISTE Standards for Students
11 standards
ISTE 1.4.a
Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts, or solving authentic problems.
ISTE 1.4.c
Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
ISTE 1.6.d
Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
ISTE 1.5.d
Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.
Also addressedISTE 1.3.a · ISTE 1.3.b · ISTE 1.1.c · ISTE 1.6.b · ISTE 1.6.c · ISTE 1.5.c · ISTE 1.3.d
AASL
AASL National School Library Standards
3 standards
AASL I.A.1
Learners display curiosity and initiative by formulating questions about a personal interest or a curricular topic.
Also addressedAASL I.B.1 · AASL I.B.3
C3
C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards
1 standard
C3 D2.His.14.9-12
Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Choose the writing support
These are the three support options in the Student Kit. Choose the scaffolds students need while keeping the same project.
High Support
More writing scaffolds
Sentence frames break the response into manageable parts
Supplied words and ideas help students get started
Students still have space to write their responses
Guided Support
A starting point for writing
Task prompts and selected sentence starters
Writing cues and word banks where supplied
Space to develop each response
Independent
Less scaffolding
The same project and required writing tasks
Open response space without the support frames
Students develop their own wording
Accessibility, built inPredictable step-by-step structureOne task at a time · Studio CompassHighlighted response areasLow-stimulation printMovement-friendly pacingDesigned so every student can design, write, and code — with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind.
Questions
Teacher FAQ
Do I — or my students — need to know how to code?
No prior coding knowledge is required to start. Students follow on-screen build steps in Studio. Coding difficulty describes the project's complexity; teachers may still need to help students test and revise. The lesson plan supports teaching, and the Answer Key provides sample writing responses.
How long does this lesson take?
About 255, paced into 45-minute class periods. You can spread it out or compress it — students pick up where they left off, so it doesn't have to finish in one sitting.
What devices does this lesson work on?
Use a Chromebook, laptop, desktop or tablet with a modern browser and an internet connection. The project editor does not support phones. Try the build on your class devices before teaching.
What is Studio Compass?
Studio Compass is the step-by-step guide inside the Studio. It shows students what to do next, identifies the exact coding blocks they need, and confirms completed milestones so they can keep moving independently.
How does this lesson support different learners?
The Student Kit has High Support, Guided Support and Independent writing profiles. They change the amount of scaffolding for the same project. Choose a profile in the kit before printing, and use the lesson plan's differentiation suggestions.
Ready when you are
Bring this lesson to your class
Import your class, assign in one click, and watch them build — the whole kit comes with it.
