Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks Bus Ride to Freedom
Guided Reading Level J
No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Written by Pamela Chanko Illustrated by Marcy Ramsey Designed by Maria Lilja ISBN-13: 978-0-439-77420-8 ISBN-10: 0-439-77420-9 Copyright © 2007 by Scholastic Inc. Published by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in China. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Many people call Rosa Parks the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Rosa Parks grew up in a time when African Americans were treated unfairly. But then Rosa changed history. She stood up for her civil rights. And she did it by sitting down! This is her story. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
African Americans were called “colored” because of the color of their skin. Signs told them where they could and could not go.
Rosa was born in Alabama in 1913. At that time, there were laws in the South to segregate African Americans from white people. This meant that they could not go to the same places, such as restaurants and waiting rooms. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
More than 50 students crowded into Rosa’s schoolroom each day.
African-American children could not go to the same schools as white children. Rosa’s school was for African Americans. It had just one room. It was open only five months a year. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Rosa and Raymond worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Rosa knew that these laws were unfair. In 1931, she met a man named Raymond Parks. He belonged to a group that was working to change the laws. Rosa and Raymond got married. Rosa joined the group, too. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
On the bus, African Americans had to follow certain rules that white people did not.
Rosa worked at a store in Montgomery, Alabama. Every day she rode the bus to work. There were unfair laws on the bus, too. The white section was at the front of the bus. The African-American section was at the back. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
African Americans could ride in the middle of the bus. But they had to move if white people needed the seats.
December 1, 1955, started like any other day. Rosa went to work at the store. After work she got on the bus to go home. She paid for the ride and sat down in the middle row of seats. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Even if only one white person needed a seat, all the African Americans in the row had to move.
After a few stops, more white people got on the bus. Soon the white section was full. The bus driver asked Rosa to get up and move to the back. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
People thought Rosa would not get up because she was tired. But Rosa said she was only “tired of giving in.”
Rosa said, “No.” The bus driver said, “I’m going to have you arrested.” But Rosa still would not stand up. The police came and took Rosa to jail. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Many African Americans watched as Rosa went inside to her trial.
Rosa’s trial was on December 5. That day, many African Americans in Montgomery showed they were on Rosa’s side. They would not ride the bus. This is called a boycott. Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
When African Americans stopped riding, the bus company lost a lot of money.
Rosa did not win at the trial. But she did not give up. Neither did other African Americans. Almost all of them stayed off the buses. They found other ways to travel. The boycott lasted 381 days. 10 Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
When the law was changed, Rosa was photographed riding in the front of the bus. Her story made news around the world.
At last, the Supreme Court made a decision. It said that all people who rode the bus had the right to sit where they wanted. 11 Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Rosa joined the March on Washington in 1963. It was the biggest civil rights march in history.
But Rosa’s work was far from over. She spoke to people all over the country. She went on marches for civil rights. Finally, in 1964, a new law was passed. It said that all people had to be treated equally. 12 Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
A street in Montgomery was later named Rosa Parks Boulevard. This was the street where Rosa had ridden the bus.
Rosa Parks received many awards for her courage and her work. She was given our country’s Gold Medal of Honor. But her greatest reward was the gift of freedom that she helped give to all people. 13 Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
This timeline shows some important events in Rosa Parks’s life.
1913
Rosa is born.
1910
1955
Rosa is arrested for not giving up her bus seat. The bus boycott begins. 1920
1930
1932
Rosa marries Raymond Parks.
14 Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
1956
1940
1950
The Supreme Court decides that segregation on buses is wrong.
1963
Rosa goes to the March on Washington.
1960
1970
1999
Rosa wins the Gold Medal of Honor.
1980
1990
2000
1964
A new law is passed that says all people must be treated equally.
2005
Rosa Parks dies.
15 Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Glossary arrested (verb) held by the police boycott (noun) a group’s refusal to deal with a business or person, in order to bring about change civil rights (noun) the rights to have freedom and be treated equally equally (adverb) in the same way as someone else segregate (verb) to separate; to keep apart Supreme Court (noun) the most powerful court in the United States. It makes decisions about laws. trial (noun) the process of looking at facts in court
16 Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Rosa Parks Bus Ride to Freedom Guided Reading Level: J Word Count: 826 Average Words Per Page: 52 Spotlight Nonfiction Feature: Timeline
R
osa Parks (1913–2005) is often called the “mother of the civil rights movement.” Parks worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, but her defining moment came on a city bus in Alabama in 1955. When asked to give up her seat to a white passenger, she refused. Her arrest and trial led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott—and, eventually, to the end of segregation.
Introducing the Book Begin a discussion about the concept of fairness. Get children thinking with an example, such as: If a teacher said that children with curly hair were not allowed to go to recess today, would that be fair? Why or why not?
Explain that in some parts of our country, there were unfair laws for African Americans. Tell children they will read about an African-American woman who helped change these unfair laws by standing up for what she believed in.
Spotlight Nonfiction Feature: Timeline Explain that a timeline shows a series of events and the order in which they happened. Timelines often show events that happened over long periods, so that readers can see at a glance how one event may have led to the next.
To assess comprehension, ask questions such as: What happened first, the March on Washington or Rosa Parks’s arrest? The events from 1955 and 1956 are very close together. How did one lead to the next?
Have children turn to pages 14–15. Point out the timeline’s introduction and have a volunteer read it aloud. Next, have children find the starting and ending dates. Ask: How long a period can we see in this timeline? (The timeline shows 92 years—the length of Rosa Parks’s life.) Then have volunteers read the labels for each event. Make sure children read the events in sequential order, from left to right.
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Using the Reproducible
Book Links
Distribute copies of the reproducible on page 39. Ask: In what ways were African Americans treated unfairly during Rosa Parks’s life? What were the rules in restaurants and schools? What were the rules on the bus? How have those rules changed? Invite children to look through the book for examples to complete the activity sheet.
For more information on Rosa Parks, try these titles:
Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
◆
I Am Rosa Parks by Rosa Parks with James Haskins (Dial, 1997)
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If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold (Simon & Schuster, 1999)
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Rosa by Nikki Giovanni (Henry Holt, 2005)
Name ________________________________
Date _______________________
Then and Now
Scholastic Teaching Resources, page 39
During Rosa Parks’s life, there were unfair laws for African Americans. In each pair of buses, write about how the laws have changed. The first pair has been done for you. THEN
NOW
African-American children could not go to the same schools as white children.
Everyone can go to the same schools.
THEN
NOW
THEN
NOW
Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
Important Events in ___________________________________’s Life
Write the person’s name on the line. Then write important events in the order in which they happened.
Sequencing Timeline
Name ____________________________________________
Name ________________________________
Date _______________________
Vocabulary Chart Record new words on the chart. First, write the vocabulary word. Next, write what it means. Then, use the word in your own sentence. Word
What It Means
Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Sentence Using Word
Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
What the Person Was Like:
Important Events in the Person’s Life:
Name:
How I Feel About the Person:
His or Her Accomplishments:
Write the person’s name in the center box. Then fill in the other boxes.
Character Map
Name ____________________________________________
Easy Reader Biographies: Rosa Parks © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
Name _____________________ Both
Name _____________________
Write one person’s name over each circle. Write facts about this person in that circle. In the center, write what the two people had in common.
Venn Diagram
Name ____________________________________________
