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I am Rosa Parks (Ordinary People Change the World)



Last updated Thursday, January 30, 2020

Author: Brad Meltzer
Illustrator: Christopher Eliopoulos
Date of Publication: 2014
ISBN: 0803740859
Grade Level: 1st    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Feb. 2020

Synopsis: From Booklist: "Meltzer’s first-person narration and Eliopoulos’ comic-style illustrations bring an altogether different look and feel to the story of Rosa Parks. Beginning with childhood incidents that guided her later actions, this entry in the Ordinary People Change the World series proceeds with examples of Jim Crow laws and separate-but-equal disparities. These set the scene for Parks’ involvement in civil rights, her now-celebrated refusal to give up her seat on a bus, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott she inspired."

Note to readers:
•  This book is based on real historic events.

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  Encourage the kids to look and listen to the answers to these questions:
•  Have you ever heard of Rosa Parks? Who is she?
•  Is Rosa Parks famous? Why do you think she is famous?
•  How was she treated? Do you think she was treated badly and unfairly?
•  What did she do and say to defy the rules of the time?\

Vocabulary

•  NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
•  courageous - not deterred by danger or pain; brave.
•  ignite - arouse or inflame (an emotion or situation).
•  boycott - an act of voluntary and intentional abstention from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons.
•  protest - express an objection to what someone has said or done.
•  discrimination - the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.
•  segregation - the enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment.
•  integrated - open (a place) to members of all races and ethnic groups.

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  Do you think Rosa Parks is brave and courageous to challenge the unfairness? Do you think she is a hero?
•  Why do think Rosa Parks is a historic figure?
•  What would you do if you were one of the passengers on the bus? If you were white? If you were black?
•  How do you think the changes begin after the movement Rosa ignited?
•  Why did Rosa stand up for herself? Did she only do it for herself?

Craft ideas:
•  Make a bus. Cut out yellow paper in the shape of a bus. Draw lots of faces on small squares and paste onto your bus. Add round wheels, a door and the name of your school.
•  Draw a portrait of a person you admire.
•  Make a Valentine's Day card (ideas on Pinterest board for February, labeled "All grades")
•  Check our craft ideas on Pinterest!
https://www.pinterest.com/readingtokids/february-2020-people-places-around-the-world/

Special activities:
•  Practice "stepping" up in place (like climbing steps on a bus).

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!