I Am Rosa Parks

Last updated Tuesday, March 9, 2004

Author: Rosa Parks
Illustrator: Wil Clay
Date of Publication: 1997
ISBN: 0803712065
Grade Level: 5th
Date(s) Used: March 2004

Synopsis: This brief autobiography introduces readers to Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott. The subjects of segregation in the South and Parks's experience when she refused to give up her seat set a serious and later, hopeful mood.

Tips for reading the book:  This autobiography is informative and should give your group the foundation for a good discussion on acts of great courage and on the history of the Civil Rights Movement.  Discuss the idea of a boycott and segregation, and explain that The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land.  Issues of respect, fairness and unfairness, and inequality may come up.  Our book selector this month recommends you acknowledge and address these issues in discussion.  Also, you can suggest that children discuss these issues further with their parents after the Reading Clubs.

Discussion topics:

• What do you know about Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement? Segregation?
• Can separate be equal? Why or why not?
• Can boys do things that girls can’t? Why/why not?
• How do you protest something you don’t like? How do you effect change?

Craft ideas:

• How do you feel about what Rosa Parks did? Write her a letter.
• What do you want changed? Make a picket sign, or buttons to pass out.

*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!