In this activity, students listen to or read a selection describing the events of December 1, 1955. Then they read the rules that people had to follow on the bus. They label an illustration of the bus to reflect those rules.
Read aloud to students a book about Rosa Parks. If you are unable to locate a book, you can read the story that follows:
Rosa Parks was a seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama. One December day, almost 50 years ago, Rosa got on the bus to go to work. She took a seat in the first row of the section in the back of the bus that was reserved for black people like Rosa.
A short time later, the bus stopped to pick up another passenger. A white person wanted to get on the bus, but there no more seats at the front of the bus, which was reserved for white people. The driver asked Rosa to move to the back of the bus so the white person could sit down. But Rosa would not move.
News of Rosa's refusal to give up her seat spread quickly through Montgomery. Just a few days later black people across the city stopped riding the bus. They walked to work instead. The bus company lost lots of money because only white people rode the bus.
Black people in Montgomery walked to work for almost a year. Finally, the rules were changed. The new rules let black people sit in any seat on the bus. Black people in Montgomery had Rosa to thank for the new bus rules.
After sharing Rosa's story, distribute to each student a copy of the Rosa Parks Changed the Rules work sheet. Have students read the text at the top of the page that tells about the rules that were usually followed on buses in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. Then call on students to read those rules aloud. Discuss the rules in relation to Rosa's story, and have students do the activity on the work sheet.
Extension activities
Share photos of the actual bus that carried Rosa Parks into the history books. Click "The Story Behind the Bus at Rosa
Park's Bus. (Alternate photo source: The
Rosa Parks Bus.)
Set up chairs in the classroom to reflect the seating arrangement on the bus. Then have students role play passengers on that bus, acting out the events that day as Rosa got on the bus and as the driver asked Rosa to move to the back of the bus.
Assessment
Check students' work sheets to see if they made proper inferences and followed directions.
The driver's area at the front of the bus should be colored blue.
The fare box at the front of the bus should be colored green,
The two long seats facing each other, and the first three rows of seats (the "white section") should be colored red.
The five rows of seats at the back end of the bus should be colored black.
The words "Front Door" should appear by the front door of the bus.
The words "Back Door" should appear by the back door of the bus.
The words "Standing Room" should appear in the area with no seats at the back of the bus.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
FINE ARTS: Visual Arts GRADES K - 4 NA-VA.K-4.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines GRADES 5 - 8 NA-VA.5-8.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Civics GRADES K - 4 NSS-C.K-4.2 Values and Principles of Democracy NSS-C.K-4.5 Roles of the Citizen GRADES 5 - 8 NSS-C.5-8.2 Foundations of the American Political System NSS-C.5-8.3 Principles of Democracy NSS-C.5-8.5 Roles of the Citizen
SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History GRADES K - 4 NSS-USH.K-4.3 The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage GRADES 5 - 12 NSS-USH.5-12.9 Era 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s) NSS-USH.5-12.10 Era 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the Present)
