Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks bundle

Week 1: Early Life

Character Lexicon
  • diligent: having or showing care and conscientiousness in one’s work or duties
  • forgiving: ready and will to forgive; to stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake
  • curious: eager to know or learn something
  • longsuffering: having or showing patience in spite of troubles, especially those caused by other people
  • independent: free form outside control; not depending on another’s authority
Comprehension Questions
  1. Rosa Parks was born on February 4th, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. (Pg 5)
  2. Instead of hating the people who insulted her, Rosa Parks wanted to forgive them. (Pg 14)
  3. Rosa’s mother sent her to Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, in Montgomery, Alabama because the school had been started by white northerners to help poor black girls. (Pg 18)
  4. After dropping out of school to take care of her mother and grandmother, Rosa made money by cleaning houses for white people and selling fruit on the street. (Pg 23)
  5. Rosa was move and proud of Raymond Park’s courage to bring attention to the Scottsboro boys. (Pg 30)
  6. The goal of the NAACP has been to end racial hatred and help minorities who are denied their civil rights. (Pg 31)
  7. In 1934, Rosa earned her high school diploma. (Pg 33)

Week 2: Life’s Work

Character Lexicon
  • hopeful: feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event
  • determined: to be decisive; firmly decide
  • courageous: not deterred by danger or pain; brave
  • resolute: admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering
  • hardworking: tending to work with energy and commitment
Comprehension Questions
  1. Rosa joined the NAACP in 1943 and at her first meeting she was asked to take notes because she was the only woman there. (Pg 35-36)
  2. Every time Rosa climbed aboard a public bus she felt ashamed. (Pg 47)
  3. Rosa and Virginia Durr talked endlessly about how to end racism. (Pg 51)
  4. During the ten-day training course at Highlander in Monteagle, Tennessee, the people were taught to fight for workers rights and equal rights for blacks. (Pg 52)
  5. When on December 1st, 1955, the bus driver asked Rosa, “Are you going to stand up?” She responded, “No.” (Pg 61)
  6. Edgar Nixon from the NAACP was able to pay Rosa’s bail after she was arrested. (Pg 65)
  7. Rosa knew that besides having a good lawyer, she would need the entire black community behind her to win her case against the bus companies. (Pg 76)

Week 3: Later Life and Legacy

Character Lexicon
  • resourceful: having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties
  • patient: able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious
  • heroic: having the characteristics of a hero; very brave
  • faithful: remaining steadfast and loyal
  • ardent: enthusiastic or passionate
Comprehension Questions
  1. Rosa’s lawyer wanted all the black people in Montgomery to avoid riding public buses for a single day. (Pg 71-72)
  2. Claudette Colvin’s name is often left out of the story of the Civil Rights Movement. (Pg 73)
  3. Rosa’s trial began on December 5th, 1955. (Pg 78)
  4. Rosa’s lawyer wanted her to be found guilty, because then her case would go to a higher court and it was the higher court that had the power to end the bus rules. ( Pg 79)
  5. In August 1963, Rosa attended the civil rights march in Washington D.C., where Dr. King gave his famous “I have a Dream,” speech. (Pg 87)
  6. When Rosa worked for John Conyers Jr., she answered his mail, organized voter registration, and found jobs and homes for those who needed them. (Pg 92)
  7. In the years 1979, 1996 and 1999, Rosa received the Springarn Medal by the NAACP; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and the Congressional Gold Medal. (Pg 98)