Rosa Parks: Analyzing Informational Text

Rosa Parks: Analyzing How a Key Individual, Event, or Idea is Developed in an Informational Text

Words to Watch for:

Anecdote

Compromise

Statistic

Anecdote - a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

Example: A politician who is arguing about healthcare program includes an anecdote about a little girl who was not able to have a transplant due to insurance.

Compromise means to make a deal between two parties where each party (person) gives up part of their demand.

• An article on the art of compromise in "It's My Life," encourages parents to compromise with their teens by offering them choices.

• Example: If the kids want to get fast food, but the parents were thinking about something more upscale, after a discussion, maybe the family can settle on a family-fun dining environment that includes waitstaff, but excludes cloth napkins.

Multiple Choice

Statistics - facts in number form.

Which sentence does not use the word statistics correctly?

• The most recent statistics show that the corona virus cases are increasing.

• Statistics from the National Science Foundation found that only 18% of women major in computer science degrees at colleges and universities.

• Statistics suggest that women live longer than men.

• The statistics of my school work online is overwhelming; I can barely keep up.

Read the informational text about Rosa Parks. This text also appears in this week's Module and my screen. #NoExcuses

RI.8.3

1 Rosa Parks was an ordinary person. She worked as a seamstress in a department store in Montgomery, Alabama. On December 1, 1955, Parks boarded a bus to go home after a long day of work. At that time in Alabama, African Americans were not permitted to sit at the front of the bus. So, Rosa Parks took a seat in the fifth row – the first row that was set aside for African Americans.

2 The bus stopped a few times to take on passengers. As it filled up, the driver noticed that several white passengers were standing. He walked back and moved the sign separating the two sections of the bus back one row. Then he asked four African American riders to give up their seats. Three of the passengers did so, but Rosa Parks refused. She was arrested, tried, and found guilty of breaking the law. The penalty was a fine of ten dollars. With her arrest, the modern Civil Rights Movement was born.

3 Rosa Parks’ arrest caught the attention of local leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This was a group whose goal was to secure rights for all African Americans. The local NAACP made plans for a bus boycott. It got the help of several local ministers, including a young man who was new to the city. His name was the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. He agreed to lead the bus boycott.

4 In the past, protests often led to violence. King encouraged a nonviolent approach to changing the way things were done. The plan was for people to avoid using buses. Instead, people would walk or form car pools to get around the city. If the boycott lasted long enough, the bus company would lose large amounts of money. Then people would be forced to pay attention.

5 At first, officials from the city and the bus company rejected the idea of equal treatment on buses. Boycott leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., were arrested. The homes of King and another boycott leader were bombed. Finally, protestors sued the city to end segregated buses.

6 In December 1956, the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation on city buses was illegal. It was a little more than a year from the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. The successful efforts of 40,000 African Americans in Montgomery led to similar protests in other southern cities. And Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as a leader in the fight for civil rights. 

Multiple Choice

How does the author introduce the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement?

• With a fact stating the number of people who participated in the bus boycott

• With a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., about the bus boycott

• With an anecdote about Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus

• With several examples of unjust treatment against African Americans in Montgomery

Multiple Choice

In paragraph 3, the author elaborates on Rosa Parks’ arrest by

• Showing that a bus boycott is an effective way to get things done

• Explaining the role of the NAACP in releasing her from jail

• Telling what effect it had on the local African American community

• Introducing the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., as the leader of the bus boycott

Multiple Choice

What detail does the author provide to suggest that Rosa Parks was an unlikely hero?

• Rosa Parks was an ordinary person.

• Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger.

• Rosa Parks rode on segregated buses.

• Rosa Parks was accused of breaking the law and was arrested.

Multiple Choice

Why did the author include the fact that 40,000 African Americans participated in the bus boycott?

• To show how much money the bus company was going to lose because of the boycott

• To show how many people felt strongly about injustice and wanted to stand up against it

• To show how many African Americans were living in Montgomery at the time

• To show how many people thought Martin Luther King, Jr., was a great leader

Multiple Choice

How does the author illustrate the idea of nonviolent protest?

• With a discussion about equal rights for all

• With an example of how a bus boycott works

• With a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.,

• With examples of violent actions against protestors

Multiple Choice

Reread paragraph 5. The examples in this paragraph are evidence that ____

• The African-American community became frustrated and gave up.

• The African American community responded to violence with more violence

• The white community reacted in anger to the protests

• The white community was willing to compromise and end segregation on some local buses

Multiple Choice

Reread paragraph 6. The facts in this paragraph are evidence that

• The boycott only affected the citizens of Montgomery, Alabama

• A boycott is only successful if everyone agrees with its purpose

• A boycott requires a great leader and an excellent plan

• Important changes happened as a result of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Multiple Choice

Why does the author include this detail about the Supreme Court ruling?

It was a little more than a year from the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.

• To show that this was the hardest decision the Supreme Court had to make.

• To show that her small act was planned and changed the lives of millions of Americans.

• To show that the Supreme Court made the right decision

• To show that it takes time and patience to get important work done

Multiple Choice

Why does the author include the fact that the boycott led to similar protests in other southern cities?

• To compare the bus boycott to other protests in the South

• To show how one person can make a difference

• To prove that problems can usually be solved by peaceful means

• To show that African Americans in other southern cities were treated unfairly and to provide them a solution to the problem

Multiple Choice

Why did the author include the last sentence about Martin Luther King, Jr.?

• To connect his early death to his work fighting for civil rights

• To set the stage for his later winning the Nobel Peace Prize

• To show that the boycott was the start of his career

• To show that no one else was willing to lead the fight for civil rights

Multiple Choice

Rosa Parks raised a rallying cry for racial equality.

This is an example of what type of figurative language?

• Metaphor

• Personification

• Alliteration

• Allusion