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Social Studies Inquiry Project

By Jack Dunphey & Gracie Blackburn

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Standards and Objectives:

Standards:

1.B.1 Understand how culture, values, and beliefs shape people, places, and environments.

1.C&G.1 Understand how people engage with and participate in the community.

Objectives:

1.B.1.2 Summarize ways that culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse people help shape a community.

1.C&G.1.1 Exemplify ways individuals and groups play a role in shaping communities.

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Anchor Text:

If a Bus Could Talk by Nikki Giovanni

Illustrated by Bryan Collier

What is it about?

  • Based on the true story of Rosa Parks, this book is about how on December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks, a Black Woman living in Montgomery Alabama, refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man sparking a revolution and making her the center figure of the civil rights movement.

  • It details her young life, the events of before and after the montgomery bus boycotts.

  • Key figures involved in the civil rights movement are mentioned throughout this text.

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Link to Book: https://www.amazon.com/If-Bus-Could-Talk-Story/dp/0689856768/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OAZ81O2AFO8X&keywords=if+a+bus+could+talk&qid=1682968315&s=books&sprefix=if+a+bus+could+talk%2Cstripbooks%2C254&sr=1-1

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Discussion Questions:

Before:

  • By looking after the cover what do you the book is about?
  • What is a Boycott

During:

  • How was school for Rosa Parks different for her than for you?
  • What is segregation?
  • Do you recognize any of these names being mentioned (Ex. Martin Luther King)

Ending:

  • How does the story of Mrs. Rosa Parks make you feel about the United States?
  • How did Rosa Parks actions and the actions of others affect the city of montgomery?

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Activity:

Materials Needed:

  • Access the text If a Bus Could Talk
  • Pen, Pencil (Any Writing Utensils)
  • Class Copies of attached Graphic Organizer for If a Bus Could Talk

What to do:

  • Distribute Graphic Organizers to class.
  • Have students record the information they learned and their thoughts. Students can collaborate at their tables groups to share ideas.
  • Lead class in a discussion of what they learned after the organizer is completed and filled out.

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What the Activity Looks Like:

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Complimentary Text 1:

Rosa Parks By Christine Taylor- Butler

What’s it all about?

A easy to read biography about Rosa Parks that contains many facts, pictures, primary source information about montgomery alabama, and events in Rosa’s Life in 1913, that lead to the bus boycott that started in 1955, and the life of Parks after the boycott as well how the United States changed as a result of the actions of Parks and others.

This book details actions of civil protest prior to Mrs. Parks arrest. Highlights her activism in political organizations. It further details acts of discrimination that occurred before and after the bus boycott.

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Complementary Text 2:

Because Claudette By Tracey Baptiste, Illustrated by Tonya Engel

What’s it all about?

The story of Claudette Colvin, a 15 year old girl who refused to ride get up from her seat on a bus, prior to the Rosa Parks boycott. She is the precursor to Mrs. Parks, very much an unsung hero among the civil rights movement.

Claudette Colvin’s case was extremely influential in the bus boycott movement. Rosa Parks helped raise money for Claudette Colvin’s defense case.

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Complimentary Text 3:

The History of the Civil Rights Movement: A History Book for New Readers By Shadae Mallory

What's it all about?

  • This book contains information about the Civil Rights movement before and after boycotts and incorporates other key figures in the movement.
  • It provides a contextual timeline for laws that impacted the course of the civil rights movement and contains vocabulary for young readers

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Primary Source 1:

The Police Report:

  • This is the filed police report from when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on December, 1, 1955.
  • This document list the name of the bus driver and the exact time and date in which Mrs. Parks occurred as well as the reasons for her arrest.

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Primary Source 2:

  • This is a book written by Phillip Hoose that contain countless interviews from Claudette Colvin, and many others who recount the lived experience of of Claudette Colvin during the Civil Rights movement.

  • This is a great resource for teachers to use to get a more thorough understanding of Montgomery, Alabama in the mid 1950’s through the oral histories told by those involved.

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Link to BooK: https://www.amazon.com/Claudette-Colvin-Twice-Toward-Justice/dp/0312661053/ref=asc_df_0312661053/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312151238048&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2155427419244816446&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010192&hvtargid=pla-553270770147&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61316181079&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312151238048&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2155427419244816446&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010192&hvtargid=pla-553270770147

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Primary Source 3

  • This is the leaflet that was created by Jo Ann Robinson after the arrest of Mrs. Rosa Parks
  • Jo Ann Robinson was the president of the Women's Political Council (WPC)
  • This leaflet called for a one day boycott of the montgomery bus system.
  • The WPC printed roughly 50,000 copies of this message and distributed it out. Their actions lead to the boycott that last for over a year!

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Picture Source:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss85943.001906/?sp=2&r=-0.784,-0.003,2.568,1.632,0

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Resource 1:

  • This a document that shows the city laws regarding bus riding in Montgomery, Alabama at the time that Rosa Parks was arrested.
  • The document states that separation of races was a requirement of the Montgomery City Code

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Image Source: https://blogs.kentlaw.iit.edu/library/exhibits/montgomery-1955/images-documents/montgomery-city-code/

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Resource 2:

The Pittsburgh Courier, Saturday, January 14, 1956:

  • This is a news article from 1956 that contains information about how the Boycott affected the local economy and affected the bus company that operated in Montgomery, Alabama.
  • It highlights how the boycott forced 80% of buses to be laid up, pointed out the fact that 75% of bus riders in montgomery at this time were African American.

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Resource 3:

Montgomery bus boycott

United States history By Encyclopedia Britannica

  • This encyclopedia article is a great source for learning about different political groups that advocated for change in the United States. It discusses political groups and organizations and their efforts for change before the Rosa Arrest. It discusses the efforts of the Women's Political Council and montgomery branch of the NAACP.

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Resource 4

  • This video is a great resource for teachers to use with young students in order for them to understand key vocabulary terms and what life was like living in segregation. It mentions key figures such as Rosa Parks but also Martin Luther King. It provides information on the civil rights act of 1964, a crucial law for the rights of African American citizens in the United States.

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Khan Academy Video: Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Montgomery Bus Boycott for Kids | Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King

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Context & Vocabulary:

Context:

  • Jim Crow Laws
  • NAACP
  • Negro
  • WPC
  • Bus Fare
  • Montgomery Public Transportation System
  • White Supremacy
  • Klu Klux Klan

Vocabulary:

-Boycott:

-Oppression

-Segregation

-Racism

-Integration

-Ethnicity

-Advocacy

- Civil Protest

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Teacher Content Knowledge:

The topic chosen to research was the 1955 Montgomery Boycotts, focused on the connection primarily with the story of Rosa Parks, further influential figures and groups are mentioned and discussed such as Claudette Colvin, Jo Ann Robinson, WPC, NAACP and their involvement with inspiring the communities and being a leader in promoting civil acts of protest to develop the rights of African American citizens in the United States. The boycott was the active result of civil unrest due to Mrs. Parks being arrested to refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a montgomery alabama bus on December 1st, 1955. Parks was the key post figure in a large group effort to create change in this country. It is important to know the circumstances that lead up to the boycott, key figures and groups involved, and the effects of the boycott changed the community of montgomery alabama but the state and views of the country nation wide.

Through research, we gained knowledge on boycotts that occurred before Rosa Park’s and how Rosa’s became the central case of focused used to gain sympathy and create change. There were other boycotts that occured prior to Rosa’s although her case was deemed to gather the most sympathy from white people. Learned about the meetings and countless community discussions that were held in order to discuss what course of action could be taken. Further teacher should educate themselves on the multiple political groups that had an effect on the movement such as the NAACP and WPC and influential members of those groups. The teacher should also educate themselves on the timeline of civil rights events primarily in the 1900’s to showcase the course for change in the United States.

Life in the United States was not pleasant under Jim Crow law in the United States. Segregation made it illegal for blacks and white to share common public spaces. Beyond this, segregation caused high racial tensions in communities, forced children to attend separate schools, and was overall unconstitutional and deprived people their basic human rights. Through tragedy, communities advocated, protested, and demanded change. Teachers should fully submerge themselves in learning about what happened in Montgomery Alabama on December 1st, 1955 but also need to be aware of the actions that occurred prior and the actions that followed up. Change is not the act of one singular person, it requires community, faith and action, and the subject of the montgomery bus boycotts highlights such action.

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Interdisciplinary Connections:

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Music, Art, Language Arts

Oh Freedom Over Me:

An old spiritual song that Rosa Parks mother would sing to her.

This song inspired many african americans in the civil rights movement to stand up and fight for their rights.

Rosa Parks By Harvey Dinnerstein

This artwork was done in 1956 after the artist, who lived in New York was inspired by the revolution that was occurring in the south

More Information: https://delart.org/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-and-the-montgomery-bus-boycott/

Link to Song With Civil Rights Images https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veiJLhXdwn8

Bus Boycott By Eve Merriam.

A poem written in 1956 inspired by Mrs. Parks. She wrote many poems about social issues. More of her poems linked here: https://www.crmvet.org/poetry/amerriam.htm