Rosa Parks-Autobiography-Chapter Book

            Rosa Parks by Eloise Greenfield is the story of not just any African American woman, but that of a true hero.  This autobiography takes the reader back to December 1^st 1955 when Rosa Parks decided to take a stand for her rights and change history forever!  Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4 1913 into a world of unfairness and hate.  During much of her life Rosa grew up during a time where black and whites were not considered equal by any means.  There were different schools, water fountains, and seats on the bus designed specifically for blacks only so that the two never had to mix.  Growing up Rosa was always a strong willed girl, when she got older she joined many organizations fighting for the rights of blacks and the end of segregation and slavery.  Rosa Parks final blow came when she was asked to give her seat on the bus up to a white man.  Most people would have willingly obeyed the bus driver, but on December 1^st 1955 Rosa Parks refused and was taken away to jail.  This became a stamp on history that can never be erased!  After Rosa was taken to jail many stood up to help rescue her and take a stand for their rights.  People from all over decided to quit riding the busses and began walking wherever they had to go, and even though this was very hard on many people, they knew it was time for a change.  When the issue was taken to the Supreme Court it was ruled that bus companies had to allow blacks to sit anywhere on the bus according to the Constitution of the United States.  Ever since then Rosa Parks has been known as  “The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” and she will forever be remembered as a hero to many!  This book is a great book for the upper grades I would say grades 3-5 because it addresses issues that they should be learning about, such as slavery, the civil rights movement, segregation etc.  This book would be a great introduction to any of these topics and also it is important students learn about famous people in history such as Rosa Parks.  I would have students read this book and then I would have them get in groups and each group take a specific chapter to look at.  Next, I would have students be “detectives” for that chapter and pick out any important facts they would like to share with the class.  After the students have done this as a class I would put all the facts up on the board for the students to copy and keep as a reminder of who Rosa Parks is and what she did for our country.  This is only one activity that could be used to correlate with this book, but this book could be a lead way for many other issues and other heroes that have helped make our country what it is today