Social Studies Research and Practice
http://www.socstrp.org
Notable Trade Book Lesson Plan
Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
Written By Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
This Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
lesson introduces students to the story of Rosa Parks and
the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The lesson includes an
introductory activity that orients students to concepts of
unfairness and discrimination, followed by a reading of
the story. Students engage with primary sources
(photographs) to compare and contrast life during
segregation and life today. The lesson may be expanded
to include a study of notable individuals involved in the
Civil Rights Movement. Students utilize higher order
thinking skills to determine ways to deal with issues of
unfair situations they encounter. Throughout the lesson,
students exhibit their learning through discussion,
writing, and artistic expression.
Key Words: Civil Rights Movement, Discrimination,
Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks, Segregation
About the Author
Deborah Morowski, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at
Auburn University. Her research interests include social studies education,
educational history, teacher education and African-American secondary
education in the American South from 1900 to 1960. She can be reached at
[email protected].
Citation for this Article
Morowski, D. (2010). Notable trade book lesson plan: Boycott blues: How Rosa Parks inspired a nation.
Social Studies Research and Practice, 5(2), 103-108. Retrieved from
http://www.socstrp.org/issues/PDF/5.2.10.pdf.
Volume 5 Number 2
103
Summer 2010
Social Studies Research and Practice
http://www.socstrp.org
Book Title
Book
Summary
NCSS
Standards
Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
Written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
New York: Harper Collins, Inc. 2009 Notable Trade Book
ISBN: 978006082
Recommended for Grades 3-4
Lesson is designed to last two to three class periods.
Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation recounts the story of Rosa Parks
and the ensuing Montgomery bus boycott utilizing clear rhythmic text to evoke the
feeling of blues music. Jim Crow is represented as a large black bird with bony
wings. The narrator of the story, a blues-playing dog, makes the events
surrounding the bus boycott accessible to young readers. Boycott Blues artfully
describes the difficulties African-American children and adults experienced during
the long boycott, as well as the outcome of the event. The appealing colored ink on
clay board illustrations enhance the text in portraying the struggles and
determination of those who participated in the bus boycott.
Standard Topics
I. Culture
II. Time, Continuity, and Change
III. Individual Development and Identity
IV. Power, Authority, and Governance
V. Civic Ideals and Practices
Materials
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Objectives
Students will




Volume 5 Number 2
Boycott Blues – one copy
Internet access
Books on Civil Rights leaders
11x17 paper
Crayons and markers
Notebook paper and pencils
Assessment rubric
Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks available from Teaching Tolerance
Compare and contrast life during and after segregation.
Create a poster on a Civil Rights leader.
Write a paragraph of at least five sentences.
Identify four important facts about a Civil Rights leader.
104
Summer 2010
Social Studies Research and Practice
http://www.socstrp.org
Procedures
Exploration/
Introduction
Note: This lesson could be used to introduce a unit on Civil Rights, including
segregation and some of the important figures involved with the Civil Rights
Movement.
1. Have students seated in the front of the classroom, gather on the floor for a
discussion on fairness. Have students seated in the back write three
paragraphs on an unfair situation and how they attempted to resolve the
dilemma. As students are working on the floor, the teacher will reward their
efforts with a prize, such as stickers, candy, etc.
2. After five to ten minutes, have the students return to their seats and ask the
students who wrote paragraphs “How did you feel during the activity?” Ask
the students who worked on the floor, “How did you feel about the activity?”
Students who previously did not receive a reward should receive one at this
time.
3. Engage the class in a discussion about fairness and means by which such
situations may be resolved.
Development
4. Explain that before the 1950s and 1960s, African-Americans were not
permitted to engage in public life in the same way as white Americans.
5. Read Boycott Blues, locating Montgomery, Alabama on a map, and discussing
vocabulary with which the students may be unfamiliar, such as Jim Crow,
boycott, segregation, etc.
6. Show students historical photographs from the era of segregation available
from Google Images (search segregation photos). Ask, “What do you think
life was like for African-Americans during segregation?” “How would you
feel if you were separated from other people just because of your hair color or
your height, for example?”
7. Show students historical photographs from the Montgomery bus boycott, also
available at Google images. Additional images are available through the
Smithsonian (search segregation photos). Ask, “If you were an AfricanAmerican student during the boycott, how do you think your life would have
been different than it is today?”
8. Explain that the Montgomery bus boycott was part of a larger event called the
Civil Rights Movement.
9. Ask, “How was life different after the Civil Rights Movement?”
Volume 5 Number 2
105
Summer 2010
Social Studies Research and Practice
http://www.socstrp.org
Expansion
10. Ask, “What experiences do you have with people being unfair to others?”
“How did you help to resolve the situation?” “What are other ways that we
can remedy these situations?”
11. Inform the students that they are going to learn more about individuals that
were involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Divide the class into groups of
four students.
12. Have students research major figures from the Civil Rights Movement such as
Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, and
Ida B. Wells-Barnett.
13. Tell students each group is responsible for finding the following facts:
a. Where and when the individual was born.
b. The individual’s role in the Civil Rights Movement.
c. How this individual’s accomplishment(s) influence life today.
14. Have each group create a mini poster about its’ findings. Each student must
contribute at least one relevant fact, including, but not limited to, those listed
above to the poster and participate in the poster creation.
15. After the completion of the posters, each group will elect one person to serve
as spokesperson for the group to share the findings with the class. Posters will
hang on the wall for the remainder of the Civil Rights unit.
16. Have students individually write a paragraph of at least five sentences about
the Civil Rights leader they researched. The paragraph should contain at least
four facts learned by the students.
17. The teacher may choose to show the video Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa
Parks as a follow-on to the lesson.
Assessment
Observe and listen to students’ responses, comparing life prior to and after
desegregation to check for understanding.
Give students a participation grade for contributing one appropriate and relevant
fact to the poster and assisting in its creation. Evaluate students on their
paragraph. (See Appendix).
Volume 5 Number 2
106
Summer 2010
Social Studies Research and Practice
http://www.socstrp.org
Suggested
Extension
Activities
Students could engage family members in a conversation about their memories of
the Civil Rights Movement.
A guest speaker who lived through segregation might address the class on life
prior to and after desegregation.
Students could conduct independent readings of age appropriate books on Civil
Rights leaders. The students then could write reviews of the books.
Additional
References
Adler, D. (1999). A picture book of Thurgood Marshall. New York: Holiday
House.
Bridges, B. (2003). Ruby Bridges goes to school: My true story. New York:
Scholastic, Inc.
Bridges, R. (1999). Through my eyes. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Coles. R. & Ford, G. (1995). The story of Ruby Bridges. New York: Scholastic,
Inc.
Dray, P. (2008). Yours for justice, Ida B. Wells: The daring life of a crusading
journalist. Atlanta: Peachtree Publications.
Fradin, J. B. (2000). Ida B. Wells: Mother of the civil rights movement. New
York: Houghton Mifflin.
Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York: Square Fish.
King, M. L., Jr. (2007). I have a dream. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Millender, D. H. (1983). Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young man with a dream. New
York: Simon & Schuster.
Parks, R. & Haskins, J. (1992). Rosa Parks: My story. New York: Penguin
Group.
Rappaport, D. (2007). Martin’s big words: The life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
New York: Hyperion.
Weblinks
Websites
[NEED TITLES for each website]
 http://www.tolerance.org
 http://images.google.com
 http://www.si.edu/
 http://www.montgomeryboycott.com
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/02_bus.html#video
 http://www.archives.state.al.us/teacher/rights/rights1.html
Volume 5 Number 2
107
Summer 2010
Social Studies Research and Practice
http://www.socstrp.org
Appendix
Individual Paper Rubric
16
12
8
Contains four or more
relevant and
appropriate facts about
a Civil Rights leader.
Contains three or four
relevant and appropriate
facts about a Civil
Rights leader.
Contains one or two
relevant and appropriate
facts about a Civil Rights
leader.
3
2
1
Capitalization
and Punctuation
All sentences begin
with a capital letter and
end with punctuation.
Four sentences begin
with a capital letter and
end with punctuation.
Three or fewer sentences
begin with a capital letter
and end with punctuation.
Spelling
Two or fewer spelling
errors.
Three to five spelling
errors.
Six or more spelling
errors.
Paragraph
Contains a topic
sentence and four or
more supporting
sentences.
Contains a topic
sentence with three
supporting sentences.
Does not contain a topic
sentence.
Facts
Volume 5 Number 2
108
Summer 2010