Read the article “Standing Up to Segregation” before answering Numbers 11 through 20.
Standing Up to Segregation
Excerpt from Scott Foresman Summer Reading Series, Grade 4
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Many believe that Rosa Parks helped initiate the civil rights movement. She did this in a very simple way. She refused to
give up her seat on a bus based on the color of her skin.
In 1955, segregation was a way of life in the American South. Segregation meant that people of different races were
separated from each other. Under segregation, black people could not go to the same hospitals as white people. They
could not eat in the same restaurants. They could not use the same water fountains. Black children could not attend
the same schools as white children. They could not use the same playgrounds.
Segregation also meant that black people had to ride in the back of public buses. In Montgomery, Alabama, even if a
black person was seated in the back of the bus, he or she may have needed to surrender that seat. If the front seats
were taken and a white person wanted to sit down, a black person had to give up their seat. Black people followed
these rules every day. But one day, Rosa refused. When she did not give her seat to a white man, Rosa was arrested.
Such treatment of black people had been going on for hundreds of years. This unfairness began when their ancestors
were enslaved. Some people saw the injustice of segregation. Others did not. There were many challenges in court.
But Southern states did not change the laws.
The bus driver ordered Rosa to give up her seat. The official charge against her was “refusing to obey the orders of a bus
driver.” Rosa’s challenge was not meant to result in a court case. That day on the bus, the other riders probably had
little idea that they were watching history being made. They were unsuspecting of what her actions would lead to.
Soon black leaders in Montgomery organized a boycott of the city bus system. This boycott was led by Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
For 382 days, black people refused to ride the Montgomery buses. They found other ways to get to work and school.
They walked and rode bicycles. They rode with people who had cars. As the boycott went on, it grew bigger. Finally,
the Alabama Supreme Court said that segregated seating on buses violated the Constitution.
Rosa continued her civil rights work for the rest of her life. She became a well-known activist who spoke out for the
rights of African Americans. In 1999, she was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. That is the highest award
given by the government of the United States.
11. Which paragraph would BEST be supported by the following key detail?
Rosa Parks was tired of the way black people were treated.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Paragraph 2, page 150
Paragraph 3, page 150
Paragraph 1, page 151
Paragraph 2, page 151
12. Read this sentence from the article.
Many believe that Rosa Parks helped initiate the civil rights movement.
Which word has the OPPOSITE meaning of initiate?
F. end
G. initial
H. invest
I. start
13. What text evidence provides the BEST support for the point that segregation was illegal and wrong?
A. facts about segregation in education
B. details about how laws violated the Constitution
C. details about how badly black people were treated
D. facts about the events that led to the arrest of Rosa Parks.
14. Read these sentences from the article.
In 1955, segregation was a way of life in the American South. Segregation meant that people of different
races were separated from each other.
Which words in the sentences above help the reader understand what segregation means?
F. way of life
G. different races
H. separated from
I. American South
15. The author provides details about Rosa’s actions on the bus to support the point that
A. Rosa was an important person in history.
B. Rosa had no choice but to do what she did.
C. segregation hurt both white and black people.
D. segregation was just beginning to become popular.
16. Read this sentence from the article.
In Montgomery, Alabama, even if a black person was seated in the back of the bus, he or she may have
had to surrender that seat.
Which of the following means the OPPOSITE of surrender?
F. direct
G. fight
H. quit
I. surround
17. What evidence does the author use to BEST show that Rosa was a successful activist?
A. the Montgomery bus boycott
B. an explanation for segregation
C. a description of what life was like in the South
D. details about the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor
18. Read this sentence from the article.
When she did not give up her seat to a white man, Rosa was arrested.
Which word has almost the SAME meaning as arrested?
F. freed
G. jailed
H. released
I. stayed
19. What evidence in the text supports the author’s point that Rosa’s action led to something very important?
A. The official charge against her was “refusing to obey orders of bus driver.”
B. She refused to give up her seat on a bus based on the color of her skin.
C. Soon, black leaders in Montgomery organized a boycott of the city bus system.
D. They found other ways to get to work and school.
20. Which words from the article have almost the SAME meaning?
F. walk, rode
G. followed, required
H. injustice, unfairness
I. hospitals, restaurants
21. Both articles are secondhand accounts. How would the focus and information in “School Strike!” and “Standing Up
to Segregation” change if they were written as firsthand accounts? Support your answer with clear text evidence from
articles.
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