“Civil Rights on a City Bus”
Responses to Written Response Questions
2ndClose Reading: Written Response Questions
1. Determine the meaning of the word defiance in paragraph one. Use evidence from the text to support the meaning.
The word defiance means to challenge or defy authority. Rosa Parks was expected to give up her seat to a white passenger and move to the back of the bus, but she refused to give up her spot to him. With her refusal to move, she defied the order of the bus driver and did not do as he asked.
2. Determine the meaning of the word boycott in paragraph two. Use evidence from the text to support the meaning.
The word boycott means to stop using the services of a company. In paragraph two, the African-Americans in Birmingham did not use the public bus system for over a year. The author states, “…most black commuters walked to where they needed to go--some more than twenty miles.”
3. Determine the meaning of the word segregate in paragraph four. Use evidence from the text to support the meaning.
The word segregate means to separate people based on race or religion. In paragraph four, the author states that blacks and whites were segregated on public buses. Looking at paragraph one, context clues explain how Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man because she was black. Her seat was located just past the area that was reserved for white passengers. But that area was full so the driver asked Rosa and the other black passengers to move to the back of the bus so the white man could sit. Also, in paragraph two, the author states that “Jim Crow laws were meant to keep white and black people separate.”
3rdClose Reading: Written Response Questions
- Identify the evidence the author uses in paragraph one to support the point that Rosa Park’s act of defiance set off the Civil Rights Movement.
Rosa Park’s act of defiance set off the Civil Rights Movement. On her way home from work on the public bus, she was expected to give up her seat to white passengers when the bus became full. She was to then move to the back of the bus. Ms. Parks refused to do so which spurred the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.
- Identify the reason the author uses in paragraph three to refute the misconception that Rosa Parks didn’t move because she was tired.
The author refutes the misconception that Ms. Parks did not move from her seat because she was tired. The author directly quotes Ms. Parks using words from her autobiography. In it she states, “People always say I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. …, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” Through the use of specific reasons, the author disproves the misconception.
Culminating Task
Explain how the author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in the article “Civil Rights on a City Bus,” identifying which reasons and evidence support which point.
In the article “Civil Rights on a City Bus,” the author makes three specific points in the article. These points are that Rosa Park’s act of defiance set off the Civil Rights Movement, she inspired people by refusing to follow the Jim Crow laws, and she stayed seated on the bus due to frustration and not tiredness.
Rosa Park’s act of defiance set off the Civil Rights Movement. On her way home from work on December 1, 1955, Ms. Parks was utilizing the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama. At the time African-Americans were expected to give up their seat to a white passenger and move to the back of the bus when all seats were occupied. The bus driver ordered Ms. Parks and other African-American passengers to the back of the bus, but she refused to move.
Ms. Parks inspired people by choosing to not follow the “Jim Crow laws.” Jim Crow laws were laws that were intended to keep whites and African-Americans separate. With her refusal, the author states that people such as Dr. Martin Luther King were inspired by her act of defiance. Also, her actions inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott where African-Americans boycotted or refused to ride the public bus system for over a year. As detailed in paragraph two, some African-American commuters walked over twenty miles to work.
Lastly, the author makes the specific point that Rosa Parks stayed seated on December 1, 1955 out of frustration, not because she was tired. In paragraph three the author quotes directly from Ms. Park’s autobiography, Rosa Parks: My Story, to present evidence to disprove the misconception of her being tired. As quoted in the article, “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. …the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
The author of this article makes three specific claims in the article “Civil Rights on a City Bus.” These points include the fact that Rosa Parks stayed seated on a Montgomery bus because she was frustrated with segregation, she inspired people with her act of defiance, and this act of defiance set off the Civil Rights Movement. Each of these points is clearly supported with evidence and reasons within the article.