Rosa

Rosa is an award winning book by Nikki Giovanni about the life of Rosa Parks. The book tells her story and that 1955 bus boycott that was started after her arrest for not moving to the back of the bus.

The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful and remind me of the artwork of Frida Khalo. I think that just by itself the artwork could be used in an art lesson.

I would use this book as a read aloud during a civil rights unit or during Black History Month as a way of personalizing such a big event for children. I would use it to teach empathy in a situation and for moral development. I think this book can be used to ask questions like, "How would you feel?, or "What would you have done?" I think that these questions asked in conjunction with this book could elicit some great discussion and critical thinking in the classroom. 

The book could also be used with a government unit on a lesson involving the Supreme Court. I have recently taught this lesson and I found that the students had difficulty trying to figure out what types of cases the Supreme Court hears. I think that reading this book and connecting it to the types of cases the Supreme Court hears can give the students a better understanding of the content.

Even just used on its own this is a great book for students from grades 3-6. It tells a great story about a positive role model.