Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

Civil Rights Movement

Black History Month

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 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States is not new but dates back to the first years of
slavery and the events of the Civil War. But major achievements were gained during the second
half of the 20th century. Before this period, African-Americans had suffered from inhuman
segregation, violence and exploitation. The Civil Rights Movement used nonviolent protests to
outlaw racial discrimination against African Americans and restore voting rights to them.

There were many notable characters in the Civil Rights Movement. We will learn about a
few:

Rosa Parks
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

Listen to the song and fill in the blanks.

Sister Rosa - Neville Brothers

December ………….., 1955, our freedom movement came alive. And because of Sister Rosa you
.………… know, we don’t ride on the back of the bus no

Parks was tired one day..………………

.after a hard day on her job
When all she ………….. was a well deserved rest
.not a scene from an angry mob
A bus driver said, "………….., you got to get up
".because a white person wants that seat
.But Miss Rosa said, "No, not no more
".I’m going to sit here and ………. my feet

,..…………Thank you Miss Rosa, you are the spark

You started our ………….. movement
.Thank you Sister Rosa Parks
.Thank you Miss Rosa you are the spark
You started our freedom movement
.Sister Rosa Parks.……………

Now, the ………….. came without fail

.and took Sister Rosa off to jail
.And …………..dollars was her fine
Brother Martin Luther King
.knew it was …………... time
The people of Montgomery sit down to talk
..……………It was decided all gods’ children should walk
Until segregation was brought to its knees
And we ………….. freedom and equality, yeah

,Thank you Miss Rosa, you are the spark

You ……………our freedom movement
.Thank you Sister Rosa Parks
We’ll sing it again
,Thank you Miss Rosa, you are the spark
You started our freedom movement
.Thank you Sister Rosa Parks
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

So we dedicate this ………… to thee

..………… for being the symbol of our
.Thank Sister Rosa Parks

,Thank you Miss Rosa, ………… are the spark

You started our freedom movement
.Thank you Sister Rosa Parks
………… We’ll sing it
,Thank you Miss Rosa, you are the spark
You started our freedom movement
.Thank you Sister Rosa Parks

,Thank you Miss Rosa, you are the spark

You started our freedom movement
.Thank you Sister Rosa Parks
We’ll sing it again
,Thank you Miss Rosa, you are the spark
You started our freedom movement
.Thank you Sister Rosa Parks

ACCESS TO INFORMATION FROM A WRITTEN TEXT.

Answer the following questions in English.

1. When did the freedom movement come alive?

……………………………………………………………………………………… .

2. What is the meaning of the word “movement” as it is mentioned in the song?

a. action b. political group c. trend

3. Why did the bus driver tell Miss Rosa to change her seat?

……………………………………………………………………………………… .

4. According to the text, to whom is this song dedicated and why?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………… .
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

5. CIRCLE THE CORRECT ANSWER

(a) Is Miss Rosa Park released from prison? YES /NO

(b) Copy a word/ phrase that justifies your answer.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

6. Why is the figure of Martin Luther King mentioned in the text?

……………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Vocabulary Break

1. Find the synonyms of the following words in the song and fill in the puzzle.

1 2 3

8
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

ACROSS DOWN
1 Separation 2 Similarity
4 Flash 3 Acquire
6 Self respect 5 Sign
8 Party 6 Be worthy of
9 Devote 7 Liberty

Choose three words and put each in a sentence:

1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________

GRAMMAR: Suffixes
Circle the correct answer.

 I have great admiration/ admire/ admirable for my parents.

 My parents are very tolerate/ tolerable/ tolerant.
 Lying to your friends is not very maturity/ mature/ maturely.
 You need a good educate/ educated/ education if you want to progress in the world
today.
 I feel most comfort/ comfortable/ comfortably when I am with people that I know.

2. Complete the chart. Form adjectives from the words below by using a suitable suffix.
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

logic expense import persuade season like help curiosity

rest caution differ accept

-less -able -ant/ -ent -ous -ive -al

3. Complete the chart. Form nouns from the words below by using a suitable suffix.

account correspond defend depend imagine meditate offend

organize possible public respond secure

-ation -ant/ -ent -ity -se

 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

Rosa Parks - Mother of the Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Parks was an African-American woman who is remembered for her bravery and
how she helped to bring racial segregation in America to an end.

On December 1, 1955, Parks was ordered to give up her seat to a white passenger on
a Montgomery Alabama bus. When she refused to move, the bus driver had her
arrested. She was fined for breaking the law.

According to Alabama law at that time, white people had to sit in the front rows of a
bus and black people sat in the back rows. When the black section was full, they had
to stand. When more white people boarded the bus the blacks had to get up and give
their seats to the whites.

Sometimes blacks had to get on the bus at the front, pay the fare to the bus driver, get
off and enter again through the back door.

Parks’ action led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for over a year. It was led
by Martin Luther King. He urged the African-Americans in Montgomery not to use the
city buses and demanded an end to segregation. In the months during the boycott,
African- Americans in Montgomery were threatened and attacked. In 1956, the
American Supreme Court (the highest court) ruled that segregation on buses was
illegal.

What Rosa Parks did gave the civil rights movement more momentum. In the years that
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

followed African-Americans fought harder for equal rights until, finally, in 1964, the Civil
Rights Act was passed.

Rosa Parks is often called the mother of the civil rights movement. In her later life,
she remained an activist and fought for racial justice. After the incident on the bus, Rosa
Parks lost her job and moved to Detroit where she spent the rest of her life. She founded
an institute that shows young people how important civil rights are. Rosa Parks died in
2002 at the age of 92.

adapted from www.english-online.at

 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

QUESTIONS

1. What is Rosa Parks known for?

2. Cause and effect

1. 2. Rosa Parks was 3.

arrested.

3. In line 6, “she” refers to

4. Circle TRUE or FALSE. Justify your answer by quoting from the text.
It was illegal for Blacks to sit at the front of the bus. True / False
Justify:

5. Circle TRUE or FALSE. Justify your answer by quoting from the text.
White people never sat in the black section. True / False
Justify:

6. In line 10, “their” refers to

7. How long was the bus boycott?

8. In line 13, “it” refers to

9. Circle TRUE or FALSE. Justify your answer by quoting from the text.
Martin Luther King ended the bus boycott. True / False
Justify:
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

10. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, African-Americans

a) used the city buses
b) threatened and attacked people
c) refused to use the buses
d) demanded segregation

11. What officially ended segregation on buses?

12. What is Rosa Parks known as?

13. When Rosa Parks was older, she

a) moved from Detroit
b) founded an institute to end segregation
c) passed the Civil Rights Act
d) continued to actively fight for justice

14. What did Rosa Parks establish?

SUMMARY COMPLETION

Rosa Parks is an important figure because of her part in helping to end in

America. When she to give up her seat, the Montgomery Bus
began, which was by Martin Luther King.
Finally in 1956, the US Supreme Court that segregation on buses was
illegal, and in 1964, the _ Act was passed. Rosa Parks
an activist and fought for for the rest of her life.

SYNONYMS

1. segregation a. part
2. section b. organization
3. founded c. separation
4. institute d. established
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

I have a dream
"I Have a Dream" is a very eloquent speech by Martin Luther King Jr. It is a 17-
minute public speech delivered on August 28, 1963, in which King called for racial
equality and an end to discrimination. The speech, from the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a defining
moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. Delivered to over 200,000 civil
rights supporters, the speech was ranked the top American speech of the 20th
century by a 1999 poll of scholars of public address.

Extract of the speech

Here is an extract of the speech:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the
sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat
of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of
freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will
not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Listen to the speech on Youtube and write down one sentence that got your attention.
 Civil Rights Movement - Black History Month

Writing a Personal Experience Essay

Pre-writing

Choose one experience from your life that is interesting enough to be told.

Introduction

Think of an introduction that will make the reader eager to know more about the experience.

Body

Use simple past or past continuous tense. If something happened previous to the personal
experience, use past perfect.

Write down some quick notes about the experience.

Don't worry about grammar. Take five minutes at the end to proofread your essay.

Remember every detail and try to visualize it.

 Your feelings
 Your thoughts
 Objects around you (their shape, color, size, ...)
 The smell
 The taste
 Actions

Include the setting: place, time. (Give specific details about the place and the time.)

Tell the events:

 in chronological order
 or using a flash back technique (depicting / recalling a set of events that occurred before
the scenes immediately proceeding)

Conclusion

Conclude by telling what you learned from the experience.

Post writing

Edit your essay.