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Read Rosa Parks: My Story, Chapter 1: “How it All Started” – Chapter 3: “Schooling in Montgomery;” Complete Student Packet Worksheets for Chapter 1: “How it All Started” – Chapter 3: “Schooling in Montgomery”

Before starting the lesson, write the following three excerpts on chart paper or the board and cover them.

Reveal the first excerpt: Sixteen years ago, Aisha and Jason met while at a beach in Italy. They fell madly in love and got married within a month. The couple hasn’t been apart for more than a day. Ask: "What is this excerpt mostly about? Aisha and Jason met on a beach, or Aisha and Jason are married for sixteen years even though they only dated for a month?"

Reveal the next excerpt: Aisha and Jason now have three children, even though they couldn’t picture themselves as parents. Their love for their children is evident. Aisha and Jason are great parents who would do anything for their kids. Ask: "What is this excerpt mostly about? Aisha and Jason never wanted children, or Aisha and Jason are great parents?"

Reveal the final excerpt: When their oldest daughter lost her hair from chemo, Aisha shaved her brown locks off too. When their son needed a kidney, Jason gave his. Ask: "What is this excerpt mostly about? The couple’s daughter went through chemo, or the family helps each other?"

Ask: "What are all these excerpts mostly about? The couple has been married for sixteen years, or the couple loves each other and their family?" 

will explain that in each excerpt there was a main idea, or what the text was mostly about. Each of these main ideas helped us determine the overall main idea of the passage. Similarly, autobiographies have an overall main idea for the book. A good way to understand the autobiography’s main idea is to figure out the main idea of each chapter. To do this, I will identify the topic of each chapter, and the supporting details. This will help me draw a conclusion about its main idea.

I will identify the main idea of Chapter 1: “How it All Started,” in Rosa Parks: My Story. I will skim or reread the chapter and l will list the topics discussed in the text on chart paper or the board. I will think aloud, "What did I learn about in this chapter? I learned about Rosa Parks’ childhood, her family, and slavery." I will write each topic in a circle that will help me create Main Idea Web 1. Note: See Main Idea Web 1 for a sample chart and responses.

For each topic, I will cluster key supporting details around the topic. For example, under the topic circle, “childhood,” I will connect a line and draw a detail circle. Inside the detail circle, I will write that Rosa was raised in her grandparents’ house in Alabama and that she had a younger brother.

After I’ve clustered all the supporting details around each topic, I will think aloud: "What is the main idea of this chapter? What do all of these clusters have in common? What does the author want me to know overall? Using my clusters, I can figure out that the big idea of this chapter is that the author wants to explain her family background and introduce significant people in her childhood." I will write this main idea on Main Idea Web 1.

Ask: "How can I identify the main idea in an autobiography?" Students should answer that they can read a chapter and create a list of the topics in the text. Next, they can identify the main details for each topic. They can use the list to draw a conclusion about the chapter’s main idea.

will reread Chapter 2: “Not Just Another Little Girl” aloud to identify the main idea. As we read, we will create a Main Idea Web about the topics that are discussed. Note: Topics can include the author’s schooling, segregation, the Ku Klux Klan, and/or cotton picking. See Main Idea Web 2 for specific examples. We will connect the supporting details to these topics. For example, under the topic circle, “the author’s schooling,” we will connect a line and draw a detail circle. Inside the detail circle, we will write that Rosa attended a one-room schoolhouse and she liked to read.

We will examine the topics and details we have written down to draw a conclusion about the main idea. We will draw a conclusion that the main idea of this chapter is that the author’s childhood was difficult because she grew up around violence, hard work, and little school or play. We will record the main idea on Main Idea Web 2.

will reread Chapter 3: “Schooling in Montgomery.” On your Main Idea Web Worksheet, you will record topics identified in the chapter and you will write down details from the text that support each topic. (See page 6 in the Student Packet.) You will then analyze the information on your Worksheet to determine the overall main idea. You will draw a conclusion about the chapter’s main idea and prepare to share it with the class.

will continue identifying the main idea of each chapter and fill out a Main Idea Web Graphic Organizer for each chapter if time permits. Note: Use the Main Idea Web Graphic Organizer as a worksheet for each chapter. When we are finished reading the book, we will come back to our Main Idea Web Graphic Organizer to draw a conclusion about the entire book’s main idea. What does the author want us to come away when we have finished reading her autobiography?