Rosa Parks by Nikki Giovanni | CommonLit

by Nikki Giovanni 2002

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

No Man Is An Island

John Donne

In "No Man Is an Island," the speaker explains the interconnectedness of all humankind.

Pair “No Man is an Island” with “Rosa Parks” and ask students to discuss how the poems’ themes connect. How might the theme of Donne’s poem play a role in what Giovanni attempts to demonstrate in her poem? How might you describe how the Portman Porters were, to borrow the term from Donne’s poem “a part of the main”? How might you argue that, again, to borrow from Donne’s poem, the “bell tolled” for Rosa Parks?

9th Grade Poem

Emmett Till

Jessica McBirney

This informational text explains how the murder of Emmett Till helped spark the Civil Rights Movement.

Pair “Emmett Till” with “Rosa Parks” in order to provide students with background information on the murder of Emmett Till, and how his death came to spark the Civil Rights movement. Consider the decision Mamie Till made to hold an open casket funeral and its subsequent effects on others, particularly the details on how it affected Rosa Parks. In light of reading this text, how has your view changed on the role the Pullman Porters played within the Civil Rights movement?

7th Grade Informational Text 1070L

Rosa Parks: Beyond the Bus

Barrett Smith

In the informational text "Rosa Parks: Beyond the Bus," Barrett Smith discusses some of Rosa Parks' lesser known, but equally important, accomplishments.

Pair “Rosa Parks: Beyond the Bus” with “Rosa Parks” to provide students with some additional information about Rosa Parks. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus, she became one of the most well-known women in the Civil Rights movement. However, in this text, Barrett Smith sheds light on the contributions that Parks made to the movement before the incident on this bus. How does having a more complete picture of Rosa Parks help shape your views of the Rosa Parks that Giovanni describes in her poem?

7th Grade Biography 1060L

Rosa Parks

Nikki Giovanni

This text is available in both English and Spanish. Click here to view this text in the other language.

9th Grade Poem

Paired Texts > Rosa Parks