Retelling History through Biography Review

But worried or not, I felt proud. I had stood up for our rights. I had done something a lot of adults hadn't done. On the ride home from jail, coming over the viaduct, Reverend Johnson said something to me I'll never forget. He was an adult who everyone respected and his opinion meant a lot to me. "Claudette," he said, "I'm so proud of you. Everyone prays for freedom. We've all been praying and praying. But you're different--you want your answer the next morning. And I think you just brought the revolution to Montgomery."

This excerpt describes Claudette's feelings about which event in her life?

• her performance in school

• her arrest on a bus

• her move to New York City

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Court Square is also within sight of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, pastored by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from 1954 to 1960. And Court Square, as the major transfer point for City Lines buses, figured centrally in the Montgomery bus protests.

Why is this information important to include in the biography?

• because it describes Claudette's family life

• because it describes Claudette's feelings

• because it describes an event in Claudette's life

• because it describes Claudette's environment

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.10

CCSS.RI.6.10

CCSS.RI.7.10

CCSS.RI.8.10

CCSS.RI.9-10.10

All ride long they swore at me and ridiculed me. . . . I recited the Lord's Prayer and the Twenty-third Psalm over and over in my head, trying to push back the fear. I assumed they were taking me to juvenile court because I was only fifteen. I was thinking, Now I'm gonna be picking cotton, since that's how they punished juveniles--they put you in a school out in the country where they made you do field work during the day.

Which point of view does the author use in the excerpt?

• first person

• second person

• no point of view

• third person

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Claudette slid into a window seat on the left side, near the exit door and about halfway back. A schoolmate plopped down beside her, and two other Booker T. Washington students took the seats across the aisle in the same row. Balancing her textbooks on her lap, Claudette settled back and gazed absently out the window as the bus pulled away from the curb.

Which point of view does the author use in the excerpt?

• first person

• second person

• third person

• no point of view

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

When he went away, I looked around me: three bare walls, a toilet, and a cot. Then I fell down on my knees in the middle of the cell and started crying again. I didn't know if anyone knew where I was or what had happened to me. I had no idea how long I would be there. I cried and I put my hands together and prayed like I had never prayed before.

• • •

Meanwhile, schoolmates who had been on the bus had run home and telephoned Claudette's mother at the house where she worked as a maid. Girls went over and took care of the lady's three small children so that Claudette's mother could leave. Mary Ann Colvin called Claudette's pastor, the Reverend H. H. Johnson. He had a car, and together they sped to the police station.

What differences can be found when contrasting the mood of the first-person account with that of the third-person point of view?

• Claudette is lonely and desperate in jail, while friends and family are frantically working together.

• Claudette is angry and violent in jail, while her friends are arguing bitterly about how to help her.

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

The officer ordered her to get up. Again Claudette refused. He returned to the driver and explained that as a transit policeman he lacked the authority to make an arrest. The doors closed behind him as he stepped down into the street and the bus pulled away again. One block north, at the intersection of Bibb and Commerce streets, a squad car was waiting. This time, when the Highland Gardens bus door opened, two Montgomery city policemen climbed aboard. Passengers held their breath.

• • •

CLAUDETTE: One of them said to the driver in a very angry tone, "Who is it?" The motorman pointed at me. I heard him say, "That's nothing new . . . I've had trouble with that 'thing' before." He called me a "thing." They came to me and stood over me and one said, "Aren't you going to get up?" I said, "No, sir." He shouted "Get up" again. I started crying, but I felt even more defiant. I kept saying over and over, in my high-pitched voice, "It's my constitutional right to sit here as much as that lady. I paid my fare, it's my constitutional right!" I knew I was talking back to a white policeman, but I had had enough.

What differences can be found when contrasting the mood of the third-person account with that of Claudette's first-person account?

• The mood of the third-person account is less emotional and more matter-of-fact. The mood of Claudette's account is more emotional and heated.

• The mood of Claudette's account is more emotional and joyous.

• The mood of the third person account is more emotional and dramatic.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

One cop grabbed one of my hands and his partner grabbed the other and they pulled me straight up out of my seat. My books went flying everywhere. I went limp as a baby--I was too smart to fight back. They started dragging me backwards off the bus. One of them kicked me. I might have scratched one of them because I had long nails, but I sure didn't fight back. I kept screaming over and over, "It's my constitutional right!" I wasn't shouting anything profane--I never swore, not then, not ever. I was shouting out my rights.

The police report of this event states that Claudette kicked and scratched the police officers. How can the reader trust that Claudette’s version of the story is accurate?

• The reader can trust that the author believes that Claudette had a right to fight back.

• The reader can trust that the author has consulted many primary sources and confirmed that Claudette's story is true.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Two men rose and scrambled off the trouble-filled bus. Mrs. Hamilton slowly walked back and took one of their seats.

Which line from the police report describes the same event?

• "An unidentified colored female . . . moved to the rear when we asked her to."

• "After we got her in the police car she kicked and scratched."

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Why does author Phillip Hoose include a police report when writing about Claudette Colvin in "It's My Constitutional Right!"?

• because it shares the officer's feelings

• because it proves that the story is true

• because it looks official in the book

• because it shows that the story is fictional

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.7

CCSS.RI.7.7

CCSS.RI.8.7

CCSS.RL.6.7

CCSS.RL.7.7