History · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Active learning helps Year 2 pupils grasp the courage and teamwork in Rosa Parks’ story by letting them experience decisions and consequences directly. When children role-play or create visuals, they connect emotionally to the courage of standing up and the power of working together, which words alone may not achieve.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Significant individuals in the past
• KS1: History - Events beyond living memory

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 30 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: Bus Seat Stand

Divide the class into bus groups with seats marked by tape. Assign roles: Rosa Parks, driver, passengers. Narrate the refusal and arrest, then switch roles. Follow with a share-out on feelings experienced.

Who was Rosa Parks and what did she do on a bus in Montgomery?

Facilitation Tip

For the Role-Play, assign clear roles (Rosa, bus driver, white passenger) and give pupils time to rehearse their lines before performing for the class.

What to look for

Give students a card with a picture of a bus. Ask them to draw or write two things: 1. How the bus was different before the boycott. 2. One reason people decided not to ride the bus.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Timeline Challenge
• 25 min · Pairs

Timeline Challenge: Boycott Events

Provide pre-cut event cards: Rosa's refusal, arrest, boycott starts, buses desegregated. Pupils sequence them on a large timeline strip, add drawings, and present to the class.

Why did people decide not to ride the buses in Montgomery as a protest?

Facilitation Tip

During the Timeline activity, provide pre-printed event cards so pupils can physically arrange them on a large strip of paper, reinforcing sequencing through touch as well as sight.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you are a passenger on the bus that day. How would you feel if you saw Rosa Parks being asked to move? What would you do?' Encourage them to share their feelings and reasoning.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 35 min · Individual

Poster: Protest Messages

Pupils draw buses and write simple boycott slogans like 'Walk for Rights'. Discuss why words matter in protests, then display posters around the room for a class gallery walk.

How do you think Rosa Parks felt when she stood up for what was right?

Facilitation Tip

In the Poster activity, supply bold markers and encourage pupils to draft their messages on scrap paper first to refine their ideas before creating the final poster.

What to look for

Show students images related to the boycott (e.g., people walking, a segregated bus sign). Ask them to point to the image that shows a 'boycott' and explain why. Then, ask them to identify the person who started the protest.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 20 min · Whole Class

Circle Share: Fairness Talk

Sit in a circle. Pass a bus toy; each pupil shares a time they saw unfairness and what they could do. Link back to Rosa's choice.

Who was Rosa Parks and what did she do on a bus in Montgomery?

Facilitation Tip

During the Circle Share, model turn-taking with a talking object to ensure all voices are heard and respected.

What to look for

Give students a card with a picture of a bus. Ask them to draw or write two things: 1. How the bus was different before the boycott. 2. One reason people decided not to ride the bus.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should balance historical facts with emotional engagement, using storytelling and relatable comparisons to help young learners connect to the past. Avoid oversimplifying adult decisions as child-friendly, but frame actions with clear cause-and-effect language. Research suggests combining movement, discussion, and visuals helps young children retain complex ideas better than lecture alone.

By the end of these activities, pupils will understand that one brave act can inspire many others to join and create change. They will also articulate why fairness matters and how persistence leads to progress, using age-appropriate language and examples.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Role-Play activity, listen for comments like ‘Rosa Parks did everything by herself,’ as pupils often focus only on the main character.

  Pause the role-play and ask, ‘What did the people on the bus do to help Rosa?’ Then have pupils add a line where someone in the crowd stands up or walks away from the bus to show support.

• During the Timeline activity, watch for pupils placing the end of segregation immediately after the boycott ended.

  Point to the 1956 date on the timeline and ask, ‘What does this date mean? Did the boycott end segregation right away everywhere?’ Have pupils add a sticky note that says ‘Segregation changed slowly’ next to 1956.

• During the Circle Share activity, listen for pupils saying ‘Rosa Parks wasn’t scared because she was brave.’

  Ask, ‘What does brave mean? Has anyone ever felt scared but done something anyway?’ Have pupils act out ‘brave but scared’ faces in pairs using emotion cards, then discuss how courage includes fear.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Timeline Challenge