Ruth and the Green Book

Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey

Before You Read: 

•  Review the qualities of Literary Nonfiction.
• Make a prediction about what you think The Green Book is?
• What do you know about the Civil Rights Movement?
• How were African Americans treated in the South in the 1950s and 60s?  

While You Read: 

• Why can't the family use the restroom at the service station? If you were in their situation, how would this make you feel?
• Why do you think the family could not stay at the hotel?
• What is "Jim Crow?"
• Why did Ruth give Brown Bear to the boy? What does this reveal about Ruth's character?

After You Read: 

• Read the last page of the book "The History of the Negro Motorist Green Book." 
• How is this page different from the rest of the book?
• What is the author's purpose for including this page?
• What qualities make this book Literary Nonfiction?
• What are some of the obstacles that the family had to overcome while traveling? How did the Green Book help them overcome these obstacles? Support your answer with text evidence (proof) from the story. 
• Was this book difficult to understand if you did not have background knowledge about the Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement? Why is schema (background knowledge) so important to making inferences? 

Click here for a look at the real Green Book. 

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