The Rock and The River

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, or quizzes.

Chapters 1-2

Reading Check

1. What happens when Stick tries to intervene when he sees white men beating a Black protester?

2. What happens when Sam tries to purchase mittens for Maxie at the hospital gift shop?

3. What happens when the Childs family goes to church the day after the protest?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What different kinds of treatment does Stick receive at the hospital?

2. Why does the phone call from Dr. King’s wife upset the Childs family?

3. When Dr. King visited the Childs, why was Bucky’s literature about the Black Panthers inappropriate?

Paired Resources

General Introduction to Dr. King

• A biographical dictionary entry discussing Dr. King’s impact on the civil rights movement

“Black Power”

• This article from the Martin Luther King Jr. Research & Education Institute (Stanford University) explains the tension between Dr. King’s message and the “Black Power” message of the Black Panthers.

Chapters 3-4

Reading Check

1. To what career does Sam aspire?

2. Who provides the free lunch program at Sam’s school?

3. What does Sam witness when he stops at the auto shop where Bucky works?