Clean Getaway

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. At the beginning of the novel, Scoob’s relationship with his dad is strained.

• How does their relationship change over the course of the novel?: (topic sentence)
• Choose 3 examples of the text that illustrate how Scoob begins to think differently about his father while he’s on his trip with his G’ma and how their relationship might be different after they are reunited.
• Summarize how their relationship is different by the end of the book.

2. G’ma gives Scoob the Green Book so that he might learn something.

• How does Scoob use the Green Book throughout the novel? (topic sentence)
• What might the Green Book teach Scoob? Use 3 examples from the text to support your argument.
• Within your conclusion, connect the concept and purpose of the Green book to the theme of Racism Towards the Black Community in the United States.

3. Until now, Scoob has never been allowed to touch G’ma’s treasure box. During the road trip, however, he gets to see its contents on more than one occasion.

• What does the treasure box symbolize? (topic sentence)
• How does the treasure box relate to Scoob’s understanding of his G’ma? Find evidence in the text that explores their relationship that includes the treasure box.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, relate Scoob’s discoveries about the treasure box and his G’ma with the novel’s theme of The Negative Effects of Racial Stereotyping.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Historical figures play a large role in this novel, and as a result, Scoob learns more about not only the national history, but the impact of this history on his own family. Using examples from the text to support your argument, choose three of the stops along Scoob’s journey with G’ma that incorporate historical figures and make an argument about what this book might be trying to show about history’s impact on a closely personal level.

2. Jimmy died long before this novel began, but he still serves as an important figure. Scoob’s understanding of Jimmy also changes over the course of the novel, as he hears his G’ma’s side of the story. At first, Scoob is hesitant to be compared to Jimmy. In your essay, make an argument regarding how Scoob might react if he was compared to his grandfather at the end of the book. Use evidence from the text to support your argument and demonstrate how Scoob’s change in thinking relates to the theme of The Negative Effects of Racial Stereotyping.

3. Scoob and his grandmother travel across the southern United States. By the end of the book, Scoob is finally able to accomplish G’ma’s dream of making it to Mexico. Why is this significant for G’ma’s character development as well as Scoob’s? Think about Scoob’s final words about making a “clean getaway” and his choice to bury her treasure box in Mexico(Chapter 24). Make a clear and concise argument and use evidence from the text to support it.