Clean Getaway

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

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. What is Scoob’s full nickname?

2. In what vehicle are Scoob and G’ma making their trip?

3. What is G’ma’s prized possession that she shows Scoob while they’re in Alabama?

4. Where is Scoob’s phone?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is James particularly hard on Scoob, even when Scoob tries to explain why he got into a fight with Bryce?

2. Why do people rudely glare at Scoob and G’ma during their diner stop?

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. Approximately how long did it take for the bomber of the 16th Street Baptist Church to be convicted?

2. By what name does G’ma mistakenly call Scoob?

3. For what did Scoob get in trouble in his Computer Science class?

Short Answer

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

1. What is implied when Scoob thinks that while he can’t recall exactly how many Birmingham places are listed in the Green Book, “he’s sure he wouldn’t need more than one hand to count them” (Chapter 6)?

2. What was significant about the last time G’ma stopped at the 16th Street Baptist Church?

3. What starts to make Scoob feel homesick?

Paired Resource

“Remembering the Birmingham Church Bombing”

• A video from Smithsonian Magazine in which a former Freedom Rider discusses what it was like in the aftermath of the bombing in 1963 at the 16th Street Baptist Church
• Scoob and G’ma don’t talk for very long about the bombing at the church, but G’ma notes that four little girls were killed just because people didn’t like that the church was a hub for Civil Rights organizers. How does this connect to the theme of The Relevance of Black History Today?

"16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (1963)" 

• A historical site sponsored by the National Park Service
• Brief, subtitled sections detail the attack’s aftermath and reasons why that building was targeted.
• How long did it take for those responsible to be brought to justice? How does this connect with Clean Getaway’s theme of Racism Towards the Black Community in the United States?

Chapters 11-15

Reading Check

1. Where was the last place G’ma had a good night with G’pop?

2. Why does Scoob ask if the RV was made in Tennessee?

3. Why did G’ma and G’pop turn around on their original trip?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is Scoob unnerved when he realizes that G’ma has gotten the Green Book out of his backpack?

2. Why did G’ma and G’pop finally get married after being together for several years?

Paired Resource

“The Green Book: The Black Travelers’ Guide to Jim Crow America”

• A History.com article that explains the origins of the Green Book and its use throughout the 1930s and 40s
• How is the Green Book associated with the theme of The Negative Effects of Racial Stereotyping?

Chapters 16-20

Reading Check

1.  What did G’ma do with her phone?

2. Where does Scoob have “the best day ever” with G’ma (Chapter 17)?

3. Who really stole some of the jewelry that Jimmy was arrested for?

Short Answer

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

1. What does Scoob realize when G’ma tells him about Ruby Bridges?

2. Why does Scoob leave the gas station store?

Paired Resource

“Ruby Bridges”

• A short biography from the Women’s National History Museum
• How does Scoob’s realization that G’ma would have been in school before Ruby Bridges attended an all-white school affect his understanding of The Relevance of Black History Today?

Chapters 21-24

Reading Check

1. Who issued the Amber Alert?

2. What does Scoob find in the treasure box after G’ma passes away?

Short Answer

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

1. What details in this section of chapters explain why G’ma suddenly wanted to go on a road trip?

2. Why is Scoob surprised when his father becomes emotional as he recounts his knowledge about G’ma?

3. What is significant about the fact that Scoob wants to retrace his journey with G’ma with his father by car?

Recommended Next Reads

Dear Martin

• A novel by Nic Stone about a young Black man who has an encounter with the police and begins writing letters to Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Dear Martin on SuperSummary

Think about the ways in which Stone addresses civil rights history in Clean Getaway. How is the topic addressed similarly in Dear Martin?

The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

• In this middle grade novel, the Watson family takes a “road trip” from Flint, Michigan to Alabama in 1963, where 10-year-old protagonist Kenny is a witness to the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
• Connects to Clean Getaway through parallel themes of Racial Tension and Conflict and Growing Up and Growing Wiser
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 on SuperSummary I’m unsure about the copyright issues related to this source. This link would most likely be more appropriate without violating copyright infringement: https://www.facinghistory.org/books-borrowing/four-little-girls