Traveling from Just as I Thought by Grace Paley

In "Traveling," what happens when the bus stops in Washington?

• Passengers argue over seats near the front of the bus.

• A Jewish boy knocks down an African American man.

• The narrator moves to the back of the bus to protest segregation.

• African American people who are seated at the front move to the back of the bus.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Why does the bus driver in "Traveling" tell the narrator's mother and sister to move?

• They are supposed to be sitting in the back part of the bus.

• They are supposed to give up a seat to a white man who is standing.

• They are sitting in the part of the bus reserved for African American people.

• They are occupying a seat needed by an African American woman carrying a baby.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

What happens when the narrator in "Traveling" offers her seat to a young African American woman who is holding a baby?

• The woman turns down the seat but lets the narrator hold her baby.

• The woman is too proud to accept the seat offered by the narrator.

• The woman accepts the seat, but a white man makes her get back up.

• The woman gladly accepts, and she sits in the seat as she holds her baby.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Read this excerpt from the end of "Traveling." Who is the child that the narrator held and protected fifty years ago?

• the child the narrator never had

• the son the narrator's daughter now has

• the boy who went to South Medical College in Virginia

• the black woman's child, who she held on the bus when she was young

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.10

CCSS.RL.2.2

CCSS.RL.2.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.4.4

What is the meaning of disengaged in the following sentence from "Traveling"? So, to my surprise, but obviously out of sheer exhaustion, she disengaged the child from her body and placed him on my lap.

• rescued

• released

• attached

• entangled

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

What is most likely the meaning of adamant as it is used in this sentence from "Traveling"? In the next couple of weeks, we continued to talk about our mother, the way she was principled, adamant, and at the same time so shy.

• introverted, silent

• uncertain, doubtful

• firm, insistent

• fearful, anxious

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

What is most likely the meaning of confrontation in this excerpt from "Traveling"? He had a classmate, a Jewish boy like himself, but from Virginia, who had had a public confrontation with a Negro man. He had punched that man hard, knocked him down.

• conflict

• solution

• discussion

• acquaintance

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which words best describe the narrator of "Traveling"?

• cautious and hesitant

• brave and unwavering

• angry and hot-tempered

• humorous and easygoing

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

What is one of the most important messages of "Traveling"?

• Love for children and the future that we share unites people.

• People need to challenge prejudice wherever and whenever they find it.

• Even though we think there has been progress, society has failed to end segregation.

• No matter how close children and mothers are, there are stories that mothers never tell.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

In this excerpt from "Traveling," the author describes the reaction of the white man who sees her holding the African American baby on the bus. The underlined words are a reference to a famous poem by Robert Frost. In a loud voice he addressed me: Lady, I wouldn't of touched that thing with a meat hook. I thought, Oh, this world will end in ice. I could do nothing but look straight into his eyes. . . . Then I held that boy a little tighter. In his poem, Frost suggests that hatred is a force cold and powerful enough to end the world. Which is the most likely reason that the author includes this reference to Frost's poem?

• to show that as a young woman she was well read

• to show how much she hates confrontations in public places

• to show how destructive she feels the white man's attitude is

• to show that literature helps people make sense of life's conflicts

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1