This teaching guide for 42 is Not Just a Number
, a powerful biography of the life and courage of Jackie Robinson, is intended to help students meet Common Core Standards, as well as understand the novel as a whole. This guide includes 18 discussion questions, which are meant to aid students in comprehending the life of Jackie Robinson, while also learning the impact and history of race during this time period.
42 is Not Just a Number Teaching Guide
Excerpted from
42 is Not Just a Number
Baseball, basketball, football — no matter the game, Jackie Robinson excelled. His talents would have easily landed another man a career in pro sports, but such opportunities were closed to athletes like Jackie for one reason: his skin was the wrong color. Settling for playing baseball in the Negro Leagues, Jackie chafed at the inability to prove himself where it mattered most: the major leagues. Then in 1946, Branch Rickey, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, recruited Jackie Robinson. Jackie faced cruel and sometimes violent hatred and discrimination, but he proved himself again and again, exhibiting courage, determination, restraint, and a phenomenal ability to play the game. In this compelling biography, award-winning author Doreen Rappaport chronicles the extraordinary life of Jackie Robinson and how his achievements won over — and changed — a segregated nation.
