Credits

Story by:
Bob Rouse

Activities by:
Reta Broadway

Illustrated by:
Frank Yates

Chapter 8:
Train of Thought

1. Why was Ms. Roosevelt so determined that the students should visit the National Archives? What are the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment that the students have discussed so far in the story? What does she mean when she says the First Amendment is “our roadmap for personal freedom”?
   
   
2. How does the students’ destination of Winston-Salem, North Carolina relate to the First Amendment? Can you point out examples of freedom of religion in your community? Are there examples of this freedom that you can find in the newspaper and other media?
   
   
3. The scavenger hunt team members discuss their attitudes about what happened in the other Salem — in Massachusetts — early in America’s history. What are they talking about? Why do people still remember these events after all these years?

ADVANCED ACTIVITIES

1. Nathan points out that people get mad as well as glad about First Amendment rights. Can you think of any examples of what he means? Who makes decisions about how far First Amendment rights can go when there is disagreement? How does the First Amendment help to guarantee Americans a free society?
   
   
2. When the team members realize they have left the toolkit on the train, they quickly come up with an alternative for getting their answer to FreeZee. What do they decide to do? What must they find in Winston-Salem in order to make their plan work? Are there any other ways in which they could have solved the problem of getting the information to FreeZee?