Volunteers needed in December!   Click here to sign up.
 Site Areas: 
  HOME  
  ABOUT US  
  FRIENDS & SUPPORTERS  
  HOW TO HELP  
  NEWS  
  READING CLUBS  
Printer-friendly version   

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality



Last updated Thursday, January 30, 2020

Author: Jonah Winter
Illustrator: Stacy Innerst
Date of Publication: 2017
ISBN: 1419725599
Grade Level: 3rd    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Feb. 2020

Synopsis: To become the first female Jewish Supreme Court Justice, the unsinkable Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to overcome countless injustices. Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930s and '40s, Ginsburg was discouraged from working by her father, who thought a woman's place was in the home. Regardless, she went to Cornell University, where men outnumbered women four to one. There, she met her husband, Martin Ginsburg, and found her calling as a lawyer. Despite discrimination against Jews, females, and working mothers, Ginsburg went on to become Columbia Law School's first tenured female professor, a judge for the US Court of Appeals, and finally, a Supreme Court Justice.

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  As you go through the book, discuss points of discrimination that women, Jews, immigrations, etc. experienced in the past.
•  Especially discuss the Exhibits section in the middle of book.

Vocabulary

•  Mythology - a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation
•  Anti-Semitism - hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group
•  Scholarship - 1: a grant-in-aid to a student (as by a college or foundation) 2: the character, qualities, activity, or attainments of a scholar : LEARNING 3: a fund of knowledge and learning drawing on the scholarship of the ancients
•  Discourage - to deprive of courage or confidence
•  Exhibit - a document or material object produced and identified in court or before an examiner for use as evidence
•  Protest - a solemn declaration of opinion and usually of dissent
•  Equal Protection - a guarantee under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that a state must treat an individual or class of individuals the same as it treats other individuals or classes in like circumstances
•  Discrimination - prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment
•  Jabot - a special kind of ornamental collar, usually ruffled or lace, worn by RBG over her Supreme Court robes

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  Ruth liked to read a lot as a child - what do you like to read?
•  What do you think of the various types of discrimination that Ruth and others faced in the past? (Go by each Exhibit in nect section)
•  What kinds of discrimination still exist? What is being done about them?

Craft ideas:
•  Draw a picture of Ruth Bader Ginseberg wearing a special collar over her Supreme court robe. See cover of book or Pinterest.
•  Make your own special collar or jabot
•  Draw a picture of the Supreme Court (6 men, 3 women, in robes)
•  Make a Valentine's Day card (ideas on Pinterest board for February, labeled "All grades")
•  Check our craft ideas on Pinterest!
https://www.pinterest.com/readingtokids/february-2020-people-places-around-the-world/

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!