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Here are some tidbits of information about the author of Speak -- Laurie Halse Anderson. Fiction is a term in writing meaning that the characters and events in the story are made up, in other words, not real. However, realistic fiction means that, while the story never actually occured, it is quite reasonable and believable that it could have.
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It's September once again and time for school! Melinda Sordino is going to be a freshman at Merryweather High School, so she probably feels the same anxieties any new student going to high school does. But Melinda feels more anxiety than that, as she's going alone -- for some reason, she's lost all her friends. There's the bell...school's starting!
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Melinda Sordino enters Merryweather High School as a freshman. Most students find Melinda's take on her teachers and her classes refreshingly entertaining. If you appreciate her humor, you might also enjoy some of the column written by Dave Barry, a humorist who writes for the Miami Herald. What are you looking forward to in high school? What, if anything, are you afraid of?
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Look at the cover illustration for Speak. What aspects of the illustration are unique and unusual? In what way does the illustration relate to the title? What do you think this story will be about from the illustration?
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The "Marthas" in Speak are a group of girls who have culture. The are named after Martha Stewart, and a visit to MarthaStewart.com will help you to understand why they are concerned with their dress and obsession with crafts. Do you feel that "clans" or clicks of students exist in your school? If so, what unites these groups? In other words, what is the common bond between them?
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Melinda's "home away from home" is an abandoned janitor's cloest that she has "refurbished" and in which she has hung a poster of Maya Angelou the librarian had given her. Why did the librarian give Melinda the poster? How does Maya Angelou feel about this topic? Find out here!
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Of all the clans in Merryweather H.S., Melinda feels she belongs to "Outcast" -- she has no friends. Unless, of course, you consider her friend Heather, who is newly arrived from Ohio. At Christmas, Melinda mentions the holiday classic, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and of how Rudolph and Hermey the Misfit Elf say they are "independent."
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Look at the Spanish verbs Melinda has to conjugate:
To translate: "traducir" I traducate
To flunk: "fracasar" Yo am almost fracasaring.
To hide: "esconder" To escape: escapar.
To forget: "olvider" What do these verbs really say? -
"The Constitution does not recognize different classes of citizenship...," retorts David Petrakis to Mr. Neck in class. Exercising his right to free speech, he adds, "I am protesting the tone of this lesson as racist, intolerant, and xenophobic." Taking a stand or a seat can take some courage!
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What is a wishbone and what does it mean? Why is this chapter titled "Wishbone"?
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Art is expression. Reread the description of the piece of art Melinda creates from the leftovers from Thanksgiving as well as Mr. Freeman's interpretation of it. What does it express?
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Melinda is on vacation before Christmas. When she finds that Heather is out shopping, she decides to go outside to make a snow angel. Naturally, snow angels being made of snow are white. What are some of the symbolic meanings associated with white? What is unusual about how she describes making the angel and how she feels about when she was younger?
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Melinda is brought to tears when she receives a sketch pad and some charcoals. Simply said, Melinda, who feels invisible, realizes that her parents have noticed her drawing. Why would she mention that part of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"?
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Have you ever dissected a frog before...virtually? Now you can. Just click here! Did you faint like Melinda did? I hope not. What else is weird about what happens while Melinda is dissecting her frog?
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A holiday classic, "Baby It's Cold Outside" is a duet where Dean "Dino" Martin swoons his girl and tries to get her to stay a little bit longer by trying to convince her how bad the weather is outside. In "Rent Round 3," Melinda suffers through a barrage from her parents about her performance in school while a "minor blizzard blows outside," What causes this kind of snow storm? Lake-effect snow. Where does Melinda live?
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Melinda's world seems to be collapsing around her. Her grades are falling, her parents are yelling. What else will happen in Melinda's life?
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"It's all about SYMBOLISM," says Hairwoman. When an author tells you this in the story, then the author is screaming to the reader to watch out for symbolism in the story. And this story is absolutely chock full of symbolism. The plot of the Scarlet Letter and several of its themes (scroll down to see "Civilization Versus Wilderness" and "Night Versus Day") seem to fit Melinda's delicate situation.
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"What did the world look like to him?" Melinda asks of Picasso after viewing a book of his paintings that "steals her breath away." What is Cubism, anyway? And why do you think Melinda is so fascinated with this genre of art? In what way does this style of art relate to Melinda and her own world?
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"It's amazing anything grows," Melinda remarks about seeds and how they grow and prosper or don't. What to see how light and water affect a seed's growth? Click here!
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"Underground, pale seeds roll over in their sleep. Starting to get restless. Starting to dream green." Where does growth begin? Beauty? Even with The Rose, it all begins with a seed. Why do you think this passage about spring appears in "A Night to Remember"?
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"I walked home to an empty house. Without a word." Finally, Melinda expresses what she has alluded to at several points in the story but never said outright. Clearly, the title of this chapter could not be more sarcastic -- if she could, Melinda would obliterate that night from her memory. But she can't. "A Night to Remember" is also the title of a movie. What are the similarities in these two tragic events?
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The Final Marking Period of the year. How will Melinda find the way to express the essence of a tree in art form? How will she come to grips with the reality of what happened to her the previous summer?
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"Good girl, Mellie. Roll over, Mellie. Sit, Mellie. No one has patted me on the head, though." To what extent can behavior be shaped by being rewarded? Have a look to find out!
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"Maya wants me to tell Rachel." What does Melinda feel Maya wants Melinda to tell Rachel? Why? What does Maya know that would cause her to feel that way? Click here to find out!
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Due to its controversial subject matter, Speak has often been challenged. Anderson answers, "But censoring books that deal with difficult, adolescent issues does not protect anybody. Quite the opposite. It leaves kids in the darkness and makes them vulnerable. Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance. Our children cannot afford to have the truth of the world withheld from them." Read more under "Challenges to Speak."
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With the title being Speak, the Suffragettes -- who they were, what they wanted, what the did, and what happened as a result -- is important and meaningful. How does the title "No Justice, No Peace" relate to Melinda?
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What is "Learned Helplessness"? How does Learned Helplessness apply to humans? How does the conversation between Melinda and David Petrakis in which he invites her to a party reveal how Melinda's outlook on the world has been altered?
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Me: "Can you buy some seed? Flower seeds?" What is so important about what Melinda says to her father? Spring is the season for growth and renewal. How do some of these quotes capture what spring is and how might they relate to Melinda? Watch some seeds grow!
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"Up in the air like releasing a bird or an apple....No one laughs." No fault. What is this tennis match really about? Watch the behavior of tennis legend John McEnroe disputing a line call by the umpire. Are celebrities treated differently than others? How does this issue connect to Speak?
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"I feel like I can fly." Why does Melinda feel this way? Let's look again at Maya Angelou's poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
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Trees are symbols of life and of growth, and they begin very small in the form of a seed. How does Melinda's art project of the tree mirror her life over the school year? Look at the original artwork on the cover of Speak. How does this artwork relate to the story? How does it express meaning and emotions from the novel? Watch a virtual tree grow!
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"I draw them without thinking -- flight, flight, feather, wing. Water drips on the paper and the birds bloom in the light, their feathers expanding promise."
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Melinda's art project for the year was to find the essence of a tree and express that essence artistically. Consider how the tree is a metaphor and a symbol for Melinda throughout the story. What does a year look like in less than a minute? Let's see!
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Afterthoughts and Topics for Discussion on Speak.
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After reading Speak, here is some biographical information about the author Laurie Halse Anderson and Speak.
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Having read the story, revisit the cover illustration for Speak. How has your understanding of the art illustration changed? What new meanings does it have? Now consider the novel overall: how has reading this story changed your outlook on life and the world? Should this book be read by students your age? Why or why not?
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Ten years after Speak was published, author Laurie Halse Anderson decided to write a poem titled "Listen." Most of the poem was crafted from numerous letters she had received from readers in response to reading about Melinda in Speak. Many of these letters reveal how readers connected with Melinda's story, her problem, and her suffering.
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Speak has been turned into a film. Here's the trailer!
