Vocabulary charts with answers 3o first marking periodo second marking periodo third marking period vocabulary quizzes 3o first marking periodo second marking periodo third mark. How do melindas relationships change from the beginning of the book to the end. Freeman melindas art teacher, he serves as a role model for her on how to use. An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, speak will hold readers from first word to last. Lets follow melinda sordinos journey through her first year of high school and see how her ups and downs shape her identity in the novel speak by laurie halse anderson. Speak deals with underage drinking, bullying, selfmutilation, and sexual assault. I used this lit unit for individual reading or advanced reading groups, but it could also be used for classroom literature groups. Book summary melinda sordino begins her freshman year at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york, with a heavy secret weighing on her.
This is a gritty, powerful book that teachers and parents could use to launch a number of discussions. In the first section, what are the signs that melinda has experienced a trauma. From the first moment of her freshman year at merryweather high, melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. What are melinda s teachers real names in the book speak. The questions are broken out into sections, so they focus on specific chapters within speak. In the book, speak, melinda sordino, an incoming freshman at merryweather high, starts her year off with a terrible start. Melinda sordino is the main character of the book speak. The only thing missing is the end of the book test that i usually put at the end. This scene emphasizes the way melinda draws on everything around her to.
A great book like speak incites thinking in readers, and the classroom should be an ideal place for views to be discussed. Teach your students to analyze literature like litcharts does. The first place that she finds she does so consciously, and it is an old janitors closet. From the first moment of her freshman year at merryweather high, melinda knows this is.
This worksheet has students think seriously about many of those same aspects in their own lives and grade themselves. Hairwoman is melindas english teacher, so named for the crazy hairdo that covers her face ms. The school day continues and melinda describes the periods. You will have time to get to your class before the bell rings. By the end of ninth grade, melinda finds her voice and learns to speak. Melindas ability to eventually speak out about her condition is the direct result of the inner dialogue that belies her external silence. Instant downloads of all 1291 litchart pdfs including speak. This is a literature unit for the award winning book, speak, by laurie halse anderson. If you think the teacher is overdoing it then ask to speak with the principal. While melindas smart and savvy interior narrative slowly reveals the searing pain of that 911 night, it also nails the highschool experience cold. Learn about essays and strategies for writing good essays. This worksheet has students think seriously about many of those same aspects in. The 180 multiple choice questions in this lesson plan will test a students recall and understanding of speak.
Below youll find links to teacher resources, online classroom guides, and links relating to the subject of the book. Speak is the story of melinda sordino, who is raped at a party the summer before her freshman year of high school. In speak melinda finds two areas she uses as sanctuaries. Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by laurie halse anderson that tells the story of high school freshman melinda sordino. In speak, what is heathers plan, and how does melinda react. Parents need to know that speak is a graphic novel adaptation of the acclaimed novel by laurie halse anderson, with art by emily carroll. Her last name, sordino, is an italian word that can be translated as deaf. Trace melindas personal growth over the course of the novel. She learns that the only way to counter evil is to speak out against it. It was also made into a movie of the same name in 2004. Freeman, melinda sees art as a way to speak out about issues and finds this idea invigorating, going so far as to suggest that she would like to be an artist someday. Freeman is a talented artist and teacher who is angered by the. Speak in speak by laurie halse anderson, a teenage girl slowly recedes further into herself, refusing to speak after suffering a terrible trauma at the end of summer. Our football team will win the championship this year.
She is explaining all the things she did to fit in. Melinda mel sordino is the main character and narrator of laurie halse anderson s 1999 novel speak. Speak up for yourselfwe want to know what you have to say. Melinda is very perceptive and bright, but her vision is s. What makes speak so very readable is the realistic portrayal of high school life cliques and bitchiness, coldshoulders and indifferent parents and teachers and more of a focus on melinda s school performance than her radical personality change. Plot speak is the narrative of a young outcast, melinda sordino, who spends most of her freshman year of high school in. Now that winter has settled over syracuse, gym class is held inside. Melindas only friend is heather, a new student, who tries to get melinda involved in.
What are melindas teachers real names in the book speak. Speak is taught in schools around the united states and canada, from eighth grade through college. We would love to post or link to more speak lesson plans. Since shes also the narrator, everything we learn about the other characters is filtered through her. The characters ordeals were based on andersons own experiences. The critically acclaimed, awardwinning, modern classic speak is now a stunning graphic novel. Wildly popular with teens and teachers alike, andersons novels tackle deep, devastating topics such as rape, eating disorders. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in speak, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Describe melindas english teacher speak questions q. Melinda s only friend is heather, a new student, who tries to get melinda involved in her schemes to gain popularity. This is a gritty, powerful book that teachers and parents could use to. Plot speak is the narrative of a young outcast, melinda sordino, who spends most of her freshman year of high school in silence. After accidentally busting an end of summer party due to an unnamed incident, melinda is ostracized by her. Also known as it or andy beast to melinda, andy is the primary antagonist in speak.
She names her english teacher hairwoman because of her ridiculously frizzy orangeandblack hair. When melinda approaches the foul line, she is able to make over forty shots in a row, earning the respect of her gym teacher, ms. Overworked and distracted, melindas mother is aware that her daughter has suddenly. Shes important to the story because shes important to melinda. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on litcharts.
Melinda does not give nicknames to everybody she comes in contact with, though. At the end of the book, melinda begins to tell him the story of her rape. The story follows the experiences of social outcast, melinda sordino, during her freshman year at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york. May, 2017 melinda finds her english teacher passionate about english, she is obsessed with the scarlet letter, but rather scatterbrained. She is 15 years old and is beginning her freshman year at merryweather high school. Relationship between teacher personality type and burnout. The creators of sparknotes speak characters from litcharts. Connors talks between practice shots, musing whether she can get teachers to change melindas grades. Teachers guide speak overview background as a teenager.
The remainder of the student body dislikes her for being a snitch. At the end of the novel, he tries to rape melinda a second time, but melinda. Sally tells melinda its not her fault, and that andy needs to answer for his attack 76. Previous second marking period, winter breakhard labor. Laurie halse andersons young adult novels offer a respectful and honest view of the difficult issues faced by teens today. A popular and handsome upperclassman, andy evans raped melinda at a party the summer before speak begins. She also does poorly in school, and doesnt socialize very easily with other students. Personality type impacts so much of who an individual is and how heshe relates to various life situations and events. He is the main antagonist of the book, and spends much of the narrative harassing melinda in various. He is a sleazy, but attractive, senior boy with a reputation for inappropriate behavior with girls. Powerful and evocative speak perfectly explores a dark theme with great understanding and respect at an end of summer party, just before starting high school, melinda sordino suffers a traumatic incident. Speak is a novel written and published by laurie halse anderson in 1999. Use these questions for quizzes, homework assignments or tests.
Accurate descriptions of the minutiae of high school will appeal to any teen who has felt like an outsider, and when melinda is finally able to speak, readers will rejoice in her triumphs. Speak study guide contains a biography of laurie halse anderson, literature. Two key scenes feature violence, but they are expressionistic, and most readers will be prepared for them. Film speak sundance film festival production 2004 93 minutes directed dy. Teacher burnout is a contributing factor to ones stress, satisfaction, and continuation in the career of education. Speak characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. In laurie halse andersons young adult novel speak, melinda, a high school freshman, struggles. Because of the existing teacher shortage in the united states, administrators and policy makers need to understand the factors that contribute to.
The character of melinda sordino in speak from litcharts. Understand the basic elements of a good literary analysis essay to help you organize your ideas, a graphic organizer may be just what you need there is a basic pattern to this kind of essay. Book summary speak examines the painful issue of sexual assault and its destructive effects on victims. He is the main antagonist of the book, and spends much of the narrative harassing melinda in various read full character analysis melindas mother. Essay about laurie halse andersons speak 1277 words. Melinda calls her hairwoman because it s difficult to see her face through her hair. Discussionwriting guide for speak, by laurie anderson 1. This is the name that melinda gives her english teacher. It tells the story of yearold melinda, who was raped at an endofsummer party and feels she can tell no one about it as she begins her freshman year. He attempts to rape melinda a second time at the end of the novel, but she successfully fights him off. When she discovers the closet it is only a place to hide from teachers when she is skipping class. No one, however, knows melindas biggest secret, the reason she dialed 911 over the. Jerrys contributes to the discussion by telling melinda to speak up 76.
Two key scenes feature violence, but they are expressionistic, and most readers. While melinda s smart and savvy interior narrative slowly reveals the searing pain of that 911 night, it also nails the highschool experience cold. This scene emphasizes the way melinda draws on everything around her to find solutions to her problems. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The way melinda nicknames characters puts you into the story. Rachel and melinda have been best friends since grade school at least. After melinda calls the police at a party in august, her former friend group ditches her and disintegrates. But the books overall gritty realism and melindas hardwon metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired. Kristen stewart, eric lively, elizabeth perkins, d. He rapes melinda at a party the summer before her first year of high school. As soon as i started reading this book and looking at the names of the characters i had to giggle a little bit, it really made the book fun. How do melinda s relationships change from the beginning of the book to the end. How to describe the main characters from speak pen and. In laurie halse andersons young adult novel speak, melinda, a high school freshman, struggles with the aftermath of rape alone.
In the book speak all melinda is wanting is to fit in. Throughout the book speak by laurie halse anderson, the reader learns that melinda gives a lot of characters nicknames. Neck and a whole bunch of other weird teachers like her english teacher of who she calls, hairwomen, because of her crazy, uncombed show more content. Melinda called the police at a summer party because a boy she didnt. Unfortunately, melinda cannot play basketball, because her gpa is a whopping 1. Characterize melindas relationship with her family. Discussionwriting guide for speak, by laurie anderson. Why do you think melindas best friends from middle school turned against her immediately rather than asking what happened. Laurie anderson uses the metaphor of a scarred tree throughout the book to express this pain and deal with the aftermath.
Another example is when she receives crayons and a drawing book from her parents as a christmas gift, she thinks back the time where she returned home, and could not find her parents aftermath of the rape. Freeman quotes in speak the speak quotes below are all either spoken by mr. Melindas rape permeates the text, with the author using a combination of simile and metaphor. Neck and hairwoman describe the character in a way that is somewhat comical. Melinda s rape permeates the text, with the author using a combination of simile and metaphor. In a selfreflective search for authentic resolution, she is able to use the silence inflicted on her to discover the scope of needs and desires necessary for personal agency. Melinda mel sordino is the main character and narrator of laurie halse andersons 1999 novel speak. During the novel speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda gives herself a grade in her classes and other areas such as attitude and social life at the end of each grading period. This is a great resource to use while teaching the book. Melinda, the whole time, never makes it plain that they couldnt pay her enough to play basketball or any other sport. Shes stuck with a mean history teacher, by who she calls mr. Over the summer, she and her friends went to a party and melinda ended up calling the police, causing her friends and everyone at the party to socially reject her. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. At the end of the school year, melinda completes her art project and tells her art teacher, mr.
Book summary over the summer, she and her friends went to a party and melinda ended up calling the police, causing her friends and everyone at the party to socially reject her. Melinda finds her english teacher passionate about english, she is obsessed with the scarlet letter, but rather scatterbrained. How does melinda feel the first day of high school. Need help on characters in laurie halse andersons speak. Another symptom is the recollection of distressing dreams of the event. The protagonist of speak, melinda begins high school and the novel traumatized by a rape that occurred at the hands of upperclassman andy evans at a party the summer before. A teacher is a mandated reporter and can question a child if neglect or abuse is suspected.