Speak_Laurie Halse Anderson

A reading group is reading Speak.Purchase B & N
Welcome to MerryWeather High
Vocabulary
attitude p. 4
rival p. 4
abstinence p. 4
clans p. 4
inconspicuous p. 7
demerit p. 9
viola p. 11
flutters p. 12
Use http://www.wordsift.com or author's words in the text to become familiar with the vocabulary.
Speak anticipation guide
Write whether you agree or disagree beside each statement.

Powerful visions: page 12

“You could paint a picture of it with people fleeing from the hole,

with a wet muzzled dog chewing Alaska~ the opportunities are endless.”

Plot diagrams
Begin recording parts of the story from 1-5

1. Melinda began her freshman year being ignored.
2. Everyone is ignoring her.
3. "I am Outcast", clanless.
4. But a new girl Heather says, "I'm Heather from Ohio.
5. In high school they tell you 10 lies. pg 5-6

List the Protagonist:

              Antagonist:

Setting - Time:
Setting - Place:
Listen to Welcome to MerryWeather High page 3-6 (part) The instructions from Melinda's art teacher, "You will spend the rest of the year learning how to turn that object into a piece of art." I picked out, "Tree" pg 12  I've been painting watercolors of trees hit by lightening. pg 30 The character Melinda struggles to draw realistic trees.
Student's are beginning to draw a "Tree" and trying to turn it into art.

Tree's Place

Tree has staked its claim,
anchoring itself firmly to Earth.
Tree owns this place in the universe.
Turf, shaft of air, even slices of sun. 
Tree will not step aside for anyone.
Tree stands its ground.
When you
Meet Tree,
You must
 go around.

Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems
Kristine O'Connell George

Using oil pastels to draw a tree How to Draw a Tree in Oil Pastel

Hot Seat  Wild Card & Say It

Provide a deck of "Say It" cards one number cube

1. Each student rolls the number cube. The student rolling the highest number is
   in the Hot Seat.  
2. Student in the Hot Seat draws one card from the deck and responds to the prompt.
3. Sudents in the group listen to the response and providefeedback using a point system of 1-5.
4. The student in the Hot Seat records his/her points. The student with the highest points at the end of the game wins. Handout Reading.pdf

Read and Respond to the Poem on Edublog

Read the Poem: "Elephant in the Room" (author unknown)

There’s an elephant in the room.

It is large and squatting, so it is hard to get around it.

Yet we squeeze by with, “How are you?” and “I’m fine,” and a thousand other

forms of trivial chatter. We talk about the weather. We talk about work.

We talk about everything else, except the elephant in the room.

There’s an elephant in the room.

We all know it’s there. We are thinking about the elephant as we talk together.

It is constantly on our minds. For, you see, it is a very large elephant.

It has hurt us all.

But we don’t talk about the elephant.

Oh, please, let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

For if I cannot, then you are leaving me….

alone….

in a room….

with an elephant. Taken from

In the book the author wrote 
Discussion:   NIGHTMARE
"I see IT in the hallway. IT goes to Merryweather. IT is walking with Aburey Cheeleader. IT is my nightmare and I can't wake up. IT sees me. IT smiles and winks. Good thing my lips are stitched together or I'd throw up." pg 45-46

Journal:

• Have you been in a frightening situation where you felt you had no control of what was happening around you?

In the chapter Job, the class took a test to determine their desires and dream pg 52. 

Do I (a) prefer to spend time with a large group of people?

        (b) prefer to spend time with a small group of close friends?
        (c) prefer to spend time with family?

        (d) prefer to spend time alone?

 Find out what You were Born to do in life. Take a Skillcow Test

Reading Handout pdf 

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