Speak

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.01: Welcome to the Jungle

The sophomores are hiding everywhere.
(Source)

High school is a jungle. A Most Dangerous Game, if you will. Let's just stick to our goal of reading Speak, a story about the perils of ninth grade, without losing any limbs or catching malaria, and we'll do just fine. Our guide through this sweaty, sticky adventure is Melinda Sordino—let's meet her and find out where this journey is going to take us.

From the first steps into the unfamiliar terrain of Merryweather High School, it's apparent that this is going to be a perilous trek. There are school bus decisions, curious cliques of other adventurers, ex-friends, lies, humiliation, and art class.

Oh right—and did we mention that it's only the first day?

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01: "In the Beginning"

Time for the first four short-but-heartbreaking chapters of Speak. Read the following:

• "Welcome to Merryweather High" 
• "Our Teachers are the Best…" 
• "Spotlight" 
• "Sanctuary"

(They're pages 3-12 in Speak)

After you're done, head over to Shmoop to check out our take on the matter and make sure you didn't miss any brilliant beginnings:

• "Welcome to Merryweather High"
• "Our Teachers are the Best…" 
• "Spotlight"
• "Sanctuary"

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01a: Tone it Down

To kick off the school year, check out this short YouTube clip.

Wondering about our taste in media? Well, "Back to School" is a lot like Melinda's first day of high school: frightening and confusing, with a small dash of humor thrown in for good measure.

Since you don't want your first activity in this unit to be as jarring as Melinda's introduction, let's break it down.

Step One:

Grab a pen and paper (or a Word document and keyboard). Then, head back over to pages 3 – 12, and reread.

Yeah, you heard us. Reread it all.

While you're reading, either highlight right in the book or jot passages or words that jump out to you—pick words that are weird, or funny, or that make you feel happy or sad or even a little bit angry.

For example, on page four, Melinda describes one of the cliques as Idiot Savants. Don't know what a "savant" is? That should go on the list.

Shoot for at least ten words or phrases but if you get more than that, you are a rock star.

Step Two:

Using your collection of words/phrases/notes from the first four chapters, use this site to create a collage of images based on their list.

Your collage should include at least ten images but again, go crazy. Get nuts. Put twenty images on that thing.

Step Three:

Once the collage is done, put onto paper one paragraph—that's no less than five sentences—about how the collage makes you feel, why you chose the images that you did, and reference specific places in the text that connect with the chosen images. Here is what your paragraph should look like (kind of—make sure you make it your own):

I chose words and phrases from Speak that made me smile, like "the school bus wheezes" on page three, "Hairwoman" on page six, and "overinvolved mother" on page seven. I can personally relate to these phrases because my mom drives a city bus, has really big hair, and always tries to make me wear shoes that I hate. I also chose them because it seems like Speak is going to be a sad book and I picked things that are funny anyway. The images I picked are a woman who looks like my mom; I put her on top of an old bus and next to a person coughing. This collage makes me feel like maybe I need to talk to my mom about my shoes and that I am going to like reading the book Speak.

Sample Lesson - Activity