Speak - Novelinks.org

Graphic Organizer Strategy: Cause and Effect Heading:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Penguin Group Platinum Edition

Context: This strategy will be introduced at the beginning of the novel but will be used throughout the reading of the novel as students come across various examples they may be able to include in the organizer. We discover many things about Melinda throughout the novel, including the ways in which she exhibits her suffering. We do not learn until later what all of these things resulted from. The first three marking periods (pages 1 through 137) will be the most important parts of the novel as related to this activity, but the students can keep adding through till the end of the book. Statement of Purpose: We use the graphic organizer strategy to help students organize and sort out information, giving their brains a more organized way to understand concepts and patterns within a text. It is a do-it-as-you-go activity, influencing careful reading. This specific organizer is useful for students in connecting cause and effect in the novel, especially the effects of rape on a teenage girl. They can connect the things we learn about Melinda throughout the book to the cause of her actions and habits—rape. This will influence a careful and attentive reading of the character as well as help them to sort important information from unimportant information. Directions: Step 1: (Materials) Make copies of the graphic organizer hand out. Step 2: (Time: 5 minutes) Pass out the handout to students. If the novel hasn’t already been introduced, explain that we notice the effects of something very serious which happens to Speak’s main character, Melinda. Let them know that as we read as a class and in their personal reading, they should fill out the effects/symptoms that Melinda shows as a result of something bad happening to her. Ultimately, the students will use the information in the organizer to complete a final assignment. Step 3: (Time: 15 minutes) Read the first chapter as a class. Review the main things that we have learned about Melinda (e.g. she is friendless, an outsider). Have them write this down with a page number in one of the boxes at the top of the tree. Instruct them to hold on to this handout and to continue writing down these important effects as they read at home. Remind them of this daily when reading assignments are given. Step 4: Issue a final assessment (several ideas are in the concept analysis) where they must incorporate their understanding of rape or its effects. There are creative possibilities—poetry or visual representations—as well as more formal ones (basic essays). They should integrate their knowledge of facts with the novel, deciding whether Speak accurately portrays the facts.

Speak: Cause and Effect(s) Name: _________________________________ Date: __________________ Period: _______ Instructions: As we read Speak, fill in the boxes on the tree branches with the negative symptoms (effects) that Melinda displays in the novel (with page numbers). When we find out what happened to Melinda, we will be able to find the root of the problem and fill in the box on the bottom of the tree.

Speak Graphic Organizer Key (Possibilities)

Chews her lip

Sleeps

No friends Hides in her closet

Grades suffer

Doesn’t speak to her parents or anyone

Seeks comfort in art

Rape