Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. In what ways do people primarily communicate with others? What would be important to remember when communicating with someone who is deaf or has severe hearing loss?

Teaching Suggestion: Valencia, a major character in the novel, is deaf. She experiences bullying about her deafness and ultimately stands up to her bully. Learning more about the experiences of people in the Deaf community could guide students to more thorough analysis of the reading and increased compassion. After studying the resources here, students might brainstorm other related questions they have and continue researching.

• This 4-minute video from the BBC offers suggestions for communicating with people who are deaf.
• This brief resource from the National Association of the Deaf includes answers to some common questions. 

2. What might cause someone to bully others? How can someone be an upstander if witnessing bullying?

Teaching Suggestion: In the novel, Chet bullies multiple people, as does his father. While Valencia and Virgil stand up to Chet later, guiding students to reflect on this topic early can not only lead to higher levels of analysis during reading, but also increase classroom community.