Breakout

Consider how the play Hamilton has reshaped people’s understanding and discussion of the country’s founders. In what ways does the play connect with the theme of The Media’s Role in Shaping Perception in the novel?

Describe the attitude that out-of-town reporters and law enforcement officers take toward Wolf Creek. What does this suggest about their perspective of the town, and why do you think Wolf Creek residents are so welcoming toward them?

Elidee writes to Troy throughout the novel, but he never gets to speak for himself. Why is this significant?

Explore Lizzie’s use of puns, irony, and sarcasm in her parody news articles, and explain how each helps her make a specific point. Then write your own parody article about a recent event in local or national news.

Elidee’s poems are often modeled on the works of other famous poets—she often experiments with Golden Shovel Poems and works by Jacqueline Woodson, Nikki Grimes, and others as mentor texts. In what ways does this show the importance of representation in literature, and of people with different stories being heard? To extend, choose a “striking line” or mentor text from a poem by Elidee or another author you admire, and write your own.

Nora is surprised to learn that activists like Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. willingly faced the possibility of prison for civil disobedience. What does this suggest about the importance of providing all parts of a story when teaching history? To extend, conduct research on one of these activists, and explain what they might think of Nora’s decision to disobey her mother by going to Elidee’s house.

Compare and contrast the perspectives of Nora, Lizzie, and Elidee as they are developed over the course of the novel. Summarize how each girl defines “home” and her place in it. Create a visual (such as a Venn diagram) that illustrates your comparison.a

How accurately does Kate Messner present middle-grade students’ perspectives and experiences in the novel? Evaluate how her representations of the school day, as well as her language and tone, contribute to this.