Out of my Mind

Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper
Publisher: New York: Atheneum for Young Readers
Copyright: 2010

Citation: Draper, S. M. (2010). Out of my mind. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Literary Awards, Honors, and or Nominations

1. 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work- Youth/Teens: Nominee
2. 2010 Goodreads Choice Awards Best Middle Grade & Children's: Nominee

Reading Level:
Lexile: 700L
Guided Reading: S
GLE: 4.3
DRA: 40

-Original description of the book
This book is a true eye opener that describes the challenges that students who have disabilities and are extremely gifted have to go through on a daily basis. Sharon Draper wrote this book and filled it with many different emotions that I felt as I read. Her point of view is also interesting because she writes this book through the eyes of Melody, the main character. This book will also help students understand what students with disabilities want in terms of being in school and treated differently. Out of my Mind is also a great book to show students that no matter how many times you are let down, you should always get up and try again and to be the bigger person in difficult situations. 

-Corresponding Common Core State Standard
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. (Activity that addresses the standard: After Reading Comprehension Activity)
-Suggested delivery
1) Read Aloud
2) Small Group Reading

-2 electronic resources
1) A Character Education Novel Unit
2) Go to Kids Health-Cerebral Palsy and then discuss with students about cerebral palsy. This website can be projected onto the screen and students can ask questions on things that they might not understand about this disability

-3 teaching suggestions for grades 4-6
1) One way teachers can use this book in the classroom is to help students understand the different challenges that people may face during their life and overcoming obstacles. Students will most likely have to face different challenged in their life but the severity of those challenged will vary depending on their life choices. Giving students the knowledge on how to overcome challenges will help them be prepared when they first have to overcome one. This book gives great examples about the different challenges Melody has to overcome and shows the students that it is never easy.

2) Another way to use this in the class is to show students that people’s family life might be different than their depending on the family’s situation. Opening students’ minds about different home lives will help them to be more open-minded and understanding towards students with disabilities. It also shows the students that everyday things for them are harder for students with disabilities.

3) A third way that teachers can use this book in the classroom is to introduce the different disabilities that students can have. It is also important for students to understand that not everyone is born with a disability and that it might occur while they are growing up and that it doesn’t make that person different. This will also help students understand what people with cerebral palsy go through and get an overall understanding on how students with disabilities want to be treated.

-Key vocabulary
1) Convulsion: a sudden, violent, irregular movement of a limb or of the body, caused by involuntary contraction of muscles and associated with brain disorders
2) Indignation: anger or annoyance caused by unfair treatment
3) Cerebral Palsy (Spastic Bilateral Quadriplegia; limits body not mind): chronic disorders that impair control of movement due to damage to the developing brain
4) Petulant: childishly sulky or bad-tempered
5) Curvature: the fact of being curved or the degree to which something is curved
6) Diagnosis: the process of determining by examination the nature and circumstances of a diseased condition
7) Seizure: physical findings or changes in behavior that occur after an episode of abnormal electrical activity in the brain; often used interchangeably with "convulsion."
8) Synesthesia: a condition where one sense is simultaneously perceived by one or more senses; joined perception

-An inferential comprehension writing activity
The students can complete the Edhelper-Out of my Mind Comprehension Guide as a writing activity that will help students use their inferential comprehension skills throughout this book. 

-Before Reading Comprehension Activity: Invite students to share their feelings on words. Ask, "What role do words play in our lives?" "Are words valued more verbally or written?" "What makes you say this?" This can be a journal topic and a pre-reading activity for students to start thinking about how we use words. Additionally ask the question, "If you could not talk or hardly move your body, how would you communicate your words?"

-During Reading Comprehension Activity: While the students are independently reading they can do a “compare and contrast” list where they can look at how Melody was before her Medi-Talker and how she changed after her Medi-Talker.

-After Reading Comprehension Activity: Once students are finished reading the book, they can write a story called “In Her Shoes” where they extended their knowledge that they learned through reading Out of my Mind and apply it to a short story where they write about how they think they would react and feel if they were in Melody’s shoes.