Use these questions and 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. What does racism mean? What are some of the different ways in which people can display racist attitudes or behavior toward someone? What does racism look like in the context of America?

Teaching Suggestion: Hush focuses on a Black family who enters the Witness Protection Program because the father, a former policeman, speaks out against his colleagues who shot and killed a Black boy. Racial Bias and Stereotypes is one of the themes explored in the novel, and a discussion on racism and its different expressions may help set context.

• Consider using this article to define racism and introduce students to the different places and times in history defined by racism.
• With sensitivity in mind, excerpts of this essay from 2020 might be helpful in initiating reflection on racism in America.

2. What do you know of the Federal Witness Protection Program? Why do you think it exists? How does it work? What impact do you think it could have on the children who are part of the program?