Explain why the novel’s theme of Learning to Speak Out is central to the plot. Consider these specific points before structuring your response:

• Who appears to primarily have a voice at the beginning of the novel and why do people in the community stay quiet if they disagree? 
• What role does Liz play in helping Marlee to decide whether schools should be segregated? 
• How does Liz encourage Marlee to use her voice and how does the use of Marlee’s voice evolve over the course of the novel? 
• How does the community increasingly use its voice as Marlee does?
• What characters, like Marlee, were afraid to use their voice at the beginning of the novel?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might reference the novel and their reading questions while working. It might be beneficial to allow brief small group work in which individuals jigsaw the bulleted questions and share their strongest points with one another before turning to their independent written response.