Out of My Mind

Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. How old is Melody?

2. What does Melody say she has never done?

3. What does Melody enjoy that she associates with scents and images?

4. What does Melody call the outbursts that she experiences?

5. What does Melody’s mom ask Melody in a moment of frustration?

Multiple Choice

1. How does Melody describe words?

A) She describes them as swirling, untouched snowflakes.

B) She says they’re like lead weights that she cannot pick up.

C) She describes them as feathers that tickle the back of her throat.

D) She says they’re like keys that don’t fit into the locks of her body.

2. How does Melody imagine that other people see her?

A) She imagines they don’t see her at all and that she is invisible.

B) She imagines people only see her wheelchair, since it is so large and bulky.

C) She imagines people see a child they don’t want to deal with, so they look past her.

D) She imagines people see a girl with dark hair with curious eyes whose head wobbles.

3. What song does Melody hear that causes her to react strongly with joy?

A) Beethoven’s 5th Symphony in C Minor

B) Elvira by The Oak Ridge Boys

C) Blue in Green by Miles Davis

D) Blues in the Night by Woody Herman

4. Why does Melody explode in the grocery store?

A) Her mom tells her that they cannot buy her favorite granola bars.

B) She needs to use the restroom and her mom tells her she must wait.

C) She sees toys in the store that she knows are dangerous.

D) Her mom tells her that she’s no longer allowed to go into the store.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Melody’s favorite kind of music and how does she describe it?

2.  What does Melody say she’s never been able to tell her parents?

3.  What did Melody do repeatedly as a toddler, without meaning to?

4. What does Melody’s father tell her about her life?

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. What does Melody’s mother do for a living?

2. What does Dr. Hugely tell Melody’s mother?

3. How does Melody communicate with others?

4. Who helps to take care of Melody?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Melody play dumb and get frustrated with the doctor’s tests?

A) She knows the doctor is headed to lunch soon, so there’s no reason to try.

B) She knows her colors, numbers, and words, but just can’t express them.

C) She knows her mother is looking to the doctor as an expert for Melody.

D) She knows that the doctor’s tests are too hard for her and she doesn’t want to try.

2. How does Melody’s mother respond to Dr. Hugely’s evaluation of Melody?

A) She says that she will start looking into residential homes where Melody might be placed.

B) She says that Melody has become a burden and that the family needs help with her.

C) She says that Melody’s navigation of a world where nothing works for her shows true intelligence.

D) She says that the doctor seems like a good person and appears to understand Melody the most.

3. Why does Melody feel that her school is juvenile?

A) She attends school in an overly bright classroom and only has a limited number of words and phrases on her communication board.

B) She attends classes with kindergarteners still, even though she is almost twelve, because no one thinks she can understand anything.

C) She still attends a preschool center because the local elementary school has no special education teachers.

D) She thinks her teacher babies her because of her cerebral palsy and she hates it.

4. What does Mrs. V do for Melody?

A) She challenges Melody to crawl on her own and makes her a new communication board.

B) She challenges Melody to speak more about what she wants to do.

C) She takes Melody to her doctor’s appointments and provides her daily care.

D) She helps Melody take baths and dresses her in her daily outfits.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What frustrates Melody about how the adults talk about her?

2. How does Melody describe how she feels while she’s at school?

3. Who does Melody watch a documentary about and what does she say she would rather do?

4. Where does Mrs. V carry Melody?

Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. Who does Melody connect with in her second-grade class?

2. Who does Melody compare herself to and why does she scream?

3. What news does Melody’s mother share with her?

4. What does Melody’s little sister call her?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Melody like Mrs. Tracey?

A) She rewards Melody’s class with stickers and ice cream breaks when they behave well.

B) She leads engaging story times that spark Melody’s imagination and introduce her to new worlds.

C) She gives Melody good grades and doesn’t try to make things harder for her.

D) She provides Melody with higher-level audiobooks and doesn’t treat her like she doesn’t understand things.

2. Why does Melody’s mother have to visit the school and what does she do?

A) Melody has an explosion, and her mother takes the music CD the teacher plays on repeat and snaps it in half.

B) Melody’s grades have dropped drastically, and her mother takes Melody to a special tutor.

C) Melody has an accident, and her mother picks her up from school because she doesn’t have a change of clothes to give her.

D) Melody was caught pinching a classmate, and her mother makes her apologize.

3. Melody screams for her mother in an attempt to help whom?

A) Mrs. V, who has fallen in her front yard

B) her dad, who has slammed his finger in a door

C) Ollie, who has jumped out of his fishbowl

D) her sister, who has fallen down the stairs

4. What does Melody’s mother blame herself for and what does she worry about?

A) She blames herself for Melody’s cerebral palsy and is worried their second child will also have the diagnosis.

B) She blames herself for Melody’s lackluster school experience and is worried she is going to have a hard time in middle school.

C) She blames herself for Ollie jumping out of his fishbowl and she worries about how Melody is coping with his death.

D) She blames herself for Melody’s strained doctor visits and worries that they’re never going to find a doctor who understands Melody.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who quits coming to school after spring break and why does Melody think they left?

2. What do Melody’s parents give her after Ollie jumps out of his fishbowl?

3. Why does Melody feel guilty when she hears her parents arguing?

4. Why is Melody envious of Penny?

Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. What does Melody say she and her mother can do sometimes?

2. What does Melody’s mother share with her that she enjoys reading?

3. What does Melody receive in fifth grade?

4. Who joins Melody in the classroom inclusion program and what do they do?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Melody wish she could tell her mother after she thinks about how they tease each other?

A) She wishes she had the same kind of relationship with her grandpa.

B) She wishes she could tell her about a joke she heard on TV.

C) She wishes she could tell her she loves her.

D) She wishes she could share her jokes with Mrs. V.

2. After reading the Garfield comics, what does Melody wish someone would do for her?

A) She wishes someone would give her the same independence Garfield has.

B) She wishes she could go to the public library to check out more Garfield comics to read.

C) She wishes she didn’t have to wait for the paper to be delivered to read the comics.

D) She wishes that someone could script her thoughts over her head in bubbles like Garfield.

3. How are the classmates who mock the special needs students punished?

A) Mrs. Lovelace sends them outside into the hallway, separating them from their peers.

B) Mrs. Lovelace takes away their seats and they must stand uncomfortably for the rest of class.

C) Mrs. Shannon makes them write a report on an assigned topic.

D) Mrs. Shannon tells them that she will be requesting parent-teacher conferences with both of their parents.

4. How does Mrs. Shannon describe Melody at parent-teacher conferences?

A) She says Melody is not participating in class and that her lack of interest is disappointing.

B) She says Melody is brilliant and a star in the program and that she’s getting an aide.

C) She says Melody needs to be challenged further at home because of how smart she is.

D) She says Melody’s grades have recently declined and asks if anything has changed at home.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Melody’s dad apologize to her after going to McDonald’s?

2. Who uses the communication board to speak with Melody and why does she appreciate them?

3. Why does Melody get excited when she is reprimanded in class?

4. Who claims Melody is cheating on tests and why?

Chapters 13-15

Reading Check

1. Who does Melody invite on a trip and where do they go?

2. Why do Molly and Claire laugh at Rose?

3. What does Rose receive that makes Melody wish she had one too, and why?

4. What do Melody and Catherine find online that could help Melody talk?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Melody think she’s having the best day of her life on the way to the aquarium?

A) Rose is getting along with her family, and she feels like she has a friend.

B) Melody is excited to see her favorite ocean animal, the octopus, at the aquarium.

C) Melody is excited to go on her first road trip to the aquarium.

D) Rose tells Melody that she wants to be best friends with her.

2. Why does Melody want her own personal computer after seeing Rose’s new computer?

A) She wants a computer that will talk for her and store all her words for her, not just a few phrases.

B)She’s excited to be able to play the latest download of a video game that her entire class plays to see what it’s about.

C) She wants to be able to watch nature documentaries on her own time in her bed.

D) She’s excited to be able to watch old country music concerts on her computer.

3. Why does it take a while to fill out information for the Medi-Talker?

A) Melody’s parents are stressed with work and taking care of Penny, so they continue to put it off until they can clearly fill it out for her.

B) Mrs. V loses the manual that Melody and Catherine printed out about the Medi-Talker and Melody must wait to get it reprinted.

C) Melody is hesitant about the changes that the Medi-Talker would bring, so she doesn’t mention it to her parents right away.

D) Melody’s parents must gain school and insurance approval and provide prescriptions and financial statements.

4. What does Melody think that she’s never had that the Medi-Talker will give her?

A) She thinks it will give her a better chance at passing her tests.

B) She thinks it will give her ordinary words and normal conversation.

C) She thinks it will give her a more sophisticated look at school among her classmates.

D) She thinks it will help her skip ahead in school to the grade she really belongs in now that she’ll be able to communicate what she knows.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Mrs. V defend Melody to Claire at the aquarium?

2. Why does Melody decide to write her biography project on Stephen Hawking?

3. What does Melody say to Mrs. V once they set up the Medi-Talker?

4. Why do Melody’s parents cry?

Chapters 16-18

Reading Check

1. What name does Melody give her Medi-Talker and why?

2. How does Melody tease Catherine?

3. Who wins the Whiz Kids practice competition and what is the class’s reaction?

4. Why are Melody’s feelings hurt after history class?

Multiple Choice

1. How does Claire insult Melody after she returns from break with her Medi-Talker?

A) Claire says that even if Melody has a communication device, she’s still not wanted in class.

B) Claire says that Melody’s Medi-Talker is useless because it won’t make Melody smarter.

C) Claire says it never occurred to her that Melody had thoughts in her head.

D) Claire says that Melody’s Medi-Talker thinks for Melody and isn’t really demonstrating that Melody has thoughts of her own.

2. How do Molly and Claire react to Melody’s answers after the Whiz Kid practice competition?

A) They accuse her of cheating and claim that Catherine helped her win.

B) They tell Mr. Dimming that Melody should be disqualified for using technology.

C) They ignore Melody and act like nothing just happened.

D) They convince Mr. Dimming to throw out Melody’s responses due to how unlikely it is that Melody answered the questions on her own.

3. Why does Melody get mad at Penny after school?

A) She’s frustrated that she was discriminated against in class because of her cerebral palsy and is further annoyed that Penny can talk, walk, sing, and do all the things she wishes she could do.

B) She’s upset about Mr. Dimming’s comment in class and decides to act the way everyone expects her to act, lashing out at others for no reason.

C) She’s mad that she had a bad day at school and Penny still gets all the attention at home because she’s able to communicate where Melody cannot do the same.

D) She’s angry that her parents have left her to stay at Mrs. V’s while they take Penny back home, ignoring her and leaving her behind for their child who is not disabled.

4. What does Melody say about math?

A) She says she likes math because of the patterns she sees in the numbers.

B) She says that numbers seem to sink to the bottom of her head like rocks.

C) She says that math is like an escape from a language she can’t speak anyways to one she understands better.

D) She says she likes math because her dad does too and it makes her feel connected to him.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Even though Melody now has the Medi-Talker, what doesn’t change about her class experience?

2. How does Catherine insult Claire after Claire insults Melody when she wins the competition?

3. Why does Mrs. V say that Melody should keep preparing for Whiz Kids?

4. How does Melody compare herself to a computer when Catherine asks if she’s still upset about Mr. Dimming’s comment?

Chapters 19-21

Reading Check

1. What does Melody work on when she isn’t studying?

2. What does Mrs. V ask Melody as they watch a birdfeeder one day?

3. Why is Melody embarrassed about how she looks?

4. Who makes the Whiz Kid team?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Mrs. V say that learning is harder for everyone else than for Melody?

A) She says that everyone else is bogged down in daily things in a way that Melody isn’t.

B) She says that everyone else isn’t as smart as Melody, so things are harder for them.

C) She says that everyone else must guess as to what’s in Melody’s head.

D) She says that everyone else needs extra emotional attention, while Melody needs only physical help.

2. Why does Catherine leave the classroom before the Whiz Kids quiz team test?

A) She leaves to find Melody a change of clothes because Melody’s shirt is stained.

B) She leaves so no one can accuse Melody of cheating on the test.

C) She leaves because the principal called her to the office to discuss Melody’s progress.

D) She leaves so she can take her lunch break while Melody takes the test.

3. Why does Mr. Dimming say he didn’t want Melody to take the test?

A) He tells her that he doesn’t believe she belongs in his class because she’s smarter than her classmates and should be in a higher grade level.

B) He tells her that the quiz was rigged to gauge how much Melody didn’t know and he apologizes to her.

C) He says that the test is notoriously thought to be extremely difficult and he didn’t want her to be discouraged when she failed.

D) He says he was just trying to protect her from getting hurt and tells her to wipe her mouth after she drools.

4. What does Mr. Dimming say to Melody after he announces the Whiz Kid team members?

A) He says that Melody will serve on the team as an honorary member but will not actually participate during the competitions.

B) He apologizes for underestimating Melody’s intelligence and says she answered every question correctly and he’s never had a student do so.

C) He tells Melody that Catherine is not allowed to attend Whiz Kid events now that he knows she isn’t needed for Melody to take tests.

D) He says that Melody didn’t make the team but that she should try again next year.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who expresses disbelief about how much Mrs. V helps Melody study and how does Mrs. V respond?

2. What does Melody worry about the night before the Whiz Kids quiz team test?

3. What does Mr. Dimming tell Catherine before Melody takes the Whiz Kids quiz team test?

4. Why does Claire complain after learning that Melody made the team?

Chapters 22-24

Reading Check

1. Why doesn’t Melody eat pizza with the rest of the team?

2. How is Melody greeted by the stage manager when she arrives for the competition?

3. Who is introduced separately at the start of the competition and why?

4. Where will the winning team go after the competition and what will they do?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Melody watch her teammates instead of participating in practice?

A) She’s unable to push buttons on her Medi-Talker quickly enough to keep up with the others.

B) She’s frustrated because she knows she’s only there as an honorary member so Mr. Dimming wouldn’t be complained about.

C) She knows they don’t want her to participate and so she sits quietly instead of helping.

D) She doesn’t trust her teammates to listen to her so she doesn’t try to help them.

2. How does Melody’s participation in the competition differ from that of her classmates?

A) She arrives last so that she doesn’t have to be made fun of by those who think she’s only there for show.

B) She receives a special stipend for showing up and participating in the competition.

C) She receives special permission to have her mother help her with her answers.

D) She arrives earlier than everyone else, brings Catherine with her, and must speak with reporters.

3. What does Melody think to herself when she hears Claire’s snide remarks before the competition?

A) that Claire will look bad on TV and it will be satisfying to watch later after she gets home

B) that she won’t let her negativity get to her because she has enough to worry about

C) that the students on the other school’s team are nicer to her than her own teammates are

D) that it would be gratifying to expose Claire’s prejudice to the entire nation on live TV

4. How are the Spaulding and Woodland teams alike, regardless of who is on their teams?

A) They both have teammates who struggle to get along and act politely to one another.

B) They both have teammates with their own strengths and weaknesses in different subject areas and help each other to balance things out.

C) They are both weak in the math subject area, causing a draw for the questions asked in that subject.

D) They both have a large following, with thousands of people watching them.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Melody respond to Claire’s worries that Melody will impact the team’s optics on television?

2. Why does the stage manager say he knows how to help Melody?

3. What team is in the lead at the end of the first round of the competition?

4. Who does Melody’s team face off with at the end of the competition?

Chapters 25-27

Reading Check

1. What happens when Melody picks the right math answer in the competition?

2. Who tries to turn attention away from Melody and how does she respond?

3. What happens when Melody tries to enter the Italian restaurant with the team?

4. Why is Melody embarrassed during dinner with the team?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Melody think when the team is about to be interviewed?

A) She thinks the team will give her a pat on the back for choosing the right math answer.

B) She hopes her mom can see her and that Mrs. V is watching from her home.

C) She hopes her hair doesn’t look messy or that she doesn’t look goofy.

D) She thinks the team will finally accept her for who she is now that they’ve won.

2. What does Claire tell the news reporter that leaves the rest of the team speechless?

A) She says she only joined the team to win and now she’s stepping down to allow an alternate to go to DC for the finals.

B) She says that she talks to Melody all the time and that they are best friends.

C) She says that their team couldn’t have won without Melody.

D) She says she will be paying for everyone’s expenses to finals because her parents are so excited that they won.

3. How does Melody feel when she watches her teammates play with crayons at dinner?

A) She realizes she no longer cares what they think about her and that she doesn’t need their approval.

B) She feels jealous that they’re able to use crayons and feed themselves.

C) She really just wants to go home and is trying to look like she’s having fun.

D) She feels like she’s never going to be able to fit in with them.

4. Why does Melody feel like there’s a double standard for her after Claire becomes sick?

A) She notices that no one says anything about Claire’s illness or judges her, but she always gets looked at by others because of her cerebral palsy.

B) She thinks that Claire makes comments about Melody without any consequences because Melody can’t say anything in return.

C) She realizes that when Claire stunned the team, no one confronted her about her statements, but Melody struggles to have even the most basic things she says accepted.

D) She thinks that Claire’s parents must have worked out a deal to keep her on the team after she was reported for bullying Melody.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Melody hope will happen after the team wins the competition?

2. Why does the team slowly stop to stare at Melody during dinner?

3. Why is Melody worried that the other kids will hate her after she sees the news article about the team’s win?

4. Why is Melody worried that the other students don’t want her on the team?

Chapters 28-30

Reading Check

1. What does Melody qualify for in the weeks after the first competition?

2. Who becomes an alternate for the national competition and why?

3. Who calls Melody’s home after they return from the airport?

4. Why does Melody begin screaming at her mother in the car before they leave for school?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Melody do that makes her mother proud of her for showing thoughtfulness?

A) She asks to purchase thank you cards for Mrs. V and Catherine for helping her study.

B) She asks to buy Penny and her dad their favorite ice creams while at the grocery store.

C) She asks to send her teammates good luck cards before they leave for nationals.

D) She asks to call Mrs. V so she can tell her how thankful she is for her help before they get on the airplane.

2. Why does Melody feel brokenhearted at the airport?

A) She realizes she will not be able to fly to nationals because of her condition and she feels like she let her team down.

B) She thinks about how much she will miss her dad and Penny even though she knows she will return after the competition.

C) She doesn’t want to leave without her mom but knows she must get on the plane to help the team win at nationals.

D) She discovers that her flight has been canceled and that her team caught an earlier flight after having breakfast together.

3. Why does Melody’s mom hang up on Mr. Dimming?

A) He tells her that he’s found a last-minute flight that will get Melody to the competition on time.

B) He says that no one wanted Melody on the team and that leaving her behind was the easiest option for them all.

C) He tells her that Melody would have only caused problems for the team and it was best that she didn’t fly anyway.

D) He offers to make it up to Melody after leaving her behind at the airport and adds insult to injury.

4. Why does Melody want to return to school?

A) She wants to get answers from her classmates and Mr. Dimming about what happened.

B) She wants to show her classmates and Mr. Dimming that they didn’t beat her.

C) She wants to request a change in classes so that she doesn’t have to see the team or Mr. Dimming anymore.

D) She wants to meet with the principal to file a complaint about Mr. Dimming and the bullying she has experienced.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why can’t Melody’s parents drive her to the nationals competition?

2. Who is happy to see Melody after she comes home and what do they do when she’s in bed?

3. Why is Melody’s mother in a bad mood before they leave for school?

4. What happens to Penny that Melody tries to forewarn her mother about?

Chapters 31-33

Reading Check

1. What does Mrs. V decide to throw into the laundry?

2. What does Mrs. V tell Melody is boring?

3. Why does the team say they left Melody behind?

4. What does Melody compare her life to?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Melody believe what happened to Penny was her fault?

A) She knows that if she was at nationals, Penny would be safe instead of in the hospital due to the accident.

B) She was frustrated with her mom and thinks that she shouldn’t have screamed so much, causing the accident.

C) She was in a bad mood, angry with Penny, and demanded that her mom take her to school, causing the accident.

D) She thinks that if she didn’t require so much help with everything, Penny would have never been in danger.

2. How, according to Mrs. V, is Melody not like other kids?

A) She says Melody’s cerebral palsy gives her a view of life that other kids don’t have.

B) She says Melody is kind and a shining star compared to other kids her age.

C) She says Melody isn’t mean, fake, and thoughtless like other kids are.

D) She says that Melody doesn’t mock others like other kids do.

3. How does Melody respond to her teammates’ excuse for what happened at the airport?

A) She says that she needed to spend time with her sister instead, so it is fine that they left.

B) She says that their tiny trophy wasn’t worth her time, and she is glad she was left.

C) She says that she doesn’t care that they left her behind because she knew they would lose.

D) She says that Claire got sick at dinner and wasn’t left behind, so she should not have been left either.

4. What does Melody do when Connor presents her with the team’s trophy?

A) She tells them it’s a beautiful trophy but that she does not want it because she was not at nationals to win it.

B) She sees how cheaply made it is, laughs, swipes it off her tray, and tells them they deserve it.

C) She laughs and says they couldn’t make it up to her if they tried because they know what they have done.

D) She cries and says she just wanted to compete because she enjoyed it and leaves the room.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Melody’s dad cope while Penny and her mom are at the hospital?

2. What does Catherine tell Melody about Penny’s accident?

3. What does Mr. Dimming say about being reminded that they were missing Melody at the airport?

4. How does the novel come full circle?