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Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper is a touching and inspiring novel about a girl with cerebral palsy (Information on Cerebral Palsy, Click Here).

The main character, Melody, is an intelligent, eleven-year-old girl who fights the stereotypes associated with mental and physical disabilities.  As she transcends these stereotypes, Melody makes her fair share of friends and enemies, and struggles to overcome many other obstacles along the way.

Draper introduces Melody as a young girl trying to cope with a crippling miscommunication disability. Her cerebral palsy leaves her non-verbal, and though she understands what is going on around her and is extremely intelligent, she has no way of letting those around her know. Consequently, many of her peers believe she is unintelligent and unaware. When she finally learns how to communicate with new technology, her family is astounded and her peers mock her in disbelief. Melody spends the rest of the novel proving her worth and value to those around her.

This novel is an easy and quick read. The reader can sympathize with Melody, and roots for her success. Melody’s story is important because it provides a perspective that is often over-looked. When implementing this novel in a classroom, I suggest an age group no younger than 7th grade. Because this text revolves around physical and mental health conditions, the audience needs to be mature enough to address these issues with a seriousness that is conducive to an adequate learning environment. The goal is for the students to understand that there are not only people from different cultures and backgrounds, but also who have different abilities. Students will probably encounter peers in their own school that are in special education classes or be in a class with someone who needs academic accommodations. This novel serves to address those stories that we never look at, give students a deeper understanding of what it means to have a disability, and what one who has one is capable of if they have the proper tools and assistance. 

This novel can be paired with Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Melody’s story is a structured and successful bridge for mental and physical disabilities and their inclusion in classrooms. Melody finally finds success when she gains inclusion in a general education class. Her struggles with her peers ultimately lead to progression in her social group. There are many ways to encourage growth through this medium. For example, it would be convenient to match this novel with the introduction of research papers. As an educator, it’s important to consider different types of disabilities as well as those that don’t have a medical diagnosis, like being a slow reader or having a hard time understanding numbers. By providing these examples to your students, you could provide them with opportunities to research mental and physical disabilities of their choosing. This will not only strengthen their acceptance of differences that surround them, but also entice them into an interest in a foreign concept.

 Ideas for Lesson Plans:

-        Vocabulary projects

-        “In-Your-Shoes” Activities