Speak Lesson Plan

What does the bus ride on the first day of school reveal about Melinda?

Melinda’s thoughts on the first bus ride of the year reveal that she is not looking forward to high school at all, and that she has good reason to not look forward to it. From the very beginning of the novel, it should be clear to students that Melinda has no friends and that the people she once knew in middle school hate her. Examples that show others’ hostility toward her on the bus include a boy tossing a Ho-Ho wrapper at her head and kids Melinda once knew glaring at her. As she herself observes, she is an outcast, and so she does the only thing she can: she keeps her head down and tries to keep...