Anything But Typical

Use these questions or 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. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 1 in 44 children in the United States have some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). What do you know about ASD and other types of neurodiversity? What does it mean that autism is a “spectrum” disorder? What are some other examples of neurodiversity?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may have some insights into the nature of ASD and/or other forms of neurodiversity from their peers, from their families, or from their own personal experience. For those students with limited awareness, however, you will want to encourage them to approach the subject with openness, sensitivity, and empathy. Students may have familiarity with other forms of neurodiversity (ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and/or Tourette’s Syndrome) but not realize that those conditions fall under the same umbrella term as ASD. ASD is considered a “spectrum” disorder because of the wide range of ways the disorder can present and manifest in individuals.

• Autism Speaks offers this helpful School Community Tool Kit to help teachers provide students with useful information about autism in their communities, as well as to help promote understanding and acceptance.
• “What Exactly is Neurodiversity?” is a video by How to ADHD that provides a brief primer on how to define “neurodiversity,” which is the umbrella term under which ASD falls.

Differentiation Suggestion: For younger students, as well as learners who might benefit from a more simplistic presentation, Dr. Tamara Soles created this video entitled “What is Neurodiversity: A video for Children” to explain the concept.

2. Think of your current favorite book, TV show, and/or movie. Is the narrator of that story a “reliable” or an “unreliable” one? What exactly is an “unreliable” narrator? Can you think of examples of stories where having an unreliable narrator has contributed to a major plot twist in a story?

Teaching Suggestion: Students will likely have favorite books, TV shows, and movies that feature a mix of reliable and unreliable narrators. Even if you are unfamiliar with the examples that the students cite, you can ask the following probing questions to assess if the narrator is reliable or not: Does the narrator contradict themself at any point in the story, or do they have gaps in memory and/or lie to other characters in the story? Does the narrator strike you as naïve and/or deceitful? What is the narrator’s motivation—do they have an agenda that might make them want to manipulate the way the facts of the stories are presented?

• BookRiot has compiled this list of “50 Must-Read Books with Unreliable Narrators” with a good mix of classic and modern examples, demonstrating the frequency with which this literary device is used.
• For even more context, have students watch “What is an Unreliable Narrator?”: A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers,” featuring Professor Neil Davidson of Oregon State University.

Differentiation Suggestion: For classes that are engaged by more activity-based learning, hold a debate and ask them to consider the following contentious question: Is Harry Potter, the titular character in the books and movie series, a “reliable narrator”? (The widely known Harry Potter books use third-person limited narration.) Divide the class into two camps—one arguing that Harry Potter’s narratorial point of view is reliable, and the other arguing that Harry’s point of view is unreliable—and have them debate one another.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Online communities can help those feeling misunderstood or otherwise ostracized find solace and support, but they can also simply be a source of fun and friendship. Do you belong to any online communities? Consider the ways in which these communities make you feel seen and validated, and how they differ from your IRL (“in real life”) communities.

Teaching Suggestion: There are many different kinds of online communities—from online games like Fortnite to fanfic story writing communities on websites like WattPad. Expect that students may not necessarily see themselves as part of “online communities,” but ask them to think broadly about the spaces they occupy online and what sort of informal communities they may be a part of. Have them think deeply about the benefits they get from their experience in such online spaces.

• In 2021, The Conversation published a brief article titled “Yes, online communities pose risks for young people, but they are also important sources of support” to reveal the sometimes underappreciated ways in which online groups can be helpful to teens.
• An NBC News web article with the headline “Depressed teens turn to social media to cope, survey finds” reports on a national survey that explored how the stigma of mental health issues may cause students to seek out online support.