Out of My Mind · Garden Heights

Part 4

for Out of My Mind · Part 4 · Chapters 14–16

8 Parts40 min

What Happens in Part 4

Part 4 is the hinge of the novel. Rose brings a lime-green laptop to school, prompting Melody to tell Catherine she wants a computer adapted to her needs. Miss Gordon’s biography assignment leads Melody to Stephen Hawking, whose computer-assisted speech deepens that research. In Chapter 15, Melody and Catherine find the Medi-Talker, which Melody can operate with her thumbs. The adults complete the required prescription, insurance, financial, and school paperwork, and the device is delivered to Mrs. V before Christmas. It comes with thousands of words and phrases across many levels; Melody and Mrs. V personalize it with names and useful messages. Melody names it Elvira, thanks Mrs. V, and tells her parents she loves them. In Chapter 16, she takes Elvira to school, answers Claire’s snide remark with a prepared comeback, and tells a joke. When Claire admits she had never realized Melody had thoughts, Miss Gordon explains that those thoughts were always there. Rose then confirms that she and Melody are friends.

What We Will Learn

Section	What you will practice
Vocabulary	Research and machine words: biography, device, preloaded, customize, synthetic…
Literary Elements	The turning point, character revelation, and the device as symbol
Cross-Curricular	Speech-generating devices: selection, word prediction, and synthesized voice

Chapter Summary

Ch.	What happens
Ch.14	Rose’s Laptop — after the aquarium outing, Rose brings a new lime-green laptop to school. Seeing it makes Melody tell Catherine that she wants a computer designed for her own needs. In language arts, Miss Gordon assigns a famous-person biography, and Melody chooses Stephen Hawking. Catherine helps her research both Hawking and the technology that lets him communicate through a computer.
Ch.15	The Medi-Talker — Melody and Catherine find a communication device she can operate with her thumbs. After research and paperwork involving a prescription, insurance, finances, and school approval, the Medi-Talker is ordered and delivered to Mrs. V before Christmas. It arrives with thousands of words and phrases arranged across many levels, but Mrs. V and Melody customize it with names and personal vocabulary. Melody names it Elvira, thanks Mrs. V, and tells her parents that she loves them.
Ch.16	Elvira at School — after practicing over winter break, Melody brings Elvira to school. Her classmates are surprised, and Claire makes a snide remark; Melody answers with a prepared retort and a joke. Claire then admits she had not realized Melody had thoughts, and Miss Gordon corrects her: Melody has always had plenty to say but lacked a way to say it. Rose compliments the device and confirms that she and Melody are friends.

Part 1

Vocabulary

Study 10 key words from Chapters 14–16, then answer each question.

💬Knowledge Bank · Words for Talking Machines

Assistive Technology · AAC VocabularyThe field that builds talking machines calls itself augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC. Augmentative means added to whatever speech a person already has; alternative means used in place of speech. Tools get sorted by how much technology they carry: a board of pictures and letters is low-tech and needs a partner to read it, while a computer that speaks aloud is called a speech-generating device. Every device also needs an access method, the physical way its user makes a choice — a finger on a screen, a thumb on a key, a switch pressed while the machine highlights options in turn, or a camera that follows the eyes. The words a device can produce are its vocabulary, and stocking it is genuine work, since a set too small traps a user in stock phrases while a set too large slows every sentence down. Specialists judge any system by one question that has nothing to do with hardware: how much of what this person means can the system actually say.

researchv.Ch.14

To study a subject carefully to find out facts

“Catherine helped Melody research Stephen Hawking and communication devices.”

biographyn.Ch.14

A written account of another person’s life

“Melody chose Stephen Hawking as the subject of her biography.”

operatev.Ch.15

To control how a machine works

“Melody needed a device she could operate with her thumbs.”

devicen.Ch.15

A tool or machine made for a particular purpose

“The Medi-Talker is a device that turns selected text into speech.”

prescriptionn.Ch.15

A medical order authorizing a treatment or piece of equipment

“The application paperwork for the Medi-Talker included a prescription.”

preloadedadj.Ch.15

Stored in a device before the user receives it

“Thousands of words and phrases were preloaded on the Medi-Talker.”

customizev.Ch.15

To change something for a particular user or purpose

“Mrs. V and Melody customize Elvira with names and personal phrases.”

phrasen.Ch.15

A small group of words that works as a unit

“A stored phrase lets Melody prepare something she expects to say.”

syntheticadj.Ch.15

Made by a machine rather than produced naturally

“Elvira speaks Melody’s selections in a synthetic voice.”

astonishedadj.Ch.16

Extremely surprised by something unexpected

“Melody’s classmates were astonished when she brought Elvira to school.”

ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.

1A written account of another person’s life is a ___.Ch.14

2To ‘operate’ a device is to control how it works.Ch.15

3A voice made by a machine rather than produced by a body is ___.Ch.15

4Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.14–15

Word choices:researchcustomizebiographyoperate- some words will not be used

Catherine helped Melody Stephen Hawking’s technology.

They began to the device with names and useful phrases.

5‘Preloaded’ words are added only after a customer receives a device.Ch.15

6A medical order authorizing equipment is a ___.Ch.15

7A ‘phrase’ is a small group of words that works as a unit.Ch.15

8Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.15–16

Word choices:deviceastonishedpreloadedbiography- some words will not be used

The Medi-Talker is a communication .

Her classmates were when Elvira spoke at school.

9To study a topic carefully in order to learn facts is to ___.Ch.14

10To change a product for one particular user is to ___ it.Ch.15

Part 2

Comprehension

Show you understood what happens in Chapters 14–16.

🖥Knowledge Bank · From a Thumb to a Sentence

Engineering · Speech GenerationFollow one sentence through a speech-generating device and the engineering becomes clear. It begins with a movement the user can repeat reliably — a thumb on a key, a switch beside a knee, a steady gaze — which the machine reads as a single choice. Choices land either on symbols, where one press can release a whole stored phrase, or on letters, which are slower but can spell anything a person invents. Software watches the letters arrive and offers likely completions, a feature called word prediction that can cut the number of presses in a sentence roughly in half. When the message is finished, the text passes to a synthesizer, which breaks the writing into speech sounds, joins them, and shapes the pitch and rhythm of the line before a speaker plays it aloud. Early synthesizers sounded robotic because they assembled sound from a thin library; newer ones are built from recorded human speech, and users can pick a voice by age and accent. All of that is engineering. The sentence still belongs to the person doing the choosing.

1What first prompts Melody to ask for a computer designed for her needs?Ch.14

2Why does Melody choose Stephen Hawking for Miss Gordon’s biography assignment?Ch.14

3What makes the Medi-Talker a promising choice for Melody?Ch.15

4The Medi-Talker arrives empty, so every word must be entered from the beginning.Ch.15

5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order of events in Chapters 14–16. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch.14–16

Melody brings Elvira to school and answers Claire’s remark.
Melody chooses Stephen Hawking and begins researching his technology.
Rose brings her new lime-green laptop to school.
The device arrives, is customized, and receives the name Elvira.
The adults complete paperwork and order the Medi-Talker.

6Melody names her Medi-Talker Elvira after one of her favorite songs.Ch.15

7Which messages does Melody first use Elvira to deliver at home?Ch.15

8How does Miss Gordon respond after Claire says she did not know Melody had thoughts?Ch.16

9Once Melody can speak through the device, her classmates immediately treat her as an equal.Ch.16

10What is the biggest change Chapters 14–16 make to the novel?Ch.14–16

Part 3

Literary Elements

Understanding HOW and WHY Sharon M. Draper tells the story across Chapters 14–16.

✍Knowledge Bank · The Chapter That Splits a Book

Literary Craft · Turning Point and CharacterLong novels usually turn on a single hinge scene, after which the earlier situation cannot simply return. Draper puts this turning point near the novel’s middle: Chapters 14 and 15 build the research, paperwork, delivery, and customization, while Chapter 16 makes Melody’s voice public at school. The device does not create her personality. Instead, her prepared comeback to Claire and her joke produce a revelation for classmates who have never encountered her wit directly. Claire’s admission that she did not realize Melody had thoughts exposes the old misjudgment, and Miss Gordon corrects it. Elvira also works as a symbol of access rather than cure. Thousands of words come preloaded, but Melody adds names and personal phrases and even chooses the machine’s name. Technology supplies audible sound; Melody supplies identity, timing, gratitude, love, and humor. The result is a turning point that begins new conflicts instead of magically resolving the old ones: a public voice.

Turning point

These chapters are the hinge of the book. Everything before is Melody unheard; everything after is Melody answering back, and the story cannot return.

Character revelation

Melody’s prepared retort and joke let the class encounter the wit and confidence that her first-person narration has already shown the reader.

Symbol

The device stands for access itself — and Draper keeps it a channel rather than a cure, which is what stops the scene from becoming a rescue.

1A scene after which a story’s situation cannot return to what it was is a ___.Ch.14–16

2Fill in each blank with the correct literary term.Ch.14–16

Word choices:charactersymbolmeterrhyme- some words will not be used

A detail that reveals personality develops .

An object that stands for a bigger idea is a .

3What do Melody’s prepared retort and joke reveal in Ch.16?Ch.16

4Draper presents the device as a cure that fixes Melody’s cerebral palsy.Ch.14–16

5Placing this turning point in the middle of the novel mainly lets Draper ___.Ch.14–16

6Naming the device Elvira and adding personal phrases mainly work to ___.Ch.15

7Character revelation occurs when an action or detail exposes a person’s traits.Ch.14–16

8Fill in each blank with the correct literary term.Ch.14–16

Word choices:turningironystanzapreface- some words will not be used

The hinge scene of a novel is its point.

A silent narrator the reader alone can hear creates .

9Because the machine can speak, the novel stops being told from Melody’s point of view.Ch.14–16

10Chapters 14–16 mainly work to ___.Ch.14–16

Part 4

Think Deeper

Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it out.

💰Knowledge Bank · Who Pays for a Voice

Critical Thinking · Cost and AccessA speech-generating device is not a gadget a family lifts off a shelf. Systems have historically cost thousands of dollars, so the question after a good evaluation is almost always financial. In the United States there are roughly three doors. Health insurance, including public programs, can cover a device once a clinician documents it as durable medical equipment needed for daily life. A school district can supply one when the team writes it into a student’s education plan, although a district-funded device may belong to the district and stay behind at graduation. Charities and lending libraries fill the remaining gaps, usually slowly. Each door has its own forms, its own waiting period, and its own definition of necessity, which is why families often apply through more than one at once. The lesson generalizes well past this novel. A technology that exists is not yet a technology that is available, and the distance between those two facts is measured in money.

Think back over these chapters. Rose opens a lime-green laptop, and Melody points Catherine toward the kind of computer she wants. A biography assignment supplies a name — Stephen Hawking — and research turns that name into a search for a device Melody can operate. Forms, a prescription, approvals, and an order follow. Then a box arrives at Mrs. V’s house before Christmas. The Medi-Talker already holds thousands of words and phrases; Melody and Mrs. V add the names and messages that make it hers. Melody calls it Elvira, thanks Mrs. V, and tells her parents she loves them. After winter break, a thumb selects a prepared reply to Claire, the class laughs, and Miss Gordon names the truth Elvira has made audible: Melody always had thoughts.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1Claim: “In Chapters 14–16 the device gives Melody a channel for her thoughts, not a new mind.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence

2Already on the Medi-Talker, or Personalized for Melody? Tap each detail to send it left or right.Sort into two

◄ Already on the Medi-TalkerPersonalized for Melody ►

3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect

Rose brings her lime-green laptop to school→

Melody chooses Stephen Hawking for her biography→

The adults complete the required paperwork→

Claire says she did not know Melody had thoughts→

4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument

Why do Melody and Mrs. V customize a device that already contains thousands of words? , which shows that .

Part 5

Standardized Test

Reading passage · How a Machine Speaks for You · Central Ideas & Words in Context · SAT & TOEFL-style practice

🎯 You already have the skills from the sections above — this is just a fun way to meet real SAT & TOEFL-style questions. Read the passage (the highlighted words are tested below), then answer the questions below. Tap an answer to select it, then tap it again to confirm — you can change your choice until you confirm.

Augmentative and alternative communication, usually shortened to AAC, covers every tool people use to communicate when speech is difficult or impossible. Some of those tools are simple, such as a board of pictures and letters that a partner reads aloud. Others are speech-generating devices: small computers built to say sentences out loud. What all of them need first is a dependable way for the user to choose, so engineers design the selection method around whatever movement a person controls best — a fingertip, a thumb, a switch under a knee, or the steady gaze of an eye.

Once a selection is made, the device has to turn it into language. Some systems store whole words and phrases behind symbols, so a single press produces a finished sentence; others let the user spell letter by letter, which is slower but can say anything at all. Predictive software then offers likely next words after each letter, cutting the number of choices a user has to make. Finally the completed text is handed to a speech synthesis engine, which converts written symbols into sound and plays them through a speaker.

The hardest problem in the field is not sound but time. Even a practiced user needs several seconds to build a sentence, and that latency can push a speaker out of a conversation that has already moved on. Skilled communication partners learn to wait, and good software shortens the wait with stored phrases for predictable moments. Newer systems also let users pick a voice that matches their age and region, because a voice is part of an identity rather than a delivery system. What no device supplies is the thought itself, since the machine only carries a message it did not write.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1What is the main idea of the passage?SAT · Central Ideas

2According to the passage, what determines a device’s selection method?TOEFL · Factual Information

3In the passage, predictive means ___.SAT · Words in Context

4According to the passage, what is the trade-off of spelling letter by letter?TOEFL · Factual Information

5Insert Text (TOEFL). Look at the four squares [1]–[4] in the excerpt below. They show where this sentence could be added:
“A switch can sit almost anywhere a person has dependable movement — under a hand, beside a cheek, or against a knee.”

Not every user can point directly at a target on a screen. [1] For those users a device offers scanning: it highlights rows and then items in turn, and the user presses a single switch when the wanted item lights up. [2] Scanning asks less of the body and more of the clock, because the user has to wait for the highlight to arrive. [3] Careful setup therefore treats scanning speed as a setting tuned for one person, not a fixed feature of the machine. [4]

Where would the sentence fit best?TOEFL · Insert Text

6The word synthesis in the passage is closest in meaning to ___.TOEFL · Vocabulary

7According to the passage, why do newer systems offer a choice of voices?TOEFL · Factual Information

8In the passage, latency means ___.SAT · Words in Context

9The passage suggests that a skilled communication partner is someone who ___.SAT · Inference

10The last sentence of the passage mainly works to ___.SAT · Author’s Purpose

Part 6 · Optional

Creative Writing

A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.

About This Section

This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!

Writing Task — Part 4 “The First Thing I Would Say”

In these chapters Melody connects a school research project to a tool she needs. Adults help complete the paperwork, and Melody then personalizes a device that already contains a large vocabulary. Think of something you wanted badly enough to research. What did you have to find out, who helped you get it, and how did you make it fit your own needs after it arrived? 6–10 sentences. End with the first thing you would want it to help you say.

You can start with: “I thought getting it would be the hard part, and then it arrived...”

0 / 40 words minimum

🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)

No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.

Part 4 Complete!

You finished Chapters 14–16 of Out of My Mind.

Here are your auto-graded results:

-

points out of 100

Your Writing

Your writing was checked automatically for length, spelling, grammar, and whether you included the key parts of the scene. Scroll back to Part 5 anytime to read your feedback and improve your work.

Move on to Part 5 →

Independent study guide by Garden Heights. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Sharon M. Draper. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced. Reference text: This workbook follows Sharon M. Draper’s classic text (the standard Puffin edition sold worldwide). Revised 2023 UK editions change some wording and may not match the vocabulary studied here.