Flush

Flush is about having the courage to stand up for what is right in more than one kind of situation. What kind of bullying does Noah face from Jasper? How is this similar to and different from the obstacles that Paine faces because of Dusty? Do Noah and Paine use similar or different tactics to stand up for themselves and what they believe in? What do you think this book is trying to say about standing up for yourself and for your principles? Are these two things shown as being similar or different? How?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt asks students to compare and contrast Noah’s and Jasper’s choices regarding how to stand up for what is right in two different ways. Then, it asks them to consider what Hiaasen is saying about the similarities or differences between standing up for yourself and standing up for your beliefs. Because this is a relatively complex set of tasks for middle-grade students, consider employing one or more of these strategies:

• It may be beneficial to allow students to use visual organizers before answering the question aloud or in writing.
• Students might work in small groups or pairs to organize their thoughts, even if they will be answering the prompt individually.
• Students may benefit from guidance in understanding how the evidence they gather implies something about the book’s stance on whether standing up for yourself is the same as standing up for your beliefs. You might give them examples of alternative choices Hiaasen might have made and ask how these choices would have impacted the reader’s understanding of the relationship between standing up for yourself and standing up for your beliefs.

Differentiation Suggestion: Even if all students do not require visual organizers to successfully respond to this prompt, those with attentional and executive function issues may benefit from using them. Students who are emergent English language learners or who struggle with written language might simply turn in their visual organizers along with a one-sentence explanation of how these organizers support a message about the relationship between standing up for yourself and standing up for your beliefs. Because this prompt requires sifting through a large amount of text for evidence, you might allow English language learners, students with dyslexia, and those with attentional or executive function difficulties to work with a partner or small group to gather evidence, regardless of whether you allow the entire class to do so.