Amina's Voice

Amina’s Voice is what is known as a “coming of age” story. In general, this means a story that has a young main character who becomes more mature and more capable during the story because of the obstacles they face. Which of the obstacles Amina faces are common ones that many middle school students face, regardless of their backgrounds? Which obstacles have something to do with her being a first-generation immigrant who is sometimes the target of bullying and prejudice aimed at Muslims? How do her attempts to overcome the challenges she faces show that she is growing and changing?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt offers students a chance to think about which of the obstacles Amina faces are common to many middle-schoolers, regardless of their faith and immigration status, and which additional obstacles Amina faces because of her background. You might challenge students to also think about the ways in which the ordinary obstacles of growing up can be made more complicated when a person’s parents, religious or ethnic community, and the larger community all have differing expectations. If students struggle to articulate how Amina’s responses to obstacles show that she is becoming more mature, you might offer an example: Suppose you are reading a story in which a young character gets a bad grade on a test and then lies to their parents about it. Then, later in the story, the same character accidentally breaks a window—but instead of lying to their parents, they take responsibility for their mistake. How would this show the character is becoming more mature?

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with attentional and executive function issues might benefit from creating a two-column chart dividing Amina’s challenges into those related to her background and those unrelated to her background. They can then plot these obstacles on a timeline and use this as a thinking device to consider how Amina’s responses gradually become more mature. Students who struggle with written language and those who are emergent English language learners might be permitted to add Amina’s responses to the timeline itself instead of writing out their ideas in a more developed format.