Amina's Voice

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 1, what does Soojin tell Amina that she is going to change about herself?

2. Who is Baba?

3. What class does Amina have with Mrs. Barton?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How did Amina end up with stage fright?

2. What does Mr. Khokar think of Mustafa’s plan to join the basketball team?

3. Why does Amina not like it when Soojin invites Emily to join their Oregon Trail group?

4. What strange comment does Amina remember Bradley making about her mother?

Paired Resource

“The Soft Bigotry of Having to Change Your Name. Because Somehow Tchaikovsky Is Easier” by Gene Park”

• This Washington Post essay explores the many reasons immigrants to America might choose to change their names and asks thoughtful questions about the consequences of doing so.
• This resource relates to themes of Racially Motivated Bullying, The Impact of Islamophobia in America, and Coming-of-Age for a First-Generation Immigrant.
• What are some of the reasons discussed in this essay that immigrants change their names? What does the author argue are some reasons an immigrant might want to keep their original name? How do less common names from European backgrounds get treated differently from unfamiliar names from non-European backgrounds? What reasons does Soojin seem to have for wanting to change her name? Which ideas in the essay would Amina most likely agree with, and why do you think this is so?

Chapters 4-8

Reading Check

1. What is the name of Amina’s friend at the Islamic Center who is the only student at her school who wears a hijab?

2. Whose visit is the family preparing for in Chapter 6?

3. In Chapter 8, what name does Soojin tell Amina she has chosen?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Salma Auntie refuse to allow Amina to spend the night with Rabiya?

2. What conclusion does Amina come to about her life when she reads Life on the Oregon Trail?

3. What gift did Amina give Soojin for her tenth birthday, and why?

4. Why is the date October 20th important for Soojin and her family?

Paired Resource

“Majede Najar: Why I Wear a Hijab”

• This 3-minute video by a Canadian Muslim student offers a thoughtful and positive explanation of what wearing the hijab means to her.
• This resource relates to themes of The Impact of Islamophobia in America and Coming-of-Age for a First-Generation Immigrant.
• What are Majede Najar’s reasons for wearing the hijab? What misconceptions about hijab does she try to address in this video? Do you think that there are non-Muslim women who might envy the sense of empowerment and freedom that the hijab offers Najar? How do her experiences compare to Dahlia’s? How do you think that Amina would respond to this video?

“What the U.S. Could Learn from Canada About Integrating Immigrant Students”

• This 10-minute PBS News video explores the differences in the experiences of immigrant students in the United States and Canada.
• This resource relates to themes of Racially Motivated Bullying, The Impact of Islamophobia in America, and Coming-of-Age for a First-Generation Immigrant.
• How do Canadian schools work to welcome immigrants into Canadian society and set them up for success? What evidence is there that this approach helps both immigrants and native-born Canadians? How might Soojin’s and Amina’s lives be different if they were in a Canadian middle school instead of an American one? Do you think they might still face prejudice and discrimination?

Chapters 9-22

Reading Check

1. How long has it been since Amina last saw her cousins in Pakistan?

2. In Chapter 13, what does Amina overhear her uncle telling her father she should give up?

3. With what bad news about the Islamic Center does Salma Auntie call one Sunday morning?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 12, what does Mustafa argue with Imam Malik about?

2. In Chapter 16, what secret of Emily’s does Amina accidentally tell Bradley?

3. After Amina tells her mother about what happened with Emily and Soojin, what idea does her mother have for a way Amina can show that she still wants to be Soojin’s friend?

4. When community members have gathered at Amina’s house, what statement does Hamid Uncle make that Amina is surprised to learn that Thaya Jaan agrees with?

Paired Resource

"Nation-Wide Anti-Mosque Activity"

• This brief article from the ACLU contains an interactive map that allows readers to click on each American state to learn about attacks on mosques from 2005 to the present.
• This resource relates to themes of The Impact of Islamophobia in America and Coming-of-Age for a First-Generation Immigrant.
• What kinds of attacks on mosques have taken place? What relationship do you guess might exist between the number of Muslims in an area and the number of attacks on mosques? How does the attack on Amina’s mosque make her feel? Is the attack on the mosque like or unlike the other obstacles Amina faces? How does her age influence her response to this attack?

Chapters 23-25

Reading Check

1. Who is the tall, handsome, blond man with Soojin’s family during the meeting at Amina’s school?

2. Where does the Quran competition take place?

3. What American food does Thaya Jaan eat at the carnival?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What generous offer does Mr. Heller make regarding the Islamic Center?

2. When Amina confesses to Imam Malik that she has stage fright, how does he respond?

3. Who wins the Quran competition, and what do they pledge to do with some of the prize money?

4. What does Amina do during the musical performance that shows she has changed and is beginning to overcome her stage fright?

Recommended Next Reads 

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

• This middle-grade book tells the story of Jude, a Syrian girl relocated by circumstances beyond her control to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she struggles to adjust to a new country and new school.
• Shared topics include adjusting to a new school, music as a form of self-expression, and the importance of family and friends.
• Shared themes include Racially Motivated Bullying, The Impact of Islamophobia in America, and Coming-of-Age for a First-Generation Immigrant.
• Other Words for Home on SuperSummary

Amina’s Song by Hena Khan

• This middle-grade book is the companion story to Amina’s Voice; it tells the story of Amina’s return from a trip to Pakistan and the difficulty she has sharing the beauty of Pakistan with her American community.
• Shared topics include cultural stereotypes, cross-cultural communication, music as a form of self-expression, and the importance of family and friends.
• Shared themes include Coming-of-Age for a First-Generation Immigrant.