Does My Head Look Big In This?

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

Chapters 1-7

Reading Check

1. When Amal thinks about her decision to wear the hijab full time, which boy’s reaction does she worry about?

2. What is the name of the principal at Amal’s new school?

3. What color hijab does Amal’s principal insist she wear?

Short Answer

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

1. When Amal’s family moves to Camberwell, what does Amal find is different about the people there?

2. How do Amal’s parents react to her decision to wear the hijab?

3. During fajr on the morning before her second day of school, what does Amal pray for?

4. When Simone and Eileen invite Amal to join them in The Lounge Room, what feelings does Amal struggle with?

Paired Resource

“Countering Religious Bullying With Better Religious Education”

• This essay describes a recent uptick in religious bullying in Australian schools and argues for a proposed solution.
• This resource relates to the theme of Personal Experience of Being a Religious Minority in Contemporary Australia.
• What trend do researchers see in religious bullying in Australian schools? What two solutions have been proposed, and which one is this author arguing for? What reasons does the author give for their position? Which student behaviors in the novel are examples of religious bullying? Do you see any efforts by the school staff to reduce this kind of bullying? Do you think that the article’s author’s ideas would help? Why or why not?

Chapters 8-17

Reading Check

1. What did Samantha get in trouble for doing after someone saw her and told her parents?

2. Which adult in Amal’s life does Amal admire because she is an unusual person who has lived a varied life and seems able to combine several different identities?

3. Who finally persuades Amal to enter the debate competition?

Short Answer

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

1. What do Leila and Amal blame for Leila’s mother’s conservative beliefs?

2. In what ways are Adam’s parents different from Amal’s parents?

3. What about her own parents makes Eileen sympathetic to Leila’s struggles with her mother?

4. What is stressful about the historical anniversary that is in the news during Chapters 16 and 17?

Paired Resource

“Conflict Between Family and Culture”

• This article is a resource for young Australians who are feeling caught between their parents’ traditional cultural beliefs and the contemporary Australia they are being raised in.
• This resource relates to the themes of Traditional Beliefs Versus Contemporary Customs and The Complexities of Parent-Children Relationships.
• What are the main pieces of advice that this article gives? Which characters in the novel are facing the struggle this article describes? Do you think that this advice would be useful to them? Why or why not?

Chapters 18-27

Reading Check

1. Whom does Amal’s mother make her go visit on the day of her parents’ anniversary?

2. To what physical object does Mrs. Vaselli compare her relationship with her son?

3. How old is the man that Leila’s mother wants her to marry?

Short Answer

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

1. What characteristic of Samantha’s parents amuses Samantha and Amal so much during Aunt Mandy’s birthday party?

2. Why does Hakan feel that he can do whatever he wants to do?

3. What does Mrs. Vaselli have in common with Leila’s mother?

4. What does the dangerous health choice Simone makes demonstrate about the culture she lives in?

Paired Resource

“Pressure to Look Perfect Hits Girls’ Confidence, Say Guides”

• This BBC article discusses concerns over the pressure on girls and young women to embody conventional standards of beauty.
• This resource relates to the theme of Young Women’s Position in Contemporary Society.
• What are some of the negative effects of pressure on girls and young women to fit a certain physical image? What are some of the sources of this pressure? Which characters in the novel seem to especially feel this pressure? Do you think that the novel portrays the pressure placed on girls and women accurately?

Chapters 28-36

Reading Check

1. Soon after Adam’s party, where does Amal learn there has been a new terrorist attack?

2. What event does Leila decide to attend against her parents’ wishes?

3. What does Amal call the group of people who go from wedding-to-wedding spreading stories and gossip about the community?

Short Answer

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

1. What is so upsetting to Amal about Adam’s behavior at his party?

2. What feels so insensitive to Amal about the question that Lara asks her?

3. What does Amal try to persuade Mrs. Vaselli to do?

4. When Amal, Eileen, and Simone skip school and spend the day talking about their dreams, what do Amal’s dreams reveal about her?

Paired Resource

“This Is Not a Humanising Poem”

• In this 3-minute video, young poet Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan performs a spoken-word poem about the experience of being unfairly associated with extremism.
• This resource relates to the theme of Personal Experience of Being a Religious Minority.
• How does Manzoor-Khan feel about her identity being associated with terrorism? How does she respond to these feelings? Is this similar to or different from the way Amal feels and responds?

Chapters 37-45

Reading Check

1. What punishment do Amal and her friends get for skipping school?

2. During the debate, what does Amal decide that she wants to study in college?

3. What holiday makes Amal remember a time when she was younger and accidentally broke a religious rule?

Short Answer

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

1. When Gulchin first comes to Amal’s house because Leila has run away, what arguments does Amal’s mother make against forcing Leila into marriage?

2. What happens when Amal tries to get a job at the shop at the mall?

3. What does Amal realize about Gulchin during Gulchin’s second visit to Amal’s home after Leila runs away?

4. What surprises Amal about Gulchin’s behavior at the mosque on Eid al-Fitr?

Recommended Next Reads 

Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah

• Jamie is hoping for romance at the upcoming school formal—but attending means revealing her full identity. Jamie isn’t sure whether her classmates will like “Jamilah Towfeek,” Lebanese-Australian, as much as they like her when she is just “Jamie.”
• Shared themes include Personal Experience of Being a Religious Minority in Contemporary Australia, Traditional Beliefs Versus Contemporary Customs, Young Women’s Position in Contemporary Society, and The Complexities of Parent-Children Relationships.
• Shared topics include high school, friendship, romance, bullying, stereotypes, and Muslim identity.      
• Ten Things I Hate About Me on SuperSummary

Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy

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• Shared themes include Traditional Beliefs Versus Contemporary Customs and Young Women’s Position in Contemporary Society.
• Shared topics include high school, friendship, bullying, stereotypes, and Muslim identity.