Identifying an Assignment
During their discussion, Abby asks specific questions. Her questions also direct him to start thinking about some of the questions he will have to answer later to complete his homework.
Abby: I don't really remember reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Can you tell me about it? How does it begin?
Marcus: There's a boy named Charlie and he doesn't have a lot of money, his family is poor, and there's like a contest that's like a race, to find the golden tickets to see this chocolate factory. Charlie doesn't think he can get a ticket.
Abby: Are there any characters other than Charlie that are important?
Marcus: Oh yeah, there's Willy Wonka and Grandpa Joe and …
Abby: How does this story end?
Marcus: Well, Charlie got the factory.
Abby:What happened that caused Charlie to get the chocolate factory?"
While discussing the story's plot Abby is also thinking of strategies that Marcus can use in the future that will help him organize his thoughts before writing.
Abby: OK, now let's go down the list of things you have to do for your report and check the ones you already know.
Marcus: (Picks up the pencil and checks: title, author, and then pauses.)
Abby: OK, you checked Title and Author, what about setting? What do you think your teacher means by setting?
Marcus: Where the story happens?
Abby: Exactly — where the story is set. Let's read what your sheet says to make sure there aren't other things we should also include.
Abby and Marcus discuss the other questions, and Abby encourages Marcus to talk about what he might write down. She asks Marcus to describe his response and think of a specific example. As Marcus responds to Abby's questions, she explains that she is writing down a few notes for him to help them both remember what he's said. When they finish discussing the last question Abby explains their next activity.
Abby: You came up with a lot of good, detailed information. Now we just need to concentrate on getting this written down. (Hands him her list.) Do you want to read over the notes I took or just start writing in response to the first question?
Marcus: Just start writing.
Marcus's responses are relatively short, but complete sentences. He answers all the questions but doesn't add additional information.
Marcus has several questions about spelling. For phonetically irregular words, like "couldn't," Abby gives Marcus the correct spelling. For words with regular spelling patterns, she asks Marcus to write down his best guess. Sometimes he writes down two or three options, and Abby asks him to pick the one that looks right. If he chooses an incorrect spelling, she responds by saying, "That's close, the word ticket does have two vowels, but the second one is an e instead of an i," helping him think about the sounds in words.
See Next Activity: Making a Plan
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