Page 109 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade6_Flipbook

aCTIvITy 1.16
continued
analyzing a Story
nonchalantly: in a confident, carefree way
my Notes
18 “But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently.”
19 “Just the same, they didn’t do it that way then. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read the book.”
20 “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly. She wanted to read about those funny schools.
21 They weren’t even half-finished when Margie’s mother called, “Margie! School!” Margie looked up. “Not yet, Mamma.”
22 “Now!” said Mrs. Jones. “And it’s probably time for Tommy, too.”
23 Margie said to Tommy, “Can I read the book some more with you after school?”
24 “Maybe,” he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book
tucked beneath his arm.
25 Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
26 The screen was lit up, and it said: “Today’s arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the proper slot.”
27 Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another on the homework and talk about it.
28 And the teachers were people...
29 The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen: “When we add the fractions 1/2
and 1/4...”
30 Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.
Second Read
• Reread the short story to answer these text-dependent comprehension questions.
• Write any additional questions you have about the text in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. Key Ideas and Details: What details of the exposition make the time of the story specific? Notice that the author has made a point of creating a specific setting and has made the main characters children. How does this help you predict the conflict?
82 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 6
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