Compare what he wants now
Junior explains his shame after looking at the other team.
“I suddenly wanted to apologize to Rowdy, to all of the other Spokanes.” (Alexie 196)Read in the chapter
The aimJunior finally beats Rowdy and Wellpinit. Why does winning make him cry?
Read this week
Close-reading practice
Read first. Make your own notes, then switch on the model highlights in each passage.
Words for this response
Use one word from each of 4 assigned groups. See the groups and sentence examples →
From a highlight to your writing
Notice the words
“I wanted to absolutely demoralize him.”
Margin note
Junior wants Rowdy to feel beaten, not just to lose a game. This wish helps explain the shame Junior feels afterward.
My notebook
Demoralize = crush confidence → wants Rowdy hurt, not just beaten.
See note 12 beside the passage · Alexie 192
See the observation become sentences
- What it says
Junior wants to destroy Rowdy’s confidence.
- What it helps explain
His goal is personal revenge, beyond scoring more points. This gives us a starting point for tracking how his feelings change.
Your turn: another detail
Compare “wanted to apologize” with “wanted to absolutely demoralize.” Write one sentence explaining the change in his goal.
Test a possible misreading
First thought: Junior’s thoughts proves that no Wellpinit player will ever go to college.
Ground the comparison in a detail
Junior notices the resources available to his Reardan teammates.
“All of the guys on our team had their own cars.” (Alexie 195)Read in the chapter
Look again: Separate a present detail from a prediction. The cars are a detail Junior notices about resources; his later statement about everyone’s future expresses his judgment at that moment, not a future the story has already proved.
Explain the change
Before the game
Junior wants to defeat and demoralize Rowdy.
After the win
He recognizes Reardan as the stronger, better-resourced side.
Why it hurts
He now sees the people and losses behind the score.
Characters
What do their choices show?
Themes
What message is developing?
Change
What is different, and why?
Your evidence is building toward a bigger question
The rez calls Junior a traitor for leaving; Rowdy ends the book calling him a nomad. Which one is he, and what proves it?
Open the evidence ledger through Week 13 →Test an interpretation
What does Junior notice after winning? Why do those details change how he feels?
Compare with one possible explanation
Junior notices that his teammates have money and plans for college, while some Wellpinit players face hunger and hard home lives. He stops seeing Rowdy as only an enemy. He cries because he wanted revenge and has hurt his best friend.
Your notebook → your Aim Response
Build your response
Choose your evidence here. Write your sentences in your notebook.
What he wanted
Identify his purpose before the game.
What he realizes
Name the detail that changes how he sees the teams.
Why he cries
Explain the connection between that realization and his tears.
Answer the whole question
Junior expects winning to ___, but noticing ___ makes him ___ because ___.
A starting shape, not the only way to write your answer. Replace the spaces with your own thinking.
Evidence 1 + your explanation
The exact quotation, its context, and its citation will appear here.
What it saysIn my own words, this means …
What it showsThis helps answer the question because …
Evidence 2 + your explanation
The exact quotation, its context, and its citation will appear here.
What it saysIn my own words, this means …
What it showsThis helps answer the question because …
Choose two different quotations. Then check that your writing explains every part of the aim.
Connect the two details
The first detail shows … . But / So / Because … . Together, these details help explain … .
Choose the connector that matches your reasoning: but contrasts, so gives a result, because gives a reason.
See the shape in a complete model
This model answers a related question. Notice where the quotes, explanations, words, and appositives go.
Name his goal before the change
Junior describes his goal before the rematch.
“I wanted to absolutely demoralize him.” (Alexie 192)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What he wanted.
Find the change in his view
Junior rethinks the teams using the David and Goliath comparison.
“I realized that my team, the Reardan Indians, was Goliath.” (Alexie 195)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What he realizes.
Explain the changed feeling
Junior describes his reaction after the victory.
“I was suddenly ashamed that I’d wanted so badly to take revenge on them.” (Alexie 196)Read in the chapter
Can help with: Why he cries.
Connect the result to a relationship
Junior explains his tears after defeating Rowdy’s team.
“I was crying because I had broken my best friend’s heart.” (Alexie 196)Read in the chapter
Can help with: Why he cries.
Ground the comparison in a detail
Junior notices the resources available to his Reardan teammates.
“All of the guys on our team had their own cars.” (Alexie 195)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What he realizes.
Compare what he wants now
Junior explains his shame after looking at the other team.
“I suddenly wanted to apologize to Rowdy, to all of the other Spokanes.” (Alexie 196)Read in the chapter
Can help with: Why he cries.
Words of the day 2 points
Use one word from each of these 4 groups. Complete all 4 groups for the vocabulary points. Words separated by “or” are alternatives.
Meaning + one sentence example
demoralize (verb) — To make someone lose hope, confidence, or the will to keep trying.
Junior wants to demoralize Rowdy, so the emotional purpose of winning deserves examination.
Original writing example · More word help
Meaning + one sentence example
expectations (noun (plural)) — Beliefs about what will happen or what someone should be able to do.
Junior’s perspective changes when he looks at the defeated Wellpinit players.
Original writing example · More word help
Meaning + one sentence example
legacy (noun) — Something from the past that continues to affect the present.
The support of people Junior has loved is part of the legacy he brings to the game.
Original writing example · More word help
Meaning + one sentence example
primitive (adjective) — From an early stage or simple in design; when applied to people, the label can wrongly suggest inferiority.
Calling a team primitive would substitute an unfair label for an explanation of its resources and opportunities.
Original writing example · More word help
An alternative from a listed root family fills the same group. Review words in a practice model do not replace this list. Connect each word to your point; a made-up event is not evidence.
Introduce two people or ideas 2 appositives · 2 points
The words between the commas give another name for the noun.
Rowdy, another name for this person or idea, …
See one that works
Rowdy, Junior’s opponent and former teammate, faces him across the court.
“Junior’s opponent and former teammate” and “Rowdy” name the same person or idea. Keep both commas; finish with your own point.
Wellpinit, another name for this person or idea, …
See one that works
Wellpinit, the team from Junior’s home community, means more to him than a name on a scoreboard.
“the team from Junior’s home community” and “Wellpinit” name the same person or idea. Keep both commas; finish with your own point.
Check the response in your notebook
Point to the evidence in your own paragraph before checking a box.
These boxes are a self-check, not a grade. Development reflects how your argument builds and your growth as a writer. Checks stay in this browser.
More evidence and practice
Explore the evidence
What he wanted
What did Junior want the victory to do to Rowdy?
What he notices
How does Junior’s view of the two teams change?
Why he cries
How does that new view change his feelings about winning?
Name his goal before the change
Junior describes his goal before the rematch.
“I wanted to absolutely demoralize him.” (Alexie 192)Read in the chapterCharacters
What this detail can show
Demoralize means crush someone’s confidence. Junior wants a victory that hurts Rowdy, making the contest more personal than an ordinary game.
Find the change in his view
Junior rethinks the teams using the David and Goliath comparison.
“I realized that my team, the Reardan Indians, was Goliath.” (Alexie 195)Read in the chapterChange
What this detail can show
Goliath is the powerful giant in the David-and-Goliath story. Junior now sees his own team as the side with greater advantages.
Explain the changed feeling
Junior describes his reaction after the victory.
“I was suddenly ashamed that I’d wanted so badly to take revenge on them.” (Alexie 196)Read in the chapterChange
What this detail can show
Junior judges his wish for revenge differently after looking at the teams’ lives. “Ashamed” names his feeling; explain what changed his judgment.
Connect the result to a relationship
Junior explains his tears after defeating Rowdy’s team.
“I was crying because I had broken my best friend’s heart.” (Alexie 196)Read in the chapterCharacters
What this detail can show
Junior still calls Rowdy his best friend. His win hurts because it harms a relationship that still matters to him.
Ground the comparison in a detail
Junior notices the resources available to his Reardan teammates.
“All of the guys on our team had their own cars.” (Alexie 195)Read in the chapterThemes
What this detail can show
Junior notices money and resources beyond the scoreboard. Cars are one concrete detail supporting his new view of the teams’ advantages.
Compare what he wants now
Junior explains his shame after looking at the other team.
“I suddenly wanted to apologize to Rowdy, to all of the other Spokanes.” (Alexie 196)Read in the chapterChange
What this detail can show
Before, Junior wanted to crush Rowdy’s confidence. Now he wants to apologize; the change in what he wants helps explain why the celebration feels wrong.
Choose a second quote that adds something
After the quotation about wanting revenge, which quotation best supplies the missing change in how Junior sees the teams before you explain his tears?
In your notebook: explain what your second quotation adds that the first one could not show alone.
Your evidence is building toward a bigger question
The rez calls Junior a traitor for leaving; Rowdy ends the book calling him a nomad. Which one is he, and what proves it?
Open the evidence ledger through Week 13 →Reading practice helps you prepare. Your Aim Response is the paragraph you write in your notebook. Check that paragraph against the rubric →
Check yourself
Complete the explanation
Use each choice once. These are practice sentences, not quotations.
On the opening play, Junior knows Rowdy can jump higher, so he decides to jump . After taking the ball, he wants to his friend, not just stop one basket. Later, Junior calls Reardan , the powerful figure in the familiar story. That comparison changes how he sees the contest. His teammates read his tears as , but he names a different feeling: . A careful reader follows this shift without treating every prediction Junior makes about the opposing players’ futures as a fact that has already happened.
- Blank 1: The adjustment is about timing, not simply height.
- Blank 2: A verb meaning to crush someone’s confidence or spirit.
- Blank 3: The name Junior uses for the more powerful side.
- Blank 4: The feeling his teammates think explains the tears.
- Blank 5: The feeling Junior himself names.
Trace the change in what winning means
Drag the blocks or use the arrow buttons. Keyboard: focus a block and press Alt + ↑ / ↓.
- Junior takes the ball and wants to hurt Rowdy’s pride.
- He feels ashamed of wanting revenge and wants to apologize.
- After Reardan wins, Junior notices the teams’ unequal advantages.
- Junior times his jump to challenge Rowdy’s opening dunk.
- He goes to the locker room and cries; his teammates mistake the tears for happiness.
Take it into your writing
In your notebook, write one sentence that connects Junior’s goal before the win to a specific realization after it, using but, because, or although.
Practice feedback is for you. These activities do not submit a grade.