This week’s aim
Start here · Read
Read the text. Find one detail for the aim. Write in your notebook.
Read this week →Junior has left his old school. Look back at what he has lost and what he has gained.
Words to think about
“I knew that my best friend had become my worst enemy.”
What has leaving cost Junior?
Open a chapter. Read the words as you listen. Write one useful detail in your notebook.
Junior calls this "the loneliest time of my life." What ends it, and what does Mary have to do with it?
Use this reading to gather evidence for the quarter response above.
LOOK AT THE DRAWING · CHAPTER 12
Which problems happen more than once? What does “Start over” tell you about the cost of going to Reardan?
Printed page 88 · Read in context →
Title: “Junior Gets to School.” Monday: “No gas money. I hitchhike.” Tuesday: “Gas money; car isn’t running. I hitchhike.” Wednesday: “Dad gives me a ride. Car breaks down 1 mile from school. I walk + get to school 30 mins. late.” Thursday: “Mom gives me a ride; Dad too hungover.” Friday: “No gas money; nobody stops to pick me up. Walk home; watch TV.” Bottom: “NEXT WEEK: Start over (but in a different order!)”
Leaving brings a daily transportation problem, not just one hard trip. The repeated panels show how money and unreliable rides can keep Junior from the opportunities he chose.
Audio opens with the chapter. If asked, use your Pritzker Google account.
Say your answer out loud first. You can try it with a partner.
A damaged friendship or difficulty feeling at home.
A new chance to learn or an action showing support.
How do these weigh against each other? What does “worth it” mean here?
Try saying: “I think ___ because the text says ___. This shows ___.”
LOOK AT THE DRAWING · CHAPTER 12
How do Junior’s and Gordy’s expressions differ? What has Gordy just said about taking books and Junior’s cartoons seriously?
Printed page 96 · Read in context →
“Did you just say books should give me a boner?” “Yes, I did.” “Are you Serious?” “Yeah…” “I don’t think you’re supposed to get that excited about books.” “Don’t you get excited about books?”
Their joke grows out of a serious conversation: Gordy encourages Junior to value reading and drawing. This new friendship gives Junior intellectual support and helps him take Mary’s hopes more seriously too.
“Gordy believed in me. He wouldn’t let me give up.”
Gordy gives Junior more than study tips. Junior experiences his persistence as belief in him, which helps explain why learning together becomes a form of support.
Still confused → Gordy keeps helping → someone believes I can learn.
See note 7 beside the passage · Alexie 94
Junior has not understood the lesson, but Gordy keeps encouraging him.
Gordy treats confusion as something they can work through together. Junior gains a person who expects him to succeed.
Connect the two experiences
Junior connects Gordy’s reading lesson with taking lives and hopes seriously.
“I suddenly understood that if every moment of a book should be taken seriously, then every moment of a life should be taken seriously as well.” (Alexie 95)Read in the chapter
The reading lesson makes Junior think about Mary. Turn a note about that connection into a sentence explaining why her hopes matter to him.
First thought: Gordy ends Junior’s loneliness by becoming exactly like Rowdy.
Keep the friendships distinct
Junior compares his friendship with Gordy to the one he shared with Rowdy.
“Not like Rowdy and me. We didn’t share secrets. Or dreams.” (Alexie 94)Read in the chapter
Look again: Junior says the friendships are different. Explain what studying with Gordy gives him without claiming that Gordy replaces Rowdy’s secrets and dreams.
Your notebook → your Aim Response
Choose your evidence here. Write your sentences in your notebook.
Explain a loss or difficulty caused by the change.
Explain a new opportunity or relationship.
Weigh the cost and gain to make your judgment.
Leaving costs Junior ___ and makes ___ possible; I judge it ___ because ___.
A starting shape, not the only way to write your answer. Replace the spaces with your own thinking.
The exact quotation, its context, and its citation will appear here.
In my own words, this means …
This helps answer the question because …
The exact quotation, its context, and its citation will appear here.
In my own words, this means …
This helps answer the question because …
Choose two different quotations. Then check that your writing explains every part of the aim.
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.
This model answers a related question. Notice where the quotes, explanations, words, and appositives go.
Cost to weigh
Junior describes the friendship after Rowdy punches him.
“I knew that my best friend had become my worst enemy.” (Alexie 53)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What leaving costs.
Cost to weigh
Junior describes his continuing feeling of being an outsider.
“But nothing much changed. I was still a stranger in a strange land.” (Alexie 81)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What leaving costs.
Cost to weigh
Junior’s father explains the family’s money and travel limits.
“We can’t afford to move there. And there ain’t no school bus going to come out here.” (Alexie 47)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What leaving costs.
Gain to weigh
Junior describes Roger’s behavior the next day.
“He paid me some respect.” (Alexie 72)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What leaving makes possible.
Gain to weigh
Penelope tells Junior she will include him in the donation.
“I’ll still put your name on the money when I send it.” (Alexie 80)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What leaving makes possible.
Gain to weigh
Junior describes Gordy continuing to help him understand.
“I really didn’t, but Gordy believed in me. He wouldn’t let me give up.” (Alexie 94)Read in the chapter
Can help with: What leaving makes possible.
DRAWING → EXPLANATION
For the quarter response, explain one continuing cost of leaving. Then weigh that cost against a specific opportunity Junior gains.
For the quarter response, explain what Junior gains from Gordy beyond simply having another friend. Connect that gain to your judgment about whether leaving has been worth it.
Use one word from each of these 3 groups. Complete all 3 groups for the vocabulary points. Words separated by “or” are alternatives.
confrontation (noun) — A direct meeting or disagreement in which people face a problem or challenge each other.
The confrontation with Roger shows that entering a new school can involve conflict.
Original writing example · More word help
contradict (verb) — To say or show something that conflicts with a claim.
Gordy’s support can contradict a claim that every new relationship has failed Junior.
Original writing example · More word help
articulate (adjective) — Able to explain ideas clearly in words.
An articulate judgment explains both a cost and a gain before deciding whether leaving was worth it.
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.
The words between the commas give another name for the noun.
Gordy, another name for this person or idea, …
Gordy, Junior’s new study friend, takes reading seriously.
“Junior’s new study friend” and “Gordy” name the same person or idea. Keep both commas; finish with your own point.
Rowdy, another name for this person or idea, …
Rowdy, Junior’s childhood friend, shares a long history with him.
“Junior’s childhood friend” and “Rowdy” name the same person or idea. Keep both commas; finish with your own point.
Use evidence from Chapters 1–12. Choose a cost and a gain, then explain how you weigh them.
Cost to weigh
Junior describes the friendship after Rowdy punches him.
“I knew that my best friend had become my worst enemy.” (Alexie 53)
What it shows: After Rowdy punches him, Junior describes their friendship as broken. The conflict follows his decision to change schools.
Read in the chapterCost to weigh
Junior describes his continuing feeling of being an outsider.
“But nothing much changed. I was still a stranger in a strange land.” (Alexie 81)
What it shows: Junior still feels outside the group even after a kind exchange with Penelope.
Read in the chapterCost to weigh
Junior’s father explains the family’s money and travel limits.
“We can’t afford to move there. And there ain’t no school bus going to come out here.” (Alexie 47)
What it shows: Dad identifies a practical cost: Junior will need a way to reach his new school.
Read in the chapterGain to weigh
Junior describes Roger’s behavior the next day.
“He paid me some respect.” (Alexie 72)
What it shows: Roger’s next-day behavior gives Junior a sign that his place at Reardan can change.
Read in the chapterGain to weigh
Penelope tells Junior she will include him in the donation.
“I’ll still put your name on the money when I send it.” (Alexie 80)
What it shows: Penelope includes Junior in their shared effort after his money is stolen.
Read in the chapterGain to weigh
Junior describes Gordy continuing to help him understand.
“I really didn’t, but Gordy believed in me. He wouldn’t let me give up.” (Alexie 94)
What it shows: Gordy gives Junior patient encouragement while he learns a harder way to read.
Read in the chapter10 points total · 2 points in each area
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.
Your paragraph goes in your notebook. Follow your teacher’s directions for turning it in. Nothing on this page submits your work.
Use each choice once. These are practice sentences, not quotations.
A careful reader separates what happens from what a narrator thinks it means. Mary leaves home; Junior's claim that he inspired her is an . His comparison of family ties to strong helps explain why leaving feels surprising. In another scene, Gordy offers Junior through studying together. His river comparison first draws attention to the book's , or movement from scene to scene. Later, his questions about a word's origins ask for closer . These details give a reader different kinds of evidence; one detail should not be stretched to explain everything.
Drag the blocks or use the arrow buttons. Keyboard: focus a block and press Alt + ↑ / ↓.
Choose one phrase from Gordy's lesson and write one sentence explaining how it helps Junior see Mary or himself differently; cite the printed page shown beside the quotation.
Practice feedback is for you. These activities do not submit a grade.