Shared Inquiry The Old Man of the Sea by Maeve Brennan

Session 1 Pre-reading  What is the difference between compassion and pity? Use an instance to define the two terms.

Compassion and Pity  Having compassion means you have EMPATHY for another person. You are Identifying With another person’s situation and sharing a common feeling!  Having PITY for someone means you feel sorry for them. You may look down on them and you may try to be nice to them, but it’s because you feel sorry for them.

Focus on the following concepts  Idea—Generating and clarifying ideas about a selection’s meaning  Evidence—Supporting and checking ideas, based on what is in the text  Response—Listening to and considering the ideas of others

Session 1 First Reading  Listen as the text is read aloud, marking places where you have questions.  Use a question mark (?) to denote your questions. Write your questions in the margins or on a separate sheet of paper!  Use an exclamation point (!) to denote important passages.

Session 1—Recording Questions  All questions will be recorded on the board.  Identify any vocabulary questions.  In small groups, label questions according to type.

Question Types  If the question has…  One correct answer that comes from the text it is a FACTUAL question.  One reasonable answer that comes from sources outside the text such as encyclopedias it is a BACKGROUND question.  Reasonable answers based on imagination or guessing it is a SPECULATIVE question.  Two (or more) reasonable answers supported by evidence from the text it is an INTERPRETIVE question.

How can you test a question and determine its type?  Question—  Answer #1--Answer #2—  Evidence:Evidence:  Source of your answer?Source of your answer?  Type of Question?  Factual  Background  Speculative  Evaluative  Interpretive

Session 1  Now, choose two questions (one interpretive and one evaluative) that continue to puzzle or intrigue you and record them.

Session 2  Share questions according to type.  Vocabulary—Determine word meaning using context and outside sources.

Session 3  Reread the selection and mark passages using the following prompt:  Mark passages with a C when the mother is compassionate.  Mark passages with NC when the mother is not compassionate.

Session 4  You will explore the text’s meaning by discussion an interpretive question.  You will support your ideas with evidence from the text.  You will be an attentive and active listener.  You will refer to classmates by name.  You will expect the teacher to ask questions and not provide answers.

How to participate in Shared Inquiry  What happened that gave you that idea?  What part of the story supports your idea?  What do you think about____________?  Are you agreeing with Sam’s answer?  So how does your idea fit with Jasmine’s answer?

Interpretive Question #1  Interpretive Question: Why does the mother lose her compassion for the man selling apples?  Record your answer prior to the discussion!

Interpretive question #2  Was the man with the apples responsible for the family’s change of heart?  Record your answer prior to discussion.

Focus Question  Why does the mother’s attitude change toward the old man?

Questions to Consider Why does the mother lose compassion for the old man with the apples? Why does the old man call through the letter box? Why does the narrator compare the old man with the apples to The Old Man of the Sea? How is the mother influenced by others? Did the uncle see the old man on O’Connell Street?

Session 4  After the discussion, enrich your answer based on the evidence that was presented during the conversation.

5 th Block Questions  Why didn’t the uncle tell his family that he knew the old man was wealthy? Cortlin  Aghast Elizabeth  Why didn’t the old man sell any more apples? Nia  Why did the old man sell apples if he was wealthy? ashley  Who is the old man and what does he do? Brendan  Why does Sindbad come to hate the old man of the sea? Monyelle

5 th Block Questions  What did the narrator mean when she said the old man had talon-like hands Trevion  Why did the old man keep coming to scam the woman when he was wealthy? Christopher  Why does the narrator compare the old man selling apples to the Old Man and the Sea? Monyelle?  Is the mother poor like the old man seems to be? Phoebe

5 th Block Questions  Is the old man wealthy? Matt B  Why did the narrator keep comparing him to the Sindbad story? Eliz  Is the old man actually the uncle? Cortlin  Did the uncle have anything to do with the old man to prove a point to his sister? Marquise  Why did narrator look back on her past? Isaac  Why is the narrator so gullible? Cortlin  If the old man was wealthy, why did he resort to scams? Matt F.

7 th Block Questions  What is dismayed? Dmike Disappointed shock!  Did they not have any other transportation besides carrying people? DS—Not relevant  Where did the old man get the money for the suit? Jack  Where did the old man get the $ for the apples?Morgan  What does relish mean?D mike Enjoyment/Delight

7 th block questions  Why didn’t the old man sell his apples at any of the other houses? Joe They didn’t want to buy them.  Where did the old man get the apples?Carly  How much was he selling the apples for? Romeo More than McRory’s.  What does aghast mean? Teddy Horrified/Amazed  Why is the old man so persistent? Taryn/Bc the family is his only customer.He knows they’ll keep buying them.  Who is Sindbad the sailor?

7 th Block Questions  Why does the old man beg if he has family to support him?Joe  Is the old man crazy?  Was the old man scamming the mother? Sam  Why did the family feel remorse when the old man left them at the end of the story?  What does mirth mean?  Was the old man Sindbad the sailor?  Where does the old man go after he sells apples?  What does talonlike mean?  What does dismally mean?  Apalled?

8 th Block Questions  Why was she so ashamed to bargain? JG  What was the old man wearing when he came to the family? AS  What does vicinity mean? MJ  Was the old man really poor? JR  What does the word aghast mean?SL  Was the old man really 90? BK

8 th block questions  Why didn’t the family call the police? D  What does mirth mean? K  Why did the old man sell his apples? AS  What was the family’s financial situation?  Was the old man really poor? Bk  Where was Maeve’s father? JR  What does the uncle mean by, “I could tell by the way she wore her hat?”

8 th Block Questions  Who is Sindbad the sailor and how does it relate to the story?  Why was Maeve so obsessed with the man’s talonlike hands? JG