Effective Reading Responses

Moving from avid readers to interpretive readers...

Discussing the naive (naif) narrative in Scout's Honor by Avi

Courage, honor, and boyish camaraderie are interesting themes woven into the coming of age tale, Scout’s Honor by Avi. Set in post World War II America, this heart warming short story chronicles the adventures of a trio of friends who set out from their inner city neighborhood, Brooklyn, on an overnight hike, ‘in the country.’

Avi, the narrator and main character in the story, acts and behaves in a fashion typical of the time period and age range.  Blind faith in one’s own ability and an unwillingness to admit a mistake are common characteristics of most boys,  “the way they agreed (to the trip) made me nervous. Now I really was going to have to be tough” (p.2). To proud to admit his own fears and insecurities, Avi continues on his adventure out of city even though at heart, all he seems to desire is to admit defeat and head home.  With a probable stock of role models such as comic book heroes, western cowboys, and returning soldiers, it is easy to appreciate why Avi feels that the only way to show true bravery is to keep going.

Clearly, Avi showed  his age and immaturity by failing to plan the trip in a little more  details before setting out. By anticipating the expected travel time, Avi could have at least calculated that his group might arrive at their destination while it was still daylight. However, all of this behavior is understandable knowing that at the time Avi was only nine years old.

Both a flaw and strength is the narrator’s misinterpretation of what it means to be tough. Keeping face in front of one’s peers must have certainly been a neighborhood ritual in his world full of “slate payments, streets of asphalts, and skies full of tall building” (p.1). Living in such a densely populated community probably meant that reputation was everything.  Backing down at any point probably had much deeper and longer lasting repercussions in the streets where the boys lived.

Boyish wisdom is an admirable characteristic that Avi demonstrates throughout the story. Instantly, he devises a plan to meet back up with Horse when he gets stuck on the subway train (p.4). A pile of spent matches are what he creatively chooses to use to build a fire when all the other kindling is wet from the rain.

Avi and his childhood comrades constantly felt the need to prove their toughness to themselves and to each other. Their adventures in Scout’s Honor if anything, certainly proved one thing very clearly, their beautiful friendship.

H/W

1) Reading Ladders: Personal Reflection - PRINTED COPY Due next Tuesday. Don't just get a parent's signature, discuss your reading habits so far with them and tell then your next steps to moving 'up your ladder' Suggest that you begin to read the same book and then book talk it once or twice weekly.

More sophisticated readers select books:

• across genres
• across time periods
• that contain multiple plot lines
• that contain multiple perspectives
• from a variety of authors
• contains less dialogue and more description or narrative
• that takes the reader out of their background knowledge/interests/age bracket comfort zone (when appropriate)
• follow parents/Goodreads/Amazon/teacher's/friends recommendations
• seek out award winning books
• seek out books with more complex plot structures, themes, vocabulary

Showing sophisticated reading habits is ASSESSED. How will you proof that you are moving up your ladder?

2) Read all the comments on this post about the Reading Response.  Type in which  student(s) gave the best comment

Which student gave the most thoughtful comment?... at AnswerGarden.ch.

Friday Message - Worth Watching - Notice her age!