Syntax And Wind Monitoring Key
Teacher Tool High School Support & Differentiation
ELA 9–10 • Daily Monitoring Guide
Syntax, Story & Clauses Active Monitoring Key
Real-time lap checklist, visual answer keys, targeted scaffolds, and common misconception corrections.
Target Time: 45–50 Min
3 Aggressive Laps
1 Lap 1: Do Now Grammar (0–4m)
Verify every student has pencil to paper. Check for circle (S), underline (V), and box (O).
2 Lap 2: Reading Ch. 2 (15–25m)
Verify text evidence for Uncle John, Socrates, and Khamba's hunting transformation. Prompt beyond 1-word answers.
3 Lap 3: Exit Ticket (38–43m)
Scan for dependent clause triggers: Because, As, Once, Aside from. Apply 30s reteach.
Do Now: Grammar Practice Exemplar Markup
Circle = Subject Underline = Verb Box = Object
1
The teacher told the students to stop rummaging.
Vocabulary: rummaging = searching untidily or frantically through things. Lap Cue: Ensure students do not circle "students" as the subject.
2
The shredder mangled the papers instantly.
Vocabulary: mangled = severely damaged, torn, or crushed. Scaffold: "Instantly" is an adverb describing HOW; do not box it.
3
She was a skeptic of practice.
Grammar Note: "was" is a linking verb; "a skeptic" functions as the predicate complement/object. High School Scaffold: Linking verbs show state of being, not physical motion.
4
Students generated questions on their papers.
Preposition Alert: "on their papers" is a prepositional phrase showing location; do not box as object.
STRETCH Visual Vocab: "A Multitude of People at an Artist’s Concert" Vocabulary Anchor: Multitude
What to Look For (Exemplar):
- A dense crowd, sea of heads/arms, packed arena or stadium.
- Representation of a massive number (not just 3–4 friends).
- Clear connection: "multitude" = a great number / huge crowd.
Quick Push Prompt for Struggling Students:
"If you only drew 4 people, that is a small group. A multitude means an overwhelming crowd. Fill the floor up to the stage with rows of heads and hands!"
Unit 1: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind • High School ELA Support Page 1 of 3: Do Now & Grammar Markup
Reading Lap Key The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind • Chapter 2 (pp. 36–40)
Comprehension & Analysis
Teacher Monitoring Focus: Scan for complete sentence structures, accurate naming of characters (Uncle John, Socrates, Khamba), and text evidence explaining the emotional shift toward Khamba.
Lap 2 Tracker
1. Who passed away at the start of Chapter 2? How did they die? Factual / Recall
Exemplar Student Response:
William's Uncle John (his father’s brother) passed away at the start of Chapter 2. He died from tuberculosis (a severe lung disease that caused him to cough blood and grow very weak).
Common Error: Students confuse Uncle John with Uncle Socrates or only write "he got sick" without identifying tuberculosis.
2. Who is Socrates? Why did he move in with William and his family? Character / Motivation
Exemplar Student Response:
Socrates is William’s uncle (another brother of William's father, Trywell). He moved to Masitala to live near William's family because he lost his job at the tobacco estate in Kasungu and needed family support.
Scaffold Cue: Clarify immediately: Socrates is the human uncle; Khamba is his dog! Do not let students identify Socrates as the animal.
3. Who is Khamba? How did William feel about Khamba? Relationship / Perspective
Exemplar Student Response:
Khamba is Uncle Socrates’s large, yellow-and-white hound dog. At first, William did not like Khamba. In rural Malawi, dogs were viewed as dirty scavengers and guard animals, not cuddly house pets; William saw him as fat, lazy, and a waste of food.
Cultural Anchor: Remind students that dogs in rural Malawi served practical roles (hunting/guarding), contrasting with domestic pet views.
4. Did William’s opinion of Khamba change? Why? Character Evolution
Exemplar Student Response:
Yes, William’s opinion changed completely. When William and his cousin Geoffrey took Khamba hunting for dambos (birds/field mice) in the forest, Khamba proved to be a brilliant, loyal hunter who helped catch food, forming a strong bond of friendship.
Push Prompt: "What specific activity brought them together? Look at page 39 for what they hunted together."
5. What was the purpose of this chapter? What was the author trying to show us? Author's Purpose / Theme
Exemplar Student Response:
The purpose was to show the fragility of life and family survival in Malawi after Uncle John’s death, while establishing the crucial bond between William and Khamba, highlighting themes of loyalty, partnership, and resourcefulness before hardship strikes.
Sentence Frame: "The author wrote this chapter to demonstrate how family loss forced ________ and how William's bond with Khamba symbolizes ________."
Reading for Purpose • Text Evidence & Character Motivation Page 2 of 3: Reading Comprehension Key
Exit Ticket Key Independent vs. Dependent Clauses
Direct Instruction & Rapid Scan
Independent Clause (IC)
Has a Subject + Verb and expresses a Complete Thought. Can stand completely alone as a sentence.
"Rebecca wants to own a clothing store."
Dependent Clause (DC)
Has Subject + Verb, but begins with a Subordinating Conjunction. Leaves the thought unfinished; cannot stand alone!
"Because Beneatha wants to go to medical school..."
Exit Ticket: Rapid-Scan Monitoring Table 6 Total Items • 100% Mastery Scan
| # | Phrase / Sentence | Classification | Monitoring Diagnostic & Trigger Word |
|---|
| 1 | Khamba’s favorite thing to do was hunt | INDEPENDENT | Complete thought. Subject: thing, Verb: was. No subordinator. |
| 2 | Aside from upsetting our livestock | DEPENDENT | Trigger: "Aside from" creates an introductory modifying fragment. Incomplete thought. |
| 3 | Once my coals glowed red | DEPENDENT | Trigger: "Once" is a subordinating conjunction. Reader is left asking: "Then what happened?" |
| 4 | I held the birds over the embers until each one was sizzling brown | INDEPENDENT | Complex sentence that stands completely on its own. Contains standalone main clause "I held the birds..." |
| 5 | There was no light | INDEPENDENT | Complete standalone thought. Dummy subject "There" + verb "was" + noun phrase "no light". |
| 6 | As I explained to Rose | DEPENDENT | Trigger: "As" subordinates the clause. Cannot stand alone without an independent consequence. |
! The 30-Second Desk Reteach Script:
"Read this aloud to me. Now, cover the first word (e.g., 'Once' or 'As'). Does it sound like a complete sentence now? Yes! That first word is the subordinating glue that makes it dependent. If you leave the room right after saying it, will I understand the full story? If no, it's DEPENDENT."
✓ High School Support Modifications:
- Trigger Word Highlighter: Have students highlight the first word in pink. If it is in the AAAWWUBBIS family (As, Although, After, While, When, Until, Because, Before, If, Since), it is dependent!
- Raisin in the Sun Connection: Use the Beneatha example as an anchor card on student desks for immediate reference.
Exit Ticket Diagnostics • Direct Instruction Scaffold Protocol Page 3 of 3: Clause Identification & Rapid-Scan Key
