Literature

READING WORKSHOP 1

I ’m glad we teach spelling in our schools. That way, our

children can busy themselves unlearning it when they log on

to the Internet. 1

One day last week, I stood and watched my thirteen-year-

old “chat” with some friends via e-mail. I thought I’d take the

opportunity to monitor the electronic conversation being

passed between these preteens—who long ago decided the

telephone wasn’t good enough for them.

Looking over her shoulder, I very quickly found that

I needed a translator to decipher what was being said.

Squinting down at the monitor,^1 I asked my daughter,

Practice the Skills

1 Reviewing Skills

Setting a Purpose for

Reading In Unit 1 you learned

how to set a purpose for reading

to improve your understanding.

In the first paragraph, the author

says that children unlearn spell-

ing when they use the Internet.

What purpose for reading does

this information give you?

by Cindy Kauffman

Vocabulary

monitor (MON ih tur) v. to watch over or check on

decipher (dih SY fur) v. to figure out the meaning of

1. Here, monitor refers to the computer screen.

546 UNIT 5 Is Progress Always Good?

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