READING WORKSHOP 1“G2g... ?” I started to ask. Practice the Skills
“Got to go!” my daughter answered, typing feverishly.
“O,” I said. “And I suppose ‘KK’ means, ‘OK.’”
“Ya.”
“Isn’t that rather babyish? Don’t you remember the months
we spent teaching you how to talk? Have you no appreciation
for what you’re undoing here?”
Before I could continue my lecture, the instant-messaging
box we’d been using to “I.M.” Ashley suddenly grew into
three boxes, each with a different name attached. Then it
multiplied into four, then fi ve, and fi nally six.
My young e-mailer was really fervent^8 now—reading
messages from six friends simultaneously,^9 scanning each box
for pertinent news and typing in jumbles of consonants in
reply. I’d never seen anything like it. There had apparently
been a prearranged log-on time, which all seven friends
honored unconditionally. Clearly, it put to shame the
previous generation’s system of passing around an in-class
note that read, “Everyone meet at the swing-set after school
so we can all talk.” 5
I could see why she abbreviated. This was like playing
Bingo with six cards at once. Except that these girls could
type faster than any Bingo announcer could shout numbers.
Cross-eyed from reading and deciphering incoming
messages from all parts of the city, I fi nally closed my eyelids
and rubbed them hard, walking away.
And I thought my three-way calling telephone service was
the ultimate in communication. Obviously, I didn’t know
what “ultimate” really was.
Now all I need is an adult education course that teaches
this new, “shoddy-spell” e-mail language to fl oundering
parents. If I fi nd one, I’ll sign up in a heartbeat. 6... And b betta off 4 it, I’m shur. ❍
5 English Language Coach
Base Words Can you find the
base words in prearranged and
unconditionally?6 Key Literary Element
Author’s Craft The word
shoddy means “sloppy; poorly
made or done.” What does the
choice to use shoddy-spell tell
you about the author’s opinion?- Someone who is fervent is intense about what he or she is doing.
- To do things simultaneously is to do them at the same time.
Cyber Chitchat 549