Guiding Comprehension

Dialogue • Inferential

Look at the dialogue on p. 181. What do Francisco's words tell
you about his character?

Possible responses: Francisco's words show that he is helpful (he tries to explain California's
weather) and determined (he will help his grandfather find a job).

Main Idea and Details

• Inferential

Reread pp. 180–181. Find the
main idea and one supporting detail.

Main idea: Francisco and his grandfather are looking for work. Supporting detail: No one will hire you with a kid.

Character • Inferential

What kind of person is
Francisco? Why do you think
so?

Possible responses: Francisco is helpful, hopeful, loving, determined, and generous because he wants to help his grandfather find a job and get warmer clothes.

then… use the skill and strategy instruction on p. 181.

If… students are unable to identify what Francisco is like,

Character

SKILLS
STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT

Character

TEACH

Explain that a character is a person or animal in a story. Tell students that characters in a story have personalities, or character traits, just like real people do.
Authors don't always tell us everything about the characters; sometimes we have to look at the details in the story to understand what characters are like.
Model using story details to figure out what kind of person Francisco is in A Day's Work.

MODEL When Francisco explains that it is cold in the morning in California, I can see that he is helpful. I also think he is trying to take care of his grandfather, so he is a caring person. Then Francisco speaks for his grandfather and explains their situation to the other men, so I see that he is protective too.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students identify details on
pp. 180–181 that show some of Francisco's other qualities. To assess, check that the details support their thinking about Francisco.

Dialogue

Explain that in writing,
conversations are represented as dialogue. In short stories and
novels, dialogue is set off by
quotation marks. We can learn a lot about characters from their words. Dialogue also makes a story seem more real. This is one reason the author of A Day's Work may have used Spanish words in the characters' dialogue. Have students note examples of the characters' dialogue that tells them something about those characters; discuss what they learn about the characters through dialogue.

"A Day's Work"
by Eve Bunting

Student Edition
Unit 2, pp. 178–191

This Snapshot is a story that could really happen.
It is realistic fiction.

Francisco and his abuelo (grandfather) shivered in the early morning air. They were waiting to be chosen to work for the day. Trucks and vans drove by the parking lot.
Francisco's grandfather had just moved from Mexico. He came because Francisco's father had died, and Francisco and his mother were alone. Francisco was with his abuelo today to translate from Spanish into English for him.
A van marked "Benjamin's Gardening" drove up. Francisco ran to be first in line. He motioned toward his grandfather and showed Benjamin his excitement. He called, "You will get two for one."
Ben told Francisco and his abuelo to climb in the back. He would pay them $60 for their work, he said.
Abuelo, in Spanish, said that he didn't know a thing about gardening. He was a carpenter. But Francisco told him gardening is easy. When the van stopped, Ben said they were to weed a big bank of land. He would come back for them at 3:00 p.m.
Francisco pulled up a spiky plant and showed Abuelo. "Just do this," Francisco said. They left the flowers where they were. They worked fast and hard in the hot sun. They had the lunch and water Mama had packed. Francisco thought of how proud she would be. Sixty dollars could buy many things.
He and Abuelo finished pulling all of the weeds. They sat down to wait for Ben.
When he came, he looked at the bank and was shocked. He grew angry and slammed his cap against the van. They had pulled out the good plants and left the weeds!
Abuelo knew something was very wrong. He told Francisco with anger and sadness that the man had hired them on a lie. They knew nothing about gardening.
He told Francisco to tell Ben that they would come back the next day and do the job right. So Francisco told Ben what his grandfather had said. If they came early the plants would survive. They would replant them all and pull out the weeds they had left.
Ben said he would pick them up the next morning. Abuelo let Ben know they wouldn't accept money until they finished the job. And Ben told Francisco that he could use a good man for more than one day's work as a gardener.
Abuelo already knew the most important things about life, Ben said.



	Close
	Extend Language Explain that some words tell how people act, such as shivered, grumbled, and shuffled on p. 180. Act out the meaning of these words for students. Have students keep a log of words that show actions. Discuss how the words also show how people feel. Choices The choices we make are important. Sometimes we have to choose between something as simple as what color shirt or socks to wear in the morning; other times the choices we have to make are harder. It's important to think about our choices so we make the right decisions. We have to think about who we choose for friends, what we do with our friends, what we want to do and who we want to be when we grow up. Every choice has consequences, or effects. When we are thinking about what to do or what not to do, we have to think about what will happen as a result of our decisions. Who will be affected? How will we be affected? When we can do this, we make responsible choices.

"A Day's Work"by Eve Bunting

"A Day's Work"
by Eve Bunting