Thick Description 1

Bobby mopes into the room and takes a seat. The group is made up of four fifth grade boys. They come to the reading group immediately after lunch. Mike and Jake enter the room laughing and grab their materials from the white book shelf that holds their basket. Each group has a basket that holds all of the materials we use daily. Bobby stays in his seat and mumbles a thank you when Mike hands him a book and his folder. The boys haven't spoken to Bobby and Bobby hasn't spoken to anyone in the room.
I tell the group that we will begin our lesson as soon as Eric comes in. Mike and Jake nod. Bobby puts his head down on the table and groans.
Eric comes in and takes his seat. The other boys have already laid his materials at the open space. Bobby is still laying on the table. Eric asks him what is wrong. He is the first to acknowledge Bobby's behavior. Bobby answers, "I don't feel well." Another student (either Mike or Jake) comments, "You're always sick, Bobby!"
The boys seem to be annoyed by Bobby's consistent complaints. He often comes in with a headache, stomach ache or sore throat. His classroom teacher notices the same behavior. I have chosen not to give the situation any attention unless Bobby looks ill or asks to see the nurse.

I interrupt and ask the group to open their student book to lesson 56. We are picking up from where we left off on Friday. The group begins oral reading after a brief argument over who goes first. Bobby raises his head and follows along as different students read. He reads when it is his turn, but doesn't stop at the punctuation mark. The reading is choppy and his voice is low. Another student stops him and points out the period. Bobby waits for his next turn. He lost his place when it was time to read and asked another students to show him where to read. Bobby reads the sentence with nice expression and appropriate speed. Again, he ignores the punctuation. I ask each student a comprehension question at the end of the paragraph. Bobby was asked how much the treasure was worth. He couldn't remember, but looked back at the story. He is now sitting up and seems to be feeling fine. Bobby's fluency is better than some of the other group members, but he struggles to answer literal questions from the text.
Students finish the story and begin workbook page. The students pair up and re-read the first paragraph to one another (first reading). Bobby takes longer to complete the workbook page than the other group members. His partner, Jake, waits to complete the partner reading. Bobby answers all of the questions correctly and followed directions on both parts. The other students skipped activity #1 because they did not read the directions carefully.
Bobby and Jake read together. Bobby's partner reports that he had one error and shows him the mistake. He lets me know that he is ready to begin his timed reading (second reading). I begin the timer when Bobby reads the first word and ask him to stop after 1 minute. He reads at a normal rate with appropriate expression. Bobby reads much louder than others, even though the general tone of the room is low and there is very little background noise.