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120 Unit 2 ■ Analyzing Comparisons and Representations Aimee Nezhukumatathil ■ On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance 121 UNIT 2

Character Details Consider the Implications On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance Guided Questions SUGGESTED RESPONSES
Character’s internal • What adjectives does the character use when describing people, places, Breathe deep even if it means you wrinkle CHARACTER TO GUIDED QUESTIONS
thoughts events, or ideas? your nose from the fake-lemon antiseptic
• What internal struggles or choices does the character have? 1. The characters include the narrator, the
• What factors influence a character’s choices and decisions? of the mopped floors and wiped-down teacher, and, later in the poem, the rest of the
• Does the perspective change? If so, why? doorknobs. The freshly soaped necks students in the class. The characters have just
met (the poem is set within the first days of
Dialogue • What does the character choose to say? school) and are probably unfamiliar with one
and armpits. Your teacher means well,
• How often does the character speak with others? 1 5 and armpits. Y our teac her means w ell, 1. Who are the another. This line may be consoling the reader
• How would you describe the character’s way of speaking? even if he butchers your name like characters in the (to whom the narrator is providing advice).
poem? What is
• What can you tell about the character’s personality from how he or she the relationship 2. The physical description implies
speaks to others? he has a bloody sausage casing stuck between the embarrassment and discomfort.
Interactions with • Who does the character interact with? between his teeth, handprints characters? Who is
others • Who does the character not interact with? this consoling? 3. The students may do this out of curiosity, but
• How does the character treat the other characters he or she is around? on his white, sloppy apron. And when the effect results in the other student likely
feeling isolated as the “other.”
• In comparison, how does the character act when he or she is alone? 10 everyone turns around to check out
4. The character opts to see the other students
2 your face, no need to flush red and warm. 2. What does in the class with compassion and empathy,
your face, no need to flush red and warm.
Just picture all the eyes as if your classroom this physical focusing on the experiences that they may
description reveal? share rather than those that separate them.
is one big scallop with its dozens of icy blues The speaker values the humanity of the
GUIDED READING
GU I D E D R E A D I NG classmates, which is in stark contrast to the
and you will remember that winter your family
teacher.
15 took you to the China Sea and you sank
your face in it to gaze at baby clams and sea stars
On Listening to Your the size of your outstretched hand. And when
Teacher Take Attendance 3 all those necks start to crane, try not to forget 3. Why do the
all those necks start to crane, try not to forget
students crane
Aimee Nezhukumatathil someone once lathered their bodies, once patted them their necks to
stare?
20 dry with a fluffy towel after a bath, set out their clothes
THE TEXT IN CONTEXT 4 for the first day of school. Think of their pencil cases 4. What do the
for the first day of school. Think of their pencil cases
Born in Chicago to a Filipina mother and South Indian father, from third grade, full of sharp pencils, a pink pearl eraser. character’s
final thoughts
poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil (b. 1974) often Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs were used with this sample chapter.
explores nature, wonder, metaphor, and cultural difference Think of their handheld pencil sharpener and its tiny blade. reveal about the
character?
in her work. She is the author of several books of poetry and
prose, including Miracle Fruit (2003), At the Drive-In Volcano Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
(2007), Oceanic (2018), and the New York Times best seller Cheyenne Alford
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and
Other Astonishments (2018). Nezhukumatathil currently teaches
poetry and creative nonfiction at the University of Mississippi. In the following poem,
she uses figurative language and imagery to re-create a classroom experience.

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COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. How does the speaker describe the smell of the antiseptic applied to the floors and doorknobs?
[Fake-lemon]
2. The speaker compares the teacher to a butcher with “handprints / on his white, sloppy
_________.” [apron]
3. The speaker recalls a winter trip to the China Sea, where they saw which marine creatures?
[Baby clams and sea stars]
4. The narrator suggests the classmates who “crane” their necks to stare all shared a similar
experience regarding which day? [The first day of school]
5. The narrator concludes by asking the reader to think of which school supply object?
[A handheld pencil sharpener and its tiny blade]

TRM Unit 2: Comprehension Check Digital Comprehension Check

Aimee Nezhukumatathil On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance 121

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