A Conversation with Donte

I noticed my other "at risk" boy, Donte, spacing out and moving his fingers during independent reading. Clearly his mind was somewhere else besides his book. I've noticed this happens to Donte from time to time, and I suspect that it's not exclusive to reading. I am very curious to find out why this happens, if there's anything that prompts it, and what he thinks about when he's spaced out. I neglected to ask him this final question, maybe I'll ask him tomorrow. Me: Donte I noticed sometimes you space out while you're reading. You're not in trouble, I just want to understand what makes you space out. When do you normally space out? Donte: (gives confused look) Me: Does it happen at the beginning, middle, end of independent reading? When do you notice it happens the most? Donte: In the beginning, or when I'm waiting for someone to get done with something. Me: What are you waiting for? Donte: Shimya to get down with the red marker. Me: Why? Donte: I was finne use red (in his reader's response notebook) I think this conversation illustrates some things about Donte. First of all, his mind wanders to other tasks or ideas easily. He also didn't prioritize tasks or realize that using a red marker to record his thinking was not paramount. Most importantly, he's just not that absorbed in text. He's not eager to find out what happens next in the story. He's often taken out of the text easily.