Prioritizing questions

Table 1: Why is Byron the oldest and baddest?
Youngan's answer: "Because he grew up in a bad neighborhood. Bad neighborhoods effect on people. I think it influence on people and kids. I think sometimes bad thing have negotine in your heart."
Table 2: How is Kenny going to be the bad one?
Alex's answer: "He is probaly going to bully on Joetta like byron did Kenny. And do the thing byron did to Kenny. Byron treated Kenny badly so Kenny might hurt Joey's felling's. I think byron is going to be good and Kenny might become daddy-cool.
Table 3: How do the Weird Watsons work out their problems?
Zeke's answer: "I think they work out theire problems by threatening, giving more chances, and forgiving each other."
Sunshine's answer: "My answer is like when Kenny and Rufus where fight when Kenny where laugh a Rufus with the other he went to his house and both of them solve there problem. When Joey did't like the angle her mother ask Joey and her mother help Joey solve her problem about the angle that Mz. Davidson gave her that how the Watson solve there problem."
Table 4: Why do Byron be disobedient to his family?
Rashad's answer: Byron be disobedient to his family because he think he daddy cool and buphead put that street mess in his head, and he don't listen when his mom told him not to play with fire. He don't follow rules. He get into lots of trouble. I can't blame him because his parent treat him from Kenny and Joetta. He also thinks his parents are not going to do nothing. he skips school. he trying to be a bad person. He's setting a bad example for Joetta and Kenny. If he keep setting bad examples for his family he and his family wouldn't be good and probably have to have bail money for their kids."
Table 5: Why do family members always love each other?
Shimya's answer: "I think every family member should always love each other because they sopose to. I think family supose to stay by each other becaus thats whats family's for and to protect each other.
Table 6: Why do Byron curse and don't get in trouble?
Kim's answer: "I think byron curse and dont get in trouble because he the oldest and he bad and I think there MaMa dont care about Byron because that his usall thing is curseing and Kennny want tell or Joey because they scared of Byron because they know that they going to get the beat down if they tell on byron and byron want taek up for Kenny at school no more."

Observations while prioritizing was happening:
Tyshaun: I like this one because we can really go deep into the text and find different ideas.

Zeke: I think that's a question people could answer right away no one would disagree.

Sample justifications of prioritized question from sheet:
-"Because I have a connection to when I curse" (Kim)
-"Because you can explain it in many different ways." (Riana)
-"Because it tell me more about the story" (Jaymon)
-"Because we can go deeper into the question." (Antwanay)
-"Because Kenny started to talk back to Byron." (Alex)
-"It makes sense and it's a important question and Kenny talks back to Byron." (Khalil)
-"Because there is more than one answer so it should make you think." (Zeke)


Random notes:
-I'm going to do differentiated Socratic Seminars next week (one high and one low). I'm going to ask people to read their question but not give their answer until everyone else in the group has discussed it. I want other people to put up their answers first.
-After this round of Socratic Seminar, I want to explicitly teach students about how questions can be within, beyond, or about the text. I want them to discuss the merits of each, and hopefully they'll start to generate some "about the text" questions, of which there are none right now. I also should at a later date teach them about question rigor (right there, inference, critical thinking)