Child invitation
Help the parcel-label reader ask what the unclear word means. You can name an unknown without guessing its category.
Guided different context
Complete different fictional parcel-label account. One drawing is described as “long”, another “heavy”; neither is a measured reading. A third drawing’s label says “neat”, with no definition or comparison. The reader wants a clear packing guide. Invite a question about what neat means here and what description would help; keep any new measurement or packing outcome open.
Mode opportunity
This is supported teaching after review. Actual performing, reasoning about supplied stories and model construction are recorded separately. New-context transfer is a small observed step, not annual mastery or a new official grade.
Next decision
If the child guesses a category, reread only the full undefined label and ask where its definition is supplied. If they identify the gap, offer a different ordinary label-making job with a new ambiguity and a willing reader, keeping any reply distinct.
Observable next evidence
Child recognises an undefined description and asks a relevant clarification without forcing it into one of the provided attribute categories or inventing a result.
Ordinary possible model
P andQ name height/width descriptions. R’s word bold is not defined here; I would ask which feature and comparison the writer intended. I cannot choose tall or wide forR from this account.
Teacher preparation
Use the full museum and parcel accounts, big printed words and empty question space. Keep tall/wide and long/heavy as supplied descriptive categories, not measured equivalences. Offer pointing, spoken/signed/AAC or exact scribing; no actual parcel lifting or public feedback is required.
Teacher sequence
- Read the complete museum labels. Ask whatP andQ describe, then stop atR without supplying a definition for bold.
- Model an own clarification question, such as “Which feature and comparison did you mean by bold?” Explain that a missing definition is different from a recorded result or measured category.
- Read the complete different parcel account. Guide identifying the given long/heavy words, then let the child ask about neat in their own mode. Do not give the third parcel a size or mass.
- Invite the child to point to what is supplied and what their question would clarify. Record support and keep future information open. Return to a different unclear label if needed instead of revealing the held bright answer.
Title
Museum description needing clarification
Whole unrelated teaching account
Complete original fictional museum-label account. A paper display has labelP “tall outline” and labelQ “wide outline”. A third labelR says “bold”, with no definition, width, height or other comparison given. No new visitor response or physical measurement is supplied. The label-maker’s job is an accurate description for a reader, so they need to ask what the writer meant rather than force “bold” into tall or wide.