2. Wheeler's Socratic Inquiries • Complete Teacher Answer Key
1901 Socratic Method
Q1: What do you call the things which they have?
▸ Expected Student Answer: Their (thâr) things.
Teacher Talking Points: Emphasize ownership. When something belongs to them, we spell it t-h-e-i-r. Remind students that their answers the question “Whose things?”
Q2: What word do you use in speaking of that place?
▸ Expected Student Answer: There.
Teacher Talking Points: Point across the room. We say “Look over there!” Notice the spelling: it ends in -h-e-r-e. Here and there are both words for places!
Q3: How many lessons on this page? Fill in the blank: “_____ are two.”
▸ Expected Student Answer: There are two.
Teacher Talking Points: Here There acts as an introductory expletive subject. Notice capitalization: as the first word of the sentence, it must always begin with a capital T.
3. Wheeler-Aligned Decodable Dictation Sentences
Administer Orally
Sentence 1: “There are three little birds singing high in the summer air.”
[Focus: There (expletive), air (Lesson 94 digraph)]
Sentence 2: “The children hung their warm coats over there by the door.”
[Focus: their (possession) vs. there (place) in single sentence]
Sentence 3: “There is true joy when little girls share their fresh bread.”
[Focus: There (pointer), share (caret â), their (possession), bread (Lesson 95 ea)]
Sentence 4: “We stood over there beneath the elm and watched their playful game.”
[Focus: there (place), elm (Lesson 95 monosyllable), their (possession)]
4. Literary Profiles & Diagnostic Rubric
Author Notes
Author Context:
• Eugene Field (1850–1895): Master of musical juvenile verse; his couplet illustrates the repetitive cadence of introductory There is.
• Edith M. Thomas (1854–1925): Prominent American lyric poet born in Ohio; her tercet masterfully contrasts There (line 1) with their (line 3) in a unified natural image.
• Alice Cary (1820–1871): Acclaimed American poet whose moral proverb (*“There is nothing so kingly as kindness”*) instills character alongside orthography.
Diagnostic Common Errors:
• Substituting their for introductory there (“Their is a book” ❌).
• Substituting there for possessive their (“They took there coats” ❌).