Who Am I?
Which student automatically reached for a phone that was no longer there?
Jordaqn
How long did the students participate in the phone-free experiment?
5 school days.
What word means “the ability to make your own decisions and manage your responsibilities”?
Autonomy.
What detail proves that Jordan’s reaching for his phone was repeated behavior?
He had already reached for it six times.
What major change do Jordan, Maya, and Nia all experience?
They participated in the five-day phone-free school experiment.
Which student viewed the phone-free experiment as a loss of independence, and what responsibility helps explain that reaction?
Maya. She uses her phone to help coordinate family responsibilities, including picking up her younger brother.
How did Jordan’s lunch experience change after phones were removed?
Lunch was quiet and awkward at first, but eventually students began telling stories and talking more. Jordan noticed that lunch felt longer but not necessarily worse.
Which word best describes Jordan’s repeated reaching for his missing phone: obstacle, habit, compromise, or autonomy? Explain your choice.
Habit, because he reaches for the phone automatically without consciously deciding to do it.
Which detail better supports the claim that Maya values responsibility: she almost refuses to participate OR her family uses a group chat to coordinate schedules and responsibilities? Explain.
The family group chat is stronger evidence because it directly shows how Maya uses her phone to manage responsibilities.
What is one important difference between Jordan’s and Nia’s early responses to being without their phones?
Jordan begins experiencing more conversation at lunch and becomes aware of his phone habits, while Nia initially feels more exposed and less connected without the phone she used as an escape.
Which student described a phone as a kind of “wall” in crowded social situations? What does that comparison reveal?
Nia. Her phone gives her a way to escape or protect herself when social situations feel uncomfortable or exhausting.
Maya missed a family update during the experiment. Why is this event important even though “nothing terrible happened”?
It demonstrates that Maya’s concern is not simply about entertainment. Her phone helps her manage real family responsibilities, so losing access affects her independence.
The text says Jordan looked up “reluctantly” after reading eleven pages. What does reluctantly help you understand about his reading experience?
He did not really want to stop reading. He had become focused or absorbed in the reading.
What evidence best supports the claim that removing phones did NOT automatically make every student feel more connected?
Nia says she felt less connected without her phone and describes feeling exposed or uncomfortable during social situations.
Why does the author include three students instead of showing only Jordan’s experience?
The three students demonstrate that the same change can affect people differently depending on their habits, responsibilities, needs, fears, and expectations.
Which character shows the clearest change in awareness of their own phone habits? Use evidence from the beginning and end of the text.
Jordan. At the beginning, he automatically reaches for his missing phone. Later, he realizes how often he interrupted himself, and when he gets his phone back, he answers only two notifications before putting it facedown.
By Wednesday, Jordan had stopped automatically reaching for his phone. Why is this detail important to the development of his response?
It shows that his behavior is beginning to change and that he is becoming aware of a habit he previously performed without thinking.
Nia is described as “sitting quietly at the edge of a conversation.” What does this phrase suggest beyond her physical location?
She is present with other people but not fully participating. It shows her uncertainty or discomfort about joining the social interaction.
A student claims, “The experiment proves that phones are bad for students.” Use evidence from the text to explain why that claim is too simple.
The characters use their phones for different purposes. Jordan discovers distracting habits, but Maya uses her phone for family responsibilities and independence, while Nia uses hers for comfort in difficult social situations. The experiment reveals both benefits and problems rather than proving phones are simply bad.
The author writes, “The same rule had created three different experiences.” Explain how this statement connects to the central idea of the text.
It captures the idea that people do not experience the same change in the same way. Jordan, Maya, and Nia respond differently because of what phones mean and do in each of their lives.
Jordan, Maya, and Nia all change in some way, but none responds exactly the same. Explain how their different experiences support the idea that change depends partly on what a person brings into the experience.
Jordan brings automatic phone habits, Maya brings family responsibilities and a need for independence, and Nia brings discomfort in social situations. Because their habits, responsibilities, and fears differ, the same phone-free experiment affects each of them differently.
At the end of the experiment, the survey does not produce a simple victory for either side. Why is that ending important to the author’s message?
The students did not have one shared experience, so the experiment cannot simply be labeled good or bad. The complicated results reinforce the idea that people respond differently to the same change.
Maya values autonomy, while Nia sometimes uses her phone to avoid feeling exposed. How do these two ideas help explain why removing the same object creates different experiences for them?
Maya connects her phone to independence and responsibility, while Nia connects hers to comfort and protection in social situations. Removing the phone therefore takes away something different from each student.
Which two pieces of evidence from different parts of the text best show that Jordan’s response develops over the five days? Defend your choices.
Strong answers should pair an early detail, such as Jordan automatically reaching for his missing phone six times, with a later detail, such as answering only two notifications and then putting the phone facedown. Together, the details show movement from automatic behavior toward greater awareness and control.
By the end of the text, “What changed was not the same.” Defend this statement using evidence from at least two characters.
Jordan becomes more aware of his habits and chooses to put his phone facedown. Maya does not abandon her belief that phones are useful; instead, the experiment clarifies why she values access and leads her toward a more limited compromise. Nia begins questioning whether discomfort is always something she needs to escape. Their changes are different because each entered the experiment with different needs and experiences.