If at first you fail, try, try another way!

This week we started reading PIE, By: Sarah Weeks. The first day I read aloud about half of the first chapter, thinking I didn't want to overload my student with too much information the first read. I ask a very broad, "what thoughts do you have about a character, setting, etc.?". I only got a "I can't remember her name, but the pie lady was nice.". Although I was glad to get a response, I knew the next day I had to have another plan.
Today I used a strategy I read about in 'Notebook Connections' by Aimee Buckner. I came up with 4 words that represent a common theme throughout the book. Before I began reading, I ask my student to pick one of the 4 words he would like to focus on during today's reading. He chose 'generosity'. Next we wrote down words that describe gerosity and then what is NOT generosity. As I read, my student only had to focus on one idea. After reading, we discussed where we heard examples of generosity and even the opposite of generosity. My student picked a character to write a character analysis about. He chose the word Selfish for the character 'Ruthie'. This is what I got today:
"Ruthie - selfish
Selfish people think about themselves. Ruthie thought that Aunt Polly was selfish for not selling her pies & making lots of money for their family."
I think this strategy allowed my student to produce great thoughts about what we read today! It is always best to re-assess if at first we do not succeed :).