Struggling to help DS with his homework

This makes no sense to me. How old is your DS? At first glance I would assume that you fill in the blanks with the suggested words listed but that doesn't work at all.

If it is meant to take 10 mins and neither of you can fathom it then just take it away. No point letting him get frustrated.

A couple of things I find help:

• Ask what the article is about without reference to the set questions
• Ask whether the tone is for/against, or happy/sad or whatever. How do they know that? What words would be changed to give the opposite tone? The words that would be changed are the ones that you might pick out for 'how the authors use of language shows that...' type of questions.

OK, I'm definitely not an expert, which is why DD2 has an English Tutor. Also I can't read the text on my PC. However as both my DDs have struggled with English I have paid attention.

But anyway

1. If it is meant to be a 10 minute task, if he can't do it after 30mins he should stop, anything else is a complete waste of time.

2. They are practicing writing for one of the English Lang papers. They are giving them scaffolding to then 'fill in the blanks' to show how to construct answers. I am assuming they are mean to copy it out and fill in the blanks appropriately.

So without reading the text at all I am expecting it to be something like .... He does this in the home as that is where most people use their electronics most. This links with the themes of dependency and use when bored. The writer shows this when he states his children 'don't know how to use a dictionary' and turn to the 'default' phone for entertainment. here the writer brilliantly shows how the use of tech has stifled the skills of young people, with the metaphor 'mindless drones' showing how little he feels his children can now think and act independently.