Page 17 - SpringBoard_CloseReading_Workshop_Grade6_Flipbook

Close Reading of argumentative nonfiction Texts (continued)
savoring: enjoying the taste of
resilient: strong and flexible
14 It’s not just gulping down one’s spinach. It means savoring fresh foods and scorning mass-production food “products” that are better fit for long-distance packaging than eating. It is a strategy that unites healthier bodies, reduced greenhouse gases, more resilient farms and a stronger and more self-sufficient regional economy. As American, I’d argue, as (fresh) apple pie.
Second Reading: vocabulary in Context
Now that you have read the passage silently, listen and follow along as your teacher reads the passage aloud. As you read along with your teacher, circle words and/
or phrases (other than the underlined words) that you do not know or that you
feel are important to the meaning of the passage. Diffuse these words/phrases for comprehension.
Check your Understanding
1. Pair with another student and use context clues and reference resources to
determine the meaning of any new words you need to define. Then choose six words from the vocabulary that have been underlined, bolded, and/or circled by you and discuss how the definitions help you understand the meaning of the passage.
2. Choose two or three of the words you have examined that you think are significant to understanding the passage. Use the words in sentences as part of a summary explaining the central ideas in the passage and explaining how these words contribute to your understanding of the passage.
Third Reading: Text-Dependent Questioning
Now read the passage again, this time with the focus of reading to respond to the Key Ideas and Details interpretive questions. As your class discusses the text, write your responses to each question and highlight or underline the textual evidence that supports your answer. During discussions, you may also want to annotate the text to record a new or different meaning of the text.
Background Information: In the following editorial, Seattle Times columnist Neal Peirce makes an argument about the effects of agriculture as big business. The event that prompted the editorial was the nationwide outbreak of food poisoning in 2006 caused by the E.coli bacteria and in which the company Natural Selection Foods was identified as the source of the outbreak. More than 100 people were hospitalized, and at least one person died.
16 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 6
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