Page 31 - SpringBoard_CloseReading_Workshop_Grade7_Flipbook

Close Reading of argumentative nonfiction Texts (continued)
key ideas and deTails
Obama claims that Americans have mixed feelings —ambivalence — about war. How do his examples of historical wars illustrate this?
key ideas and deTails
How does Obama’s diction and imagery change after he begins to describe the
events of September 11, 2001? How does his tone shift as a result?
Third Reading: Text-Dependent Questioning
Now read the passage again, this time with the focus of reading to respond to the interpretive Key Ideas and Details questions in the margin. These questions aim to have you dig deeper into making inferences about the purpose of the speech.
From “Remarks by the President at the National Defense University” by Barack Obama
1 For over two centuries, the United States has been bound together by founding documents that defined who we are as Americans, and served as our compass through every type of change. Matters of war and peace are no different. Americans are deeply ambivalent about war, but having fought for our independence, we know that a price must be paid for freedom. From the Civil War, to our struggle against fascism, and through the long, twilight struggle of the Cold War, battlefields have changed, and technology has evolved. But our commitment to Constitutional principles has weathered every war, and every war has come to an end.
2 WiththecollapseoftheBerlinWall,anewdawnofdemocracytookholdabroad,anda decade of peace and prosperity arrived at home. For a moment, it seemed the 21st century
would be a tranquil time. Then, on September 11th 2001, we were shaken out of complacency. Thousands were taken from us, as clouds of fire, metal and ash descended upon a sun-filled morning. This was a different kind of war. No armies came to our shores, and our military was not the principal target. Instead, a group of terrorists came to kill as many civilians as they could.
3 And that brings me to my final topic: the detention of terrorist suspects. To
repeat, as a matter of policy, the preference of the United States is to capture terrorist suspects. When we do detain a suspect, we interrogate them. And if the suspect can be prosecuted, we decide whether to try him in a civilian court or a Military Commission. During the past decade, the vast majority of those detained by our military were captured on the battlefield. In Iraq, we turned over thousands of prisoners as we ended the war. In Afghanistan, we have transitioned detention facilities to the Afghans, as part of the process of restoring Afghan sovereignty. So we bring law of war detention to an end, and we are committed to prosecuting terrorists whenever we can.
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SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 7
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