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Close Reading WoRkshop
Close Reading of argumentative nonfiction Texts
Learning Targets
• Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
• Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or visual text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
• Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
• Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
• Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from range of strategies.
• Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
Close Reading for Meaning
In an argument, an author often concludes with a call to action, a concluding statement that urges the audience to respond or take action to solve a problem. The writer or speaker will use rhetorical appeals to persuade the reader or listener to respond to this call to action. These appeals include logos, an appeal to logic or reason, and pathos, an appeal to the senses or emotions.
In this workshop, you will read three different texts and will practice close reading using strategies that will help you make meaning of the text. Your teacher will guide you through the first activity. In Activity 2, you will work in a collaborative group to read and respond to the text. For the third activity, you will work independently to apply close reading strategies to determine meaning in a new text.
ACTiviTy 1
Guided Practice
First Reading: First impressions
Read the passage silently. Your focus for this first reading is on understanding the meaning of the passage. Practice diffusing the words you may not know by replacing unfamiliar words with synonyms or definitions for the underlined words. Use the definitions and synonyms next to the paragraphs to help your understanding.
leaRning sTRaTegies
Close Reading, Diffusing, Marking the Text, Summarizing, Rereading, Paraphrasing, SOAPSTone, OPTIC
aCademiC VoCabulaRy
A call to action is a concluding statement in an argument that urges the audience to respond or take action to solve
a problem. Logos is a rhetorical appeal that uses logic and reason. Pathos is a rhetorical appeal to the readers’ or listeners’ senses or emotions.
Close Reading Workshop 2 • Close Reading of Argumentative Nonfiction Texts 17
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