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Close Reading WoRkshop
Close Reading of informational/ literary 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; 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.
• Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.
• 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.
• 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 one’s own ideas clearly.
• Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Close Reading for Meaning
What does learning to read closely mean? As readers, we should not just consider the subject or topic of a text. We must consider the author’s intended audience for the text, as well as the occasion, or context, surrounding the text.
An author considers the audience when selecting the appropriate words, imagery, and tone—particularly when writing a speech. For example, an author might use technical diction when addressing an intended audience of experts in a particular field, or academic diction when addressing a group of scholars. Additionally, the occasion or circumstances surrounding the delivery of a speech will influence the author’s purpose and tone. When you read historical speeches, look for textual evidence that provides insight into the audience and occasion of the particular speech.
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.
leaRning sTRaTegies:
Diffusing, Close Reading, Marking the Text, Rereading, Summarizing, Paraphrasing, SOAPSTone
Introducing the Strategy: Marking the Text
Marking the text involves selecting by highlighting, underlining, and/or annotating for specific components. Practicing this strategy is a key to developing the skill of close reading. By marking the text you are actively engaged in making meaning of the text. When a text is challenging this is an especially good skill to practice.
Close Reading Workshop 1 • Close Reading of Informational/Literary Nonfiction Texts 1
aCademiC VoCabulaRy
Audience is the intended readers, listeners, or viewers of specific types of written, spoken, or visual texts. Occasion is the time and place of a piece; the context that prompted the writing.
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