Page 68 - SpringBoard_CloseReading_Workshop_Grade8_Flipbook

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Close Reading WoRkshop
Close Reading of informational Texts in social studies/history
Learning Targets
• Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
• Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
• Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).
• Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
• Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
Close Reading for Meaning
What does learning to read closely mean? As readers, we cannot just ask an author questions about the text. We must read the author’s words, looking at what some words say explicitly and what others may imply about the author’s meaning.
A writer considers the audience when selecting the appropriate words, imagery, and tone—particularly when writing something that will be performed, such as a song, or something that is addressed to a particular person or group, such as a letter.
For example, a writer might use technical diction when addressing an intended audience of experts in a particular field, or casual diction when addressing family members or peers. Additionally, the occasion or circumstances surrounding the writing of a text—such as a song, letter, or news article—will influence the author’s purpose and tone. When you read various texts, look for evidence that provides insight into the context for that particular piece of writing.
In this workshop, you will read four different texts and 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, OPTIC, SOAPSTone, Summarizing, Paraphrasing
Introducing the Strategy: Diffusing
Diffusing is a strategy for close reading of text. Using this strategy, the reader reads a passage to identify unfamiliar words. The reader uses context clues, dictionaries, and/or thesauri to discover the meaning of unfamiliar words. Writing notes about meaning or substituting synonyms for unfamiliar words helps the reader increase comprehension of the text.
Close Reading Workshop 5 • Close Reading of Informational Texts in Social Studies/History 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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