Page 85 - SpringBoard_CloseReading_Workshop_Grade8_Flipbook

Close Reading of informational Texts in social studies/history (continued)
ACTIvITy 4
Synthesis Questions
Your teacher may choose or ask you to choose one of the following assessments as a way of showing your understanding of the texts you have read.
Writing Prompt: Review the texts that you have read about and by Woody Guthrie. Woody Guthrie died on October 3, 1967, but many of the issues he wrote and sang about are still relevant today. Find an article from a newspaper, news magazine, or news website about something happening in America today that you think Woody Guthrie would have been interested in or upset about. Write a letter imitating his voice and style in response to something in the news. For example, you may choose to write a letter to the editor from Woody Guthrie expressing his concern about unemployment or poverty. State the occasion and intended audience clearly in the opening of your letter.
Debate/Discussion: Revisit the quote by Woody Guthrie at the beginning of the biographical excerpt in Activity 1:
“I hate a song that makes you think that you’re not any good. I hate a song that makes you think you are just born to lose. I am out to fight those kind of songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood.”
With a partner or small group, discuss your interpretation of this quote, and make connections between this quote and the other texts pertaining to Woody Guthrie— biography, song lyrics, photograph, and letter—that you have studied in this workshop. Follow your teacher’s guidelines to conduct research on Woody Guthrie and find more connections between his life and songs. Make notes of your ideas. Use your notes to participate in a class discussion about how Woody Guthrie’s song lyrics reflect his background and philosophy.
Multimedia Presentation: When one reads the complete lyrics to “This Land Is Your Land” instead of the version sung by most schoolchildren, the song becomes an anthem of social protest. Follow your teacher’s guidelines to find another song that criticizes
an aspect of government or society and conduct research to understand the artist(s), occasion, and purpose or intended audience behind the song. Make connections between the song’s lyrics and what you learn about the artist(s) and the occasion for the song. Consider using a multimedia presentation tool to arrange and present your findings.
Reflection
Think about what you have learned from your close reading and analysis of the text passages you have read in this workshop.
1. Can a work of art be both patriotic and critical of a nation at the same time?
2. In this workshop, you have learned how to make meaning of three different texts. How can you use what you have learned to help you as you encounter challenging texts in the future? What strategies best helped you as a learner? When and why would you use these strategies in the future?
18 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
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