Transcript Close Reading - Gertz

Mr. Ortiz
August 2013
What is close reading?
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 Close reading is a way of looking at text that helps us
to understand it.
 It requires us to looking closely at the text and
describe it in detail.
 It’s like looking at a painting and commenting on the
different elements of the painting.
What do you notice when you look
at this painting?
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What should you do when you close
read?
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 Look out for interesting/difficult vocabulary
 Pay attention to the structure of sentences
 Make connections between words, phrases/clauses,
sentences, and paragraphs
 Use SOAPSTone method
 “Good Readers” strategies
Vocabulary and close reading

 Don’t just skip words you don’t know.
 Use context clues to help you.
 Use a dictionary if possible.
 Be aware of technical or scientific words.
 The connotation of words is as important as the
denotation!
How does vocabulary impact these
sentences?

 “When observing the superficial characteristics of the
automobile, the ivory hue is distinct,” vs. “When
looking at the car, the white color stands out.”
 “The coronal disk of a G2-type red dwarf star can be
radioimaged with a infrared telespectrometer.”
 “cheap” vs. “frugal”; “curious” vs. “nosey”
 “The puppy looked up at me with moist, brown eyes
filled with innocence and hope.”
Sentence structure and close reading

 Sentences that are long or complicated (or both) are
more difficult to read and understand.
“The wild swings in weather that are expected to become
commonplace as the planet gets warmer -- more frequent and
severe droughts, followed by drenching rains -- change
ecosystems in a way that awaken and expedite the
transmission of once dormant diseases.”
This sentence is both relatively long (40 words) and
complicated. How can we tackle this sentence?
Sentence structure and close reading

 First, slow down; Even strong readers need to take
more time when they read complex texts.
 Re-read; Don’t go past a sentence until you feel
comfortable with its basic meaning.
 Paraphrase; if you could rewrite it in your own
words, you’re ready to move on (good annotating
strategy).
 Chunk the text; break sentences down into shorter
parts and learn to “ignore” less important
information.
What should you look for when you
close read?

 SOAPSTone

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Speaker: who is the writer?
Occasion: what made them write this?
Audience: who is the writer addressing?
Purpose: what is she/he trying to do?
Subject: what is the topic? (summary)
Tone: how does the author feel about the topic? How
do you feel about it?
“Things Good Readers Do…”

 Preview – what can I tell just be looking at the text?
 Question – what do I know/need to know?
 Predict – what do I think comes next?
 Infer – what is the text “saying without saying?”
 Connect – what does this have to do with anything else?
 Evaluate – what have I gotten out of this text?
 Summarize – how would I briefly paraphrase the text?