1. SOAPSTONE ANALYSIS
NOVEMBER 17

2. Welcome Grab textbooks and notebooks Turn in Homework
Start your Warm-Up with the following heading:
Title
Author
Page Start
Page Finish

3. SSR – 15 Minutes Clear all devices and distractions from your desk
Begin reading your selection

4. SSR JOURNAL Reflection
Look back at the number of pages you read last time. 1. Have you read more or less this time? 2. What may have caused this? 3. How do you feel about this activity so far? New Book 1. What have you learned from your reading so far?

5. SKILLS FOCUS
SOAPSTONE ANALYSIS WHY? TO HELP US IDENTIFY PURPOSE AND ANALYZE HOW A WRITER USES RHETORICAL STRATEGIES

6. NOTES: What is SOAPSTone?
Speaker: The voice that tells the story
Occasion: The time and the place of the piece; the context that prompted the writing.
Audience: The group of readers to whom this piece is directed
Purpose: The reason behind the text
Subject: The topic of the piece of writing
Tone: The attitude of the author

7. Speaker
While reading the text, ask yourself this major question: WHO IS SPEAKING?
Don’t confuse the author with the speaker. They are two different voices; sometimes two different personas. For example, Jim is a reporter for the NY Times, but the speaker is a man trying to influence readers to steer clear of a new product.
Ask yourself: What’s the point of a speaker? Why do we care who is speaking? How does it influence the text? How does it influence the reader?
Who is speaking to the reader? Is it an economist? A fashion guru? A teacher? A lawmaker?

8. Occasion
While reading, it’s important to determine WHAT EVENT INFLUENCED THE TEXT.
Why do we write? Why does it matter? Do we just write about anything and everything, or are we influenced to write?
Ask yourself: Why is this person writing this text now? What major event or occurrence inspired this piece of writing?
Are they writing in response to a new law? An ongoing war? A celebrity mishap? A major world crisis?

9. Audience
While reading the text, it is important to determine WHO THE AUDIENCE IS.
Don’t think an article on the health risks of elementary school cafeteria food is an article for just anyone. Who could an article like that be targeting?
Ask yourself: Who is the intended audience for this text? Why write to this specific audience? Why cant a piece of writing be meant for EVERYBODY?
Is the audience the financial experts of the business world? Stay-at-home mothers? College students? Athletes?

10. Purpose
While reading the text, it is necessary to understand the PURPOSE OF THE TEXT.
Ask yourself: What’s the purpose of the writing? What is it intended to do? What is the speaker hoping to achieve? Is there a goal?
Are they trying to influence consumers to buy a certain product? Vote for a specific politician? Save their money by investing? Send their kids to private school?

11. Subject While reading the text, determine the SUBJECT OF THE TEXT.
Ask yourself: What is this piece of writing about? What topic(s) does it concern? Why does it matter?
Are they writing about the war in Iraq? A new law that just passed? A hot, new celebrity?

12. Tone
While reading the text, one of the most important questions is WHAT’S THE TONE OF THE TEXT?
How is the author saying what he’s saying? What is his attitude towards the subject? Towards the audience?
Is he angry? Biased? Persuasive? Neutral?

13. OUR JOB
READ THE SELECTION USE SOAPSTONE ANALYSIS TO HELP US: UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE UNDERSTAND THE REASONING UNDERSTAND A NEW WAY TO ANALYZE TEXT

14. LABEL YOUR PAPER
S O A P TONE

15. WE SOAPSTONE
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE READ THE ARTICLE IN YOUR GROUP WHEN FINISHED: WORK TOGETHER TO FIND EVIDENCE FOR YOUR PART OF THE SOAPSTONE CHART

16. Paragraphs 1-3
Read the Introduction As we read – fill in any details which may help us with our soapstone analysis Speaker – What can we tell about this person? Occasion – Is this a political event? What’s the situation? Audience – Does the speaker specify an audience? Purpose – What is the message? Reason for this? Subject – What’s the topic? Tone – Is the speaker emotional, objective, biased? How does the speaker appear to feel about the subject?

17. Paragraphs 4-5
As we read – fill in any details which may help us with our soapstone analysis Speaker – What can we tell about this person? Occasion – Is this a political event? What’s the situation? Audience – Does the speaker specify an audience? Purpose – What is the message? Reason for this? Tone – Is the speaker emotional, objective, biased? How does the speaker appear to feel about the subject?

18. Paragraphs 6-8
As we read – fill in any details which may help us with our soapstone analysis Speaker – What can we tell about this person? Occasion – Is this a political event? What’s the situation? Audience – Does the speaker specify an audience? Purpose – What is the message? Reason for this? Tone – Is the speaker emotional, objective, biased? How does the speaker appear to feel about the subject?

19. Paragraphs 9-10
As we read – fill in any details which may help us with our soapstone analysis Speaker – What can we tell about this person? Occasion – Is this a political event? What’s the situation? Audience – Does the speaker specify an audience? Purpose – What is the message? Reason for this? Tone – Is the speaker emotional, objective, biased? How does the speaker appear to feel about the subject?

20. DEBRIEF
SPEAKER OCCASION AUDIENCE PURPOSE TONE

21. You SOAPSTONE
Read the article “Death and Burial” When finished: Complete a SOAPSTONE using the chart in your bucket