Close Reading “I don’t understand it, and I don’t like what I don’t understand.” - E. B. White, Charlotte’s Web Ms. Mitchell Section 2

Close Reading is…. “Close Reading – an intensive analysis of a text in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it means.” Tim Shanahan Now that we know what close reading is not…let’s look how it is defined by the leading experts in literacy.

Close Reading is…. “Focused, sustained reading and rereading of a text for the purpose of understanding key points, gathering evidence, and building knowledge.” Pearson

Why is marking a book indispensable to reading it? It keeps you awake – not merely conscious, but wide awake. Reading, if it is active, is thinking, and thinking tends to express itself in words, spoken or written. The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks. Writing your reactions down helps you to remember the thoughts of the author.

Annotation is a note of any form made while reading text. Annotating the text can take ANY form—sketching, words, phrases, and/or complete sentences. “Reading with a pencil.”

Annotation slows down the reader in order to deepen understanding. What is the purpose of asking students to annotate the text?

During Reading Close Reading. What should you annotate? The possibilities are limitless. Keep in mind the reasons we annotate. Your annotations must include comments (evidence of thinking). Have a conversation with the text. Talk back to it. Ask questions (essential to active reading). You need to try to answer them as well. Comment on the actions or development of a character. Does the character change? Why? How? The result? Comment on lines / quotations you think are especially significant, powerful, or meaningful. Express agreement or disagreement. Summarize key events. Make predictions. Connect ideas to each other or to other texts. Note if you experience an epiphany. [the Aha! moment] Note anything you would like to discuss or do not understand.

During Reading Note how the author uses language (literary devices, rhetorical devices, style). Note the significance if you can: effects of word choice (diction) or sentence structure or type (syntax) point of view [perspective / narrator type] / effect repetition of words, phrases, actions, events, patterns narrative pace / time / order of sequence of events Irony allusions any other figure of speech or literary device tone / mood imagery themes setting / historical period symbols The most common complaint about annotating is that it slows down your reading. Yes, it does. That’s the point. If annotating as you read annoys you, read a chapter, then go back and annotate. Reading a text a second time is preferable anyway.

How to Annotate Make brief comments in the margins or between lines of the text. Circle or put boxes, triangles, or clouds around words or phrases. Use abbreviations or symbols – brackets, stars (multiple stars for varying degrees of importance), exclamation points, question marks, numbers, etc. Connect words, phrases, ideas, circles, boxes, etc. with lines or arrows. Underline – CAUTION: Use this method sparingly. Underline only a few words. Always combine with another method such as comment. Never underline an entire passage. Doing so takes too much time and loses effectiveness. If you wish to mark an entire paragraph or passage, draw a line down the margin or use brackets. Highlight – use CAUTION – don’t highlight everything! Create your own color code. Use post-it notes ONLY if you have exhausted all available space (unlikely) [or don’t own the book]

Questions to Ask… Left Margin – Summary Right Margin – Analysis What is the text saying? (Summarize) Right Margin – Analysis How does the text say it? (POV, dialogue, WC, literary devices) What does the text mean? (theme, character analysis, setting) What does the text mean to me? Text to Self – What does the text remind me of in my life? Text to Text – What does the text remind me of in other texts? Text to World – What does the text remind me of in the real world?

How to Annotate ? + - * ! ο Symbol Comments/Questions/Response Questions I have Confusing parts for me + Ideas/statements I agree with - Ideas/statements I disagree with * Significant Ideas ! Shocking statements or parts Emotional parts ο Ideas/sections you connect with What this reminds you of

People have been annotating texts since there have been texts to annotate.

Annotation is not highlighting. Highlighting alone is NOT annotating. When something is highlighted, studnents MUST be asked to note why the selection was highlighted.

Student’s annotation of connotative meanings in Charlotte’s Web It’s not always about reading difficult texts, but also about reading seemingly simpler texts in more complex ways.

Modeled annotation in Seventh Grade

Modeling in 9th Grade English

Student annotation in 11th grade English