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Close Reading & Making a Claim

Close Reading & Making a Claim. Preparing for a stellar reader’s response. Close Reading. What Is Close Reading?

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Close Reading & Making a Claim

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  1. Close Reading & Making a Claim Preparing for a stellar reader’s response

  2. Close Reading • What Is Close Reading? Close reading is thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details or patterns in order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the text’s form, craft, meanings, etc. It is a key requirement of the Common Core State Standards and directs the reader’s attention to the text itself.

  3. Close Reading • Essentially, close reading means reading to uncover layers of meaning that lead to deep comprehension.

  4. When to do it… • Close reading should occur with appropriately complex text. There are a number of factors that contribute to text complexity. • Vocabulary • New / Complex Ideas • Text structures Description Compare and Contrast Temporal Sequence Cause and Effect Problem and Solution

  5. FIRST READ:KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS • Read for overall understanding • Read without building background; you should be integrating your own background knowledge with the text as you read. • Focus on the key ideas and details in the text, making sure you know the main idea, story elements, or key details that the author includes.

  6. SECOND READ: CRAFT AND STRUCTURE • Section off the text for deeper examination • That is, reread a section that includes complex elements or ideas that you should explore to arrive at a deep understanding of the text. • After rereading, discuss the text with partners or in small groups, focusing on the author’s craft and organizational patterns. • This may include vocabulary choices, text structure or text features that they author included. • Ask yourself questions about the text

  7. THIRD READ: INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS • The third close reading of a text should go even deeper, requiring students to synthesize and analyze information from several texts or media. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPDpBfGNSgg • You may record their ideas on sticky notes, graphic organizer, or a thinking sheet.

  8. Making a ClaimWhat is it? • A claim is the main argument of an essay. It is probably the single most important part of an academic paper. • The complexity, effectiveness, and quality of the entire paper hinges on the claim. • If your claim is boring or obvious, the rest of the paper probably will be too.

  9. What does it do? • A claim persuades, argues, convinces, proves, or provocatively suggests something to a reader who may or may not initially agree with you

  10. Purpose of a Claim • A claim defines your paper’s goals, direction and scope and is supported by evidence, quotations, argumentation, expert opinion, statistics, and telling details. • A claim must be argumentative. When you make a claim, you are arguing for a certain interpretation or understanding of your subject. • A good claim is specific. It makes a focused argument (MTV’s popularity is waning because it no longer plays music videos) rather than a general one (MTV sucks).

  11. Not a claim… • Twinkies are delicious. • I like dance music. • I think Virginia Woolf is better than James Joyce. • The governor is a bad man.

  12. Turn it into a claim • Twinkies taste better than other snack cakes because of their texture, their creamy filling, and their golden appearance. • Dance music has become popular for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the music; rather, the clear, fast beats respond to the need of people on amphetamines to move, and to move quickly. • Virginia Woolf is a more effective writer than James Joyce because she does not rely on elaborate language devices that ultimately confuse and alienate the reader. • The governor has continually done the community a disservice by mishandling money, focusing on frivolous causes, and failing to listen to his constituents.

  13. The difference • An argument is supported by evidence, which can be debated/challenged. Opinion is supported by more opinion (and ultimately you end up with something along the lines of “Well, just because, okay?”). • A claim can be substantiated with research, evidence, testimony, and academic reasoning. • A claim is something more than statement and support: an arguable claim also goes on to address the “so what?” question, the implications and why we should care in the first place. • Remember that not all claims are created equal, and though a claim may be arguable, the best claims are focused, specific, complex, and relevant.

  14. More info… • https://depts.washington.edu/owrc/Handouts/Claims%20Claims%20Claims.pdf

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