The Liu Method – A Reading Strategy for Success

Who is Eric Liu?  Eric Liu is a communications professor at UW.  A former President Clinton speech writer.  Founder of the Guiding Lights Network an organization promoting public citizenship and personal empowerment.  Is an author and lecturer.

How does Eric Liu tie to Mr. Sun-K?  Mr. Sun-K will be lecturing about Eric Liu’s reading strategy, the Liu Method, this summer at the Advance Placement, or A.P., Conference in Orlando.  Because of Eric Liu, Mr. Sun-K gets to go to Disney World! Insert Mr. Sun-K Here

What is the Liu Method?  The Liu Method is an analytical reading strategy that was developed by Eric Liu.  The Liu Method helps students comprehend and analyze a short piece of writing.  We will be practicing the Liu Method as a reading strategy to help us be successful on the Reading HSPE.  There are three steps of the Liu Method.

Step 1: The Foundation  Read the passage and underline key phrases or terms (a minimum of five).  Then, write a statement that begins with a verb that summarizes the text:  “The author explains…”  “The author persuades…”  “The author narrates a story about…”  The author informs…”

Step 2: The Architecture  Read the passage a second time.  Organize the paragraphs together in chunks in a logical sequence:  Example: -Beethoven’s Childhood. -Beethoven’s Education. -Beethoven’s Early Career. -Beethoven’s Late Career.

Step 3:The Music  Read the passage a third time.  Look for the craft, or techniques, the author uses to makes his work sing.  Examples:  Poetic Devices: Simile, Metaphor, Alliteration, etc.  Literary Devices: Character, Setting, 1 st Person, etc.  Informational Cues: Context Clues, Bold Headings, Charts, Graphs, Inferences, etc.

Let’s Practice Together