As you come into class… Evaluate your essay on your rubric. Staple your essay packet in the following order: 1. Self-Evaluated Rubric 2. Final Draft 3. Rough Drafts Bring me your essay when called.

September 18, 2014

Objectives Students will be able to practice close reading by scrutinizing annotations. HOW? Annotation Groups & Presentations Levels of Reading Circles

“Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan We are going to read this personal narrative from Amy Tan in your table groups. While you read, annotate your copy with the following guidelines: Pink Pink: imagery (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch descriptions) Purple Purple: characterization (direct and indirect) Yellow Yellow: connotative (emotional aspects) of diction (words that have positive/negative meanings) Orange Orange: comparisons (metaphors, similes) Blue: details that imply theme Assign roles in your groups. You need a reader and every other person should be assigned a color or two. Assign roles in your groups. You need a reader and every other person should be assigned a color or two.

Close Reading – Three Levels Close reading requires you to analyze a text by reading slowly to assess the importance of each word, detail, or image. Close readers look beyond the plot for deeper layers of meaning: LITERAL - “Reading On the Line” Find meaning directly in the text: Who? What? Where? When? ABSTRACT - “Reading Between the Lines” Interpret/Classify/Compare the text: What does a passage represent? What does this allusion/metaphor mean? THEMATIC - “Reading Beyond the Lines” Connect to universal meaning: How does this connect to life for all human beings? What morality or values does it reveal? This is the “So What?” level.

Reading Circles – Level 1 1. For the “Literal” innermost circle, write the following: 1. Read over your annotations and choose the most significant word from the passage. 2. Write a direct quote from where this word appears in the story. 3. Write the DENOTATION (dictionary definition) of the word. Dictionaries are located on the book shelf. 4. Write the answer to the following question: Why is this word important to the narrative?

Reading Circles – Level 2 2. For the “Abstract” middle circle, write the following: 1. Choose four images that stuck with you from the story. 2. Draw these four images in the middle circle. 3. Answer the following question: How do these images relate to the significant word or phrase that you selected? Explain how they connect to the word you chose to put in the center of the circle.

Reading Circles – Level 3 3. For the “Thematic” outer circle, write the following: 1. Think about the connections between your images and the significant word from the story. What is the story saying about that particular topic? 2. Write two thematic statements about the significant word in the outermost circle. Theme is a claim about how a main topic operates in a story and applies to the greater world. THEMATIC STATEMENT = TOPIC + ASSERTION/CLAIM TOPIC + ASSERTION/CLAIM You may not use the word “you.”

Homework Complete the Reading Circles assignment for homework due on Monday. Honors: Write a paragraph defending your thematic statement with evidence from the text.