S5 HIGHER – READING FOR U,A,E. LI; I AM LEARNING TO USE MY SUMMARISING SKILLS TO IDENTIFY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN TWO TEXTS ON A SIMILAR THEME/TOPIC

READING FOR UNDERSTANDING, ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION  There are two main differences between National Five and Higher Reading for U,A,E. - The move to detailed and complex texts - The importance to infer and summarise the key arguments in two texts on a similar theme.

TASK ONE In your pairs you are going to use your Active Literacy skills to explore two texts on a similar theme – the death of comedian Robin Williams One partner will read “Robin Williams divine madness with no longer disrupt the sadness of the world” by Russell Brandand One partner will read “Robin Williams: the sadness of a clown that couldn’t be fixed” by Simon Jenkins.

ACTIVE LITERACY STRATEGIES Prior Knowledge Use the title, what you know (if anything) of the writers and any information about Robin Williams to formulate your opinion about what the passage is about and the tone of the piece MetalinguisticsIn the back of your jotter write down any words you do not know or are unsure of and find the definition. VisualisationCreate a brainstorm that summaries each topic sentence in your own words InferenceUsing your inference skills work out; The writer’s attitude to Robin Williams The writer’s attitude to celebrity For each quote and explain The writer’s attitude to his death your answer SummaryUse your brainstorm to write a concise summary of the writer’s arguments Main Idea What is the theme of your piece? Each writer uses the death of Robin Williams to expand on a wider point about society, write what that point is

THINK-PAIR-SHARE 1) Quickly skim read your partner’s article 2) Take it in turns to review what you have identified from your exploration of the text 3) Write down any similarities you have already identified from the two texts

ANALYSING A TEXT - PLACEMAT Word Choice (connotations) Imagery (Just as... So...) Sentence Structure (PLOT) Other (sound imagery, syntax, contrast, link, etc)

THINK-PAIR-SHARE 1) Read your parter’s placemat and add anything they may have missed. 2) Write down any similarities you have already identified about the language from the two texts

SUMMARISING SKILLS – SAMPLE QUESTION  Both writer’s express their views about the suicide of Robin Williams. Identify the key areas in which they agree. In your answer you should refer in detail to both passages

THE MARKS

SUMMARISING SKILLS – SAMPLE QUESTION  Both writer’s express their views about the suicide of Robin Williams. Identify the key areas in which they agree. In your answer you should refer in detail to both passages

THINK-PAIR-SHARE 1) Read your partner's answer to the question 2) Highlight examples which you identify as good practice 3) Count how many arguments they have identified and the use of supporting evidence. 4) Give feedback of two stars and a wish

EXT; HOLY MOLY ARTICLE  This article is take from an online celebrity blog and is not one that you would expect to see in a Higher English exam but it is useful to look at in terms of style, structure and tone.  Read the article and answer the following questions – you must use supporting evidence from the text to back up your statements; 1) What is the style of the piece of writing 2) What is the tone of the piece? 3) Summarise the main arguments of this article 4) How does this article differ from the other two articles you have read?

HOMEWORK; FOLIO PRACTICE  The Robin Williams story threw up a lot of controversial issues. In practice for your folio persuasive piece pick one of the statements below and find three pieces of evidence which back your stance; - There is too much intrusion in all aspects of a celebrities life. - Suicide should once again be made illegal - Internet trolls should be banned from the Internet - Details of people’s suicides should not be printed in newspapers