1. Narrative of the Life of a Slave Chapter VII A SEMINAR IN CLOSE READING

2. Reading Strategies List Annotate the Text Make Connections Ask Questions Identify Main Ideas Clarify what is unclear Use the Glossary Use Context Clues Stop and Check for Understanding Chunk Meaning Make Inferences by Using Evidence Access Prior Knowledge

3. Yesterday you learned how to annotate text while doing a think aloud and using the reading strategies good readers use. Today you will independently annotate the text and then answer questions that reflect test questions you might find for a similar passage.

4. (Q1) Why is Douglass specific about making friends with “little white boys”? (Q2) How did Douglass learn how to read when running errands? (Q3) In what ways does Douglass’ life differ from the white boys’ lives? (Q4) Douglass is describing events from the past. These “boys” are now adult men, so why would he avoid giving their names? (Q5) Explain the irony implicit in Douglass’ observation that “it is almost an unpardonable offence to teach slaves to read in this Christian country.”

5. (Q6) Which of these meanings of “trouble” is Douglass using? Why did he choose this word? How would the meaning have changed if he had chosen the word “anger”?

6. (Q6) Which of these meanings of “trouble” is Douglass using? Why did he choose this word? How would the meaning have changed if he had chosen the word “anger”? (Q7) Why does Douglass describe the master’s response as both “desired” and “unexpected”? Why the contrast between these two words?

7. (Q7) When Douglass says, “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts”, how is he using the word “tongue”?

8. (Q7) When Douglass says, “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts”, how is he using the word “tongue”? (Q8) What moral did Douglass learn from these books?

9. (Q7) When Douglass says, “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts”, how is he using the word “tongue”? (Q8) What moral did Douglass learn from these books? (Q9) How does the word “enable” change the meaning of the line it appears in? How can documents “enable” him to “utter [his] thoughts” or write?

10. (Q7) When Douglass says, “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts”, how is he using the word “tongue”? (Q8) What moral did Douglass learn from these books? (Q9) How does the word “enable” change the meaning of the line it appears in? How can documents “enable” him to “utter [his] thoughts” or write? (Q10) In what ways is Douglas saying slaveholders are like robbers? Find and explore the structure of the sentence that gives voice to this idea most clearly.

11. (Q11) What prediction did Douglass’ owner make about what would happen if he learned to read? Did it come true? Why or why not?

12. (Q11) What prediction did Douglass’ owner make about what would happen if he learned to read? Did it come true? Why or why not? (Q12) What is the horrible pit? Why does Douglass envy someone’s stupidity?

13. (Q11) What prediction did Douglass’ owner make about what would happen if he learned to read? Did it come true? Why or why not? (Q12) What is the horrible pit? Why does Douglass envy someone’s stupidity? (Q13) Why is freedom tormenting Douglass?