Unit 1: How to Perform a Close

Reading

Anne Kingsley, ENGL 116

Last Time Observe (notice what stands out)

Annotate (mark the page)

Inquire (ask questions)

8 jobs article Things people found intriguing or worth marking—Life logging, un-

schooling, and 3D Printing Confusing—arm chair explorer Worth researching—3D printing Words marked a lot—”churn” & “hack”

http://youtu.be/8_vloWVgf0o

Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man

Check in on comprehension (short quiz).

First Observations Exchange your write up with the person next

to you (choose a partner).

What did they notice? Did you notice similar details/ideas/language/imagery?

Put an exclamation mark (!) beside a question that you think is particularly well written. State why you think it is a good question.

Full class discussion to follow

Close reading practice: Prologue

Take a few moments to look back over the prologue….What do you notice? What were/are your observations?

What did you mark?

Prologue—observations/annotations

Shifting observations/annot

ations into questions

Take observation/annotation

“…once well muscled…” (1).

What does it mean to be “once” well muscled? Why would the character be that way? What is the significance?

Observe/Annotate

Who/What/When/Where/Why/How/Does/

Should/Could…etc.

Set up a series of questions…

Start with observation/comprehensi

on/detail

Then move to implication

Then move to larger significance

Shifting observations into questions: Example 2

(Observation & Annotation) “his face was like a child’s, set upon a massive body”

(Creating a set of questions) What does it mean for one’s face to be like a “child’s”? What is the significance of the contrast between the child’s face and the massive body? What kind of character do we imagine this person to be?

Practice Turn to page 3. Read last paragraph

starting with “How can I explain…”

Observe, Annotate, & Formulate a set of questions on two of those annotations.

Questions

Answering questions

What does it mean to be “once” well muscled? Why would the character be that way? What is the significance?

Once well-muscled suggests that the illustrated man used to be strong/powerful in the past. The emphasis on “once”, shows that this strength has changed and now he is not as muscular. The passage of time reflects the arduous and difficult journey he has been on. If we take into account that Bradbury is writing this around the late 1940s and published in 1950, then we might also assume that World War II has just ended (1945) and that men (once muscled) are returning home from war looking for work and looking for their next path in life (especially after seeing the devastation and terror of the war).

Your Turn!

In Groups—Continuing to close read

Get into 5 groups—(6-7 people per group)

As a group, select a story to perform a close reading on. Collect your main observations & discuss important places

that you have annotated/marked in the text. (GROUP DISCUSSION)

Then, take the most fascinating/interesting observation in the story and craft a set of questions around it.

Prepare to present (Short intro/summary of the story, a quick run down of what your group observed/noted, and your questions for us)

15 minutes as a group

Blog set up Wordpress.com

Homework Tuesday, Sept. 3

Finish setting up your own blog site (come to my office hours next week if you are having difficulty)

Read: “The Long Rain,” “The Rocket Man,” “Fire Balloons,” “The Last Night of the World,” “The Exiles,” “No Particular Night or Morning,” “The Fox and the Forrest,” and “The Visitor”. (pgs. 78-208).

Observe, Annotate, & Write up a set of questions for 4 of the stories. Answer 2 of those questions in a formal response. Questions & Answers TYPED—Bring printed copy to class. Upload the write up to your blog for practice.

Read: http://www.fastcompany.com/3012521/unplug/baratunde-thurston-leaves-the-internet?utm_source=twitter (Annotate & be ready to discuss)