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Reading for Meaning
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Reading for meaning
Select a book to read.
This presentation will help you:
practise identifying and sequencing (putting in
the right order) the main events in a story.
to engage with a story.
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Here are some guidelines :
Select a book you haven’t read before.
Choose carefully: once you start you
must stick with it.
It will help if it has plenty of characters, dialogue
and action.
It needs chapters which are not too long.
Sometimes you will need to be able to read one
and write about it in one lesson.
Choosing a book
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You will also need to keep a
reading log.
You should record your
thoughts, feelings, questions,
speculations etc. in this log as
you read each chapter of your
book.
The record should reflect your
emerging understanding of the
book you are reading.
Reading log
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Chapter one
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Characters
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Reading on
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Is your book written by a character in the story (the 1st
person: “I thought this. I did that.”)?
Or is it written by a narrator (the 3rd person “He thought
this. She did that.”)?
Narrative perspective
Decide on the narrative perspective of these two extracts:
I find people confusing.
This is for two main reasons.
The first main reason is that people do a lot of talking without
using any words. From the curious incident of the dog in the night-time © Mark Haddon, 2003
George’s hand remained outstretched imperiously. Slowly, like a
terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball back to his master, Lennie
approached, drew back, approached again. From Of Mice and Men © John Steinbeck, 1965
1st
3rd
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Narrative perspective
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As we become more mature in our reading we begin to
judge the characters and the person telling the story.
You don’t have to agree with what a character thinks,
feels or does.
Even if they did, that wouldn’t mean that YOU had to. Not everything in a book is a fact. They are full of people’s
opinions. You must be prepared for these.
Narrators don’t have to agree with everything the
characters they are writing about, feel or think.
Judging what we read
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Sometimes authors don’t mean what they say. In fact,
sometimes they mean the exact opposite. A crude form of
this is sarcasm. Irony is the same type of thing but much
subtler. It is often rather funny.
A really famous example is the
opening line of Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice. This is what
she says:
Irony
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a
single man in possession of a good fortune, must
be in want of a wife.
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She appears to be saying that everybody knows that
any bachelor who has a lot of money MUST be
looking for a woman to marry.
But, as we read the story we learn that
these words are spoken ironically.
They aren’t really Austen’s opinions.
She is paraphrasing the thought
processes of a rather silly woman who
has several daughters she would like to
marry off to a rather rich man who is
visiting her neighbourhood!
Irony
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Stories tell us of events that happen, usually to people
but sometimes to animals.
Often they have a message or something they want to
explore or think about.
We call this the theme.
Theme
What do you think the theme of the book you’re
reading is?
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Remember the story of the race between the hare and
the tortoise?
Theme
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The hare became over-confident because he thought
he would win easily. So, he kept stopping. In the end,
the tortoise won.
The story has a theme.
What do you think it was?
It is that perseverance can lead to success.
Theme
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Love is a popular theme. Writers often try to show different
types of love.
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird shows the love that can
exist between parents and children.
Barry Hines’ Kes examines the love that a person can feel
for an animal.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet looks at love between
young people.
In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare looks at love
between two people approaching middle age.
Theme
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Theme
As a class you will now need to find out what the themes,
ideas and values are in each other’s books.
Then form a group with others whose books dealt with
similar themes. For example, those whose theme is love
should work together. As a group compare the different
ways different writers have dealt with the theme.
Prepare a statement from your group about the different
things different writers have said and thought about your
theme.
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Careful readers do not just sit back and let
the story flow over them.
They:
think about what they are reading
make deductions
consider the attitudes expressed by the
author and the characters
watch out for irony
compare how different writers approach
the same themes and subjects.
To sum up
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