Lesson 3 Close Reading

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Close Reading

After introducing myself as the new intern teacher, inform the students that you will be taking over the close reading lessons. 

You will build on the past two lessons they have already had on the skill. 

Lesdoel = practice CR and learn new concepts and how to apply them

Texts are a piece of evidence that help us to better understand society and culture. Various tools are necessary to analyse texts more carefully. Detective work or forensic work.

You need to develop skills of close reading.

In the next two years you are going to be shown a multitude of texts in many different forms and contexts.

Practicing close reading will help you to understand your own environment and cultures of the Anglophone world.

Do you remember the the communication cycle?

What is the message being the text and how it that conveyed?

Name students to explain what is meant by PURPOSE, STYLE & STRUCTURE and AUDIENCE (activation of prior knowledge)

Why do writers write – social political historical personal message – human creativity an intrinsic desire and need to tell stories

What choices do they make – genre, text type, purpose and literacy features

How do readers respond – context – time place and culture. Literary theory

Analytical tools

The big five models helps you to analyse texts. 

Today we will use the first three lenses to look at the text: audience & purpose, content & theme, and tone & mood.

- Ask students what is meant by content and theme.

- Ask students what is meant by tone and mood

IRF-sequence

Learning goals:

by the end of the lesson to have a better understanding of the analytic tools and how to use/apply them

It is very useful for Paper one, written tasks and individual oral commentary. This is the lens in which you look at texts and reveal the levels of understanding.

Audience and purpose – who wrote the text, who was it written for, why did the writer write it

Content and Theme – what is the text about

Tone and Mood – what is the writer’s tone how does the text make the reader feel.

Stylistic analysis – what devices does the writer use

Structure – what kind of text is it, what structural conventions are used.

Short intro to the short story:

- Summary in a few sentences: story about a couple who want to get each other a gift but struggle to make ends meet (struggle financially)

- The piece tells the story of a young married couple who each sell a cherished item in order to purchase a gift for the other.

- Video: start at 0:32

- Christmas connotations

- The gift of gift giving

ADD: the meaning of magi and the three kings

Content (& Theme)

Close Reading Focus
Characterization – The process an author uses to develop and create characters in a story.

• Direct characterization – Information that the author directly reveals about the character.

• Indirect characterization – Information revealed about a character through his/her actions, thoughts,

dialogue, or interaction with other characters. 

Directions – Closely read and annotate the passages from O. Henry’s short story, “The Gift of the Magi.” As you read, look for examples of indirect characterization that O. Henry uses to characterize Jim and Della. In the spaces provided, write a quote that shows the characterization and explain how O. Henry characterizes that particular character in the quote through the character’s actions or thoughts.

Storyline is known by students. Now focus on exact content by paying attention to characterization.

Read through directions together.

Write down your passage as I want to submit all your answers via Magister. All the passages/answers you write regarding the CR assignment upcoming weeks you will have to submit as you will be graded for it. From the 5 submissions, 4 will count for the final grade. Meaning you can mess up big time once, or not submit smt once. 

I will put the details on Magister for you. 

Passage 1

"Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim."

Ask if one of the students want to read the passage out loud (if not, name a student).

Give them time to read it again for themselves.

Question direct characterization? point out example

Question indirect characterization? point out example

"Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim."

orange = direct

blue = indirect

underlnie = suggest a theme

Passage 2

"The other was Della’s hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street."

Write an explanatory paragraph that describes how O. Henry uses indirect characterization to create Della. In your paragraph, be sure to include a topic sentence, quotes, and explanations.

"The other was Della’s hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street."

- Write an explanatory paragraph that describes how O. Henry uses indirect characterization to create Della. In your paragraph, be sure to include a topic sentence, quotes, and explanations.

Passage 2

10-15 minutes exercise

- Atleast 2 examples of direct and 2  examples of indirect characterizations of Della.

- Write an explanatory paragraph that describes how O. Henry uses indirect characterization to create Della. In your paragraph, be sure to include a topic sentence, quotes, and explanations.

- Name students to share their paragraph. Provide feedback and/or build on it, ask other students what they would add (5 minutes)

- Will have to be submitted via Magister

(Content &) Theme

What is the most prominent theme of "The Gift of the Magi"?

What is the text about?

What message is conveyed?

Theme – In a literary work, the theme is the central topic or message of the text.

• Usually, themes are not explicitly stated.

• The audience has to piece together the clues to discover the theme.

Interaction with the students: ask them to share their thoughts.

Probe them with below-written words.

Themes = 

Love.

But also generosity, selflessness, and poverty.

How does this shorty story make you feel?

Segue to Tone & Mood

Tone & Mood

Tone (& Mood)

"The Gift of the Magi":

...

As you now know what the text is about and have thought about how the text makes you feel, without close reading, how would you describe the author's tone? And what mood does it create?

- Causal relationship Tone/Mood

- Feeling created by Tone

- Let students choose terms to describe the term. Encourage them to also use their own words. 

- Write down their suggestions

The tone of "The Gift of the Magi" is rueful and affectionate. The outside narrator describes Della and Jim in positive terms.

(Tone &) Mood

How does the text make you feel? ** Do not focus on content **

How does the author use diction to put the reader in a certain mood?

Back to Mood, feelings of the readers/students

Quick look at feelings. They have to keep it in mind for the following close reading exercise.

"The “Dillingham” had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called “Jim” and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good."

"There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating."

Write an explanatory paragraph that identifies and explains O. Henry’s tone in his short story, “The Gift of the Magi.” In your paragraph, analyze how his choice of words creates the story’s tone. Be sure to include a topic sentence, quotations, and explanations in your paragraph.

Passage 3

10 - 15 minute exercise

- Name students to share their paragraph. Provide feedback and/or build on it, ask other students what they would add (5 minutes)

Audience & Purpose

Who is the text written for?

What is the purpose? What are the author's intentions? 

 

Audience:

Trigger prior knowledge regarding context and interpretation!

Christians? The poor? Couples? Or anyone?

- Ask the students what they think

Purpose:

to entertain, enlighten, persuade, inform, evaluate, define, instruct or explain?

To show that material possessions are not as important as true love.

Classic function of literature

- Literature imparts moral values to its readers

How to draw a conclusion on the moral value imparted?

Inductive vs Deductive

Related to the purpose of a text/literature

Lesson learned from close reading and using analytic tools

Trigger prior knowledge: Inductive vs Deductive

Ask students to come with premises to draw a conclusion from.

Lesson learned from "The Gift of the Magi":

Material possessions are not as important as true love.

"The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi."

Analyze this passage using the the various lenses discussed earlier; content & theme, tone & mood and audience & purpose

Final Passage

Assignment: 3 to 4 sentences for each lens

Answers will not be discussed; Will have to be submitted via Magister by 5 o'clock in the evening.

Analytic tools learned today:

- Audience & Purpose

- Content & Themes

- Tone & Mood

Round up lesson with quick repetition of the definitions. Involve students with recalling all the material. 

Inform which texts will be read the following week (students might want to read the whole short story before the class = "The Most Dangeroous Game")