Close Reading Informational Text Title Discuss with your

Close Reading Informational Text

Title • Discuss with your group: • Does the title immediately influence what you are about to read, or does it, at the moment you begin your first reading, remain mysterious or vague?

Murder or Suicide? • Number each paragraph • Read the first two paragraphs. • Use a ? for any questions you have.

Circle Key Words and Phrases • Now, read the first two paragraphs again. • Circle any key words and phrases. • Which words stand out, and why? • Do any words likely carry multiple and/or ambiguous meanings? • Do repeated words carry the same meaning when repeated, or do they change? Words often gather or evolve in meaning when repeated. • Do particular words or phrases seem drawn to or connected with each other? These often add up so that a clearer sense of the poem emerges.

Define the words • Use the dictionary to define any words you did not know in the first two paragraphs. • Write the definitions on the page.

Things that Surprise you • Use an ! for anything that surprised you in the first two paragraphs. • Share with your table.

Main Idea • Underline main ideas in the first two paragraphs. • What is the main idea of the first two paragraphs?

Continue Reading • Let’s read the next paragraph. As we read, add questions, exclamation marks, underlining and circles as we go.

Continue Reading • Use an arrow when you make a connection. • Ask yourself: • Does this relate to something I read earlier in the article? • Does this relate to information I already knew (prior knowledge)?

Finish Reading the Article • Now, continue reading, using the strategies as you go. • When you finish, answer the following: • What is the main idea of the article? • List at least 3 details that support the main idea. • Write any connections you made to other texts you have read.