Развитие медленного чтения (close reading)։ идеи для уроков
Что такое close reading?
Close reading – это метод литературного анализа, предполагающий внимательное и критическое чтение текста, фокусирование на важных деталях с целью раскрытия, понимания и истолкования значения текста. Студенты читают текст больше одного раза, чтобы понять его более глубокий мысль. Метод позволяет разобрать структуру текста и поэтапно проникнуть в его смысл, анализируя каждое слово, его взаимодействие с другими выражениями, и причину, по которой автор включил его в текст. Использование метода «Close reading» позволило выявить смысл художественного произведения на основе анализа слов и художественных оборотов, проследить, как исторический контекст сказывается на восприятии текста. Кроме того, освоив этот метод, студенты могут выделить смысл в политической речи, в газетной статье, рекламе и объявлении, в научной работе, в документах; студентам легче создать свое произведение или научную работу, легче сдать международные тесты на знание языка
С чего начать?
Ниже предлагаем несколько упражнений на развитие у ученика навыка медленного, внимательного чтения.
Традиционно данный метод включает пять стадий :
Выберите один или два параграфа, которые для учеников будут сложно читаемыми. Скажите им, что они прочитают текст или отрывок три раза. Для каждого раза будет определенная цель. Например:
Read the text. What is its main idea? How much information have you understood?
Read the text again and pay attention to the key words and phrases (don’t write anything).
Read the text for the third time and make notes about what you’ve read.
После выполнения этих трех задач, разбейте учеников на пары, попросите прочитать друг для друга свои заметки и на их основе восстановить прочитанный текст.
В конце ученики сравнивают исходник со своим текстом. Пусть они опишут, чем эти два текста отличаются и чем похожи. Обсудите, какие выводы они могут сделать из этого сравнения.
В этом упражнении ученик читает текст три раза, во время которого «копается» в тексте самостоятельно и отмечает интересные идеи и главную мысль.
Выберите короткий текст, в котором обсуждаются новые идеи и дайте ученика. Попросите его прочитать текст один раз и аннотировать его: подчеркнуть важные и непонятные места или писать заметки на полях (больше о техниках ведения заметок читайте в данной статье ). Этот процесс помогает читателю отслеживать идеи и вопросы и поддерживает более глубокое понимание текста.
После этого попросите ученика прочитать текст по одному абзацу и попробовать перефразировать их своими словами.
Ученик читает текст еще раз и в конце отвечает на эти вопросы: What is the text about? How does the author communicate the main idea?
Отвечая на эти вопросы, ученик может начать делать выводы о тексте. Попросите ему посмотреть структуру текста, а также начать думать, как идеи в тексте связаны друг с другом.
После он читает текст в третий раз и уже фокусируется на смысл текста։ What does the text mean? Этот анализ поможет выявить цель автора и сделать выводы о его идеях и смысла. Чтобы помочь ученику, задайте наводящие вопросы:
Why did the author write this article?
What does the author want us to think about?
What does the central or ‘big’ idea in this article mean in our world?
Чтобы помочь ученику ответить на конкретные вопросы и проанализировать текст, используйте слова из прочитанного отрывка. Выберите отрывок, придумайте вопросы и раздайте ученикам. Пусть они в первый раз просто прочтут его, а во второй раз прочитав отрывок, подчеркнут те слова, которые по их мнению помогут ответить на заданные вопросы.
После этого ученики работают в группах и делятся друг с другом со своими ключевыми словами. Каждая группа создает список своих слов и разделяет их на категории: keep, trash или cloud (not sure yet). Чтобы предложенное слово включить в список необходимой лексики «keep», группа обсуждает, насколько это слово поможет в ответе на вопрос. После того, как «решается судьба» слова, он попадает в один из этих категорий. Аргументация, почему слово должно быть сохранено или отвергнуто, помогает студентам обдумать основной вопрос.
После того, как группа решает окончательно, какие слова остаются, они формируют ответ на вопрос, основываясь на ключевых словах.
Для того, чтобы помочь ученикам научится глубже думать о том, что они читают, используйте подсказки в виде вопросов. Заранее приготовьте наводящие вопросы и раздайте ученикам. Например,
Попросите студентов разделить лист бумаги на две столбика. После чтения текста в первом столбце ученики отвечают на заданные вопросы из первой столбцы. После того, как они прочтут текст во второй раз, они пишут более уточненные ответы на вопросы во втором столбце.
После выполнения задания, разделите учеников на небольшие группы и попросите сравнить ответы.
Эта стратегия позволит ученикам развивать навыки внимательного чтения с помощью изучения одной части текста, чтобы понять его идеи в целом.
Выберите отрывок из текста и раздайте ученикам. Пусть они прочитают и подчеркнут те строки, которые кажутся более провокационными, интригующими и загадочными.
После они пишут на этой же бумаге, почему подчеркнули именно эти строки, что вызвала у них сомнения или сложности. Ученики должны обменяться листами с мнением об отрывке и вопросами со своим одноклассником, сидящим рядом.
Получив бумагу другого ученика, студенты читают отрывок, особое внимание уделяя на подчеркнутые части. После они читают мнение и вопрос на этой бумаге и пишут свой ответ на написанный вопрос и мнение, а также добавляют свое мнение об этом отрывке. Сделав это, они пишет новый вопрос и передают бумагу следующему ученику.
Повторите эти действия три-четыре раза. После этого задайте ученикам вопросы для устного обсуждения, например:
What do you think the passage is saying?
What do you agree or disagree with in the passage?
What questions do you have about the text from which this passage is taken?
What do you want to find out from it?
Изучение короткого отрывка текста, дает ученикам концептуальную основу для понимания более крупного текста и помогает им установить цель для чтения.
close reading
Смотреть что такое «close reading» в других словарях:
Close reading — Part of a series on Reading … Wikipedia
Close Reading — In der Literaturwissenschaft bezeichnet close reading die sorgfältige Interpretation einer Textpassage. Solch eine Vorgehensweise legt großen Wert auf das Spezielle im Vergleich zum Allgemeinen, achtet genau auf einzelne Wörter, Syntax und die… … Deutsch Wikipedia
close reading — “ noun : detailed and careful analysis of a written work; also : the product of such analysis … Useful english dictionary
Reading education in the United States — For other uses, see Reading (disambiguation). Part of a series on Reading … Wikipedia
reading — noun 1 sth you can read ADJECTIVE ▪ compelling, compulsive, fascinating, good, interesting ▪ worthwhile ▪ The book is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in the Industrial Revolution … Collocations dictionary
Reading Like a Writer — infobox Book | name = Reading Like a Writer title orig = translator = image caption = Cover of the first edition author = Francine Prose illustrator = cover artist = Roberto de Viqde Cumptich country = United States language = English series =… … Wikipedia
reading — read|ing W2 [ˈri:dıŋ] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(activity/skill)¦ 2¦(books)¦ 3¦(act of reading)¦ 4¦(understanding)¦ 5¦(to a group)¦ 6 make (for) interesting/fascinating/compelling etc reading 7¦(measurement)¦ 8¦(in parliament)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1.) … Dictionary of contemporary English
Reading education — is the process by which individuals are taught to derive meaning from text.Government funded scientific research on reading and reading instruction began in the U.S. in the 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s, researchers began publishing findings… … Wikipedia
Reading School — Motto Floreat Redingensis Established 1125 (refounded in 1486) Type Academy School Rel … Wikipedia
close reading
Смотреть что такое «close reading» в других словарях:
Close reading — Part of a series on Reading … Wikipedia
Close Reading — In der Literaturwissenschaft bezeichnet close reading die sorgfältige Interpretation einer Textpassage. Solch eine Vorgehensweise legt großen Wert auf das Spezielle im Vergleich zum Allgemeinen, achtet genau auf einzelne Wörter, Syntax und die… … Deutsch Wikipedia
close reading — “ noun : detailed and careful analysis of a written work; also : the product of such analysis … Useful english dictionary
Reading education in the United States — For other uses, see Reading (disambiguation). Part of a series on Reading … Wikipedia
reading — noun 1 sth you can read ADJECTIVE ▪ compelling, compulsive, fascinating, good, interesting ▪ worthwhile ▪ The book is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in the Industrial Revolution … Collocations dictionary
Reading Like a Writer — infobox Book | name = Reading Like a Writer title orig = translator = image caption = Cover of the first edition author = Francine Prose illustrator = cover artist = Roberto de Viqde Cumptich country = United States language = English series =… … Wikipedia
reading — read|ing W2 [ˈri:dıŋ] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(activity/skill)¦ 2¦(books)¦ 3¦(act of reading)¦ 4¦(understanding)¦ 5¦(to a group)¦ 6 make (for) interesting/fascinating/compelling etc reading 7¦(measurement)¦ 8¦(in parliament)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1.) … Dictionary of contemporary English
Reading education — is the process by which individuals are taught to derive meaning from text.Government funded scientific research on reading and reading instruction began in the U.S. in the 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s, researchers began publishing findings… … Wikipedia
Reading School — Motto Floreat Redingensis Established 1125 (refounded in 1486) Type Academy School Rel … Wikipedia
What is close reading?
September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson
a brief guide to advanced reading skills
Close reading – explained
1. Close reading is the most important skill you need for any form of literary studies. It means paying especially close attention to what is printed on the page. It is a much more subtle and complex process than the term might suggest.
2. Close reading means not only reading and understanding the meanings of the individual printed words; it also involves making yourself sensitive to all the nuances and connotations of a language as it is used by skilled writers.
3. This can mean anything from a work’s particular vocabulary, sentence construction, and imagery, to the themes that are being dealt with, the way in which the story is being told, and the view of the world that it offers. It involves almost everything from the smallest linguistic items to the largest issues of literary understanding and judgement.
4. Close reading can be seen as four separate levels of attention which we can bring to the text. Most normal people read without being aware of them, and employ all four simultaneously. The four levels or types of reading become progressively more complex.
5. Close reading is not a skill which can be developed to a sophisticated extent overnight. It requires a lot of practice in the various linguistic and literary disciplines involved – and it requires that you do a lot of reading. The good news is that most people already possess the skills required. They have acquired them automatically through being able to read – even though they haven’t been conscious of doing so.
This is rather like many other things which we learn unconsciously. After all, you don’t need to know the names of your leg muscles in order to walk down the street.
Studying Fiction is an introduction to the basic concepts and technical terms you need when making a study of stories and novels. It shows you how to understand literary analysis by explaining its elements one at a time, then showing them at work in short stories which are reproduced as part of the book. Topics covered include – setting, characters, story, point of view, symbolism, narrators, theme, construction, metaphors, irony, prose style, tone, close reading, and interpretation. The book also contains self-assessment exercises, so you can check your understanding of each topic. It was written by the same author as the guidance notes on this page that you are reading right now.
6. The four types of reading also represent increasingly complex and sophisticated phases in our scrutiny of the text.
7. The first and second of these stages are the sorts of activity designated as ‘Beginners’ level; the third takes us to ‘Intermediate’; and the fourth to ‘Advanced’ and beyond.
8. One of the first things you need to acquire for serious literary study is a knowledge of the vocabulary, the technical language, indeed the jargon in which literature is discussed. You need to acquaint yourself with the technical vocabulary of the discipline and then go on to study how its parts work.
9. What follows is a short list of features you might keep in mind whilst reading. They should give you ideas of what to look for. It is just a prompt to help you get under way.
Close reading – Checklist
Close reading – Example
10. Now here’s an example of close reading in action. The short passage which follows comes from the famous opening to Charles Dickens‘ Bleak House.
11. If you would like to treat this as an interactive exercise, read the passage through a number of times. Make notes, and write down all you can say about what goes to make up its literary ‘quality’. That is, you should scrutinise the passage as closely as possible, name its parts, and say what devices the author is using. Don’t be afraid to list even the most obvious points.
12. If you are not really sure what all this means however, allow yourself a brief glance ahead at the first couple of discussion notes which follow, and then come back to carry on making notes of your own.
13. Don’t worry if you are not sure what name to give to any feature you notice. You will see the technical vocabulary being used in the discussion notes which follow, and this should help you pick up this skill as we go along.
London. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets, as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill. Smoke lowering down from chimney pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full grown snowflakes – gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun.
Close reading
14. This is the sort of writing which many people, asked for their first impressions, would say was very ‘descriptive’. But if you looked at it closely enough you will have seen that it is imaginative rather than descriptive. It doesn’t ‘describe what is there’ – but it invents images and impressions. There is as much “it was as if …” material in the extract as there is anything descriptive. What follows is a close reading of the extract, with comments listed in the order that they appear in the extract.
London
This is an abrupt and astonishingly short ‘sentence’ with which to start a six hundred page novel. In fact technically, it is grammatically incomplete, because it does not have a verb or an object. It somehow implies the meaning ‘The scene is London.’
Sentence construction
In fact each of the first four sentences here are ‘incomplete’ in this sense. Dickens is taking liberties with conventional grammar – and obviously he is writing for a literate and fairly sophisticated readership.
Sentence length
These four sentences vary from one word to forty-three words in length. This helps to create entertaining variation and robust flexibility in his prose style.
Michaelmas Term
There are several names (proper nouns) in these sentences, all signalled by capital letters (London, Michaelmas Term, Lord Chancellor, Lincoln’s Inn Hall, November, Holborn Hill). This helps to create the very credible and realistic world Dickens presents in his fiction. We believe that this is the same London which we could visit today. The names also emphasise the very specific and concrete nature of the world he creates.
Michaelmas Term
This occurs in autumn. It comes from the language of the old universities (Oxford and Cambridge) which is shared by the legal profession and the Church.
Lord Chancellor sitting
Here ‘sitting’ is a present participle. The novel is being told in the present tense at this point, which is rather unusual. The effect is to give vividness and immediacy to the story. We are being persuaded that these events are taking place now.
Implacable
This is an unusual and very strong term to describe the weather. It means ‘that which cannot be appeased’. What it reflects is Dickens’s genius for making almost everything in his writing original, striking, and dramatic.
as if
This is the start of his extended simile comparing the muddy streets with the primeval world.
the waters
There is a slight Biblical echo here, which also fits neatly with the idea of an ancient world he is summoning up.
but newly and wonderful
These are slightly archaic expressions. We might normally expect ‘recently’ and ‘astonishing’ but Dickens is selecting his vocabulary to suit the subject – the prehistoric world. ‘Wonderful’ is being used in its original sense of – ‘something we wonder at’.
forty feet long or so
After the very specific ‘forty feet long’, the addition of ‘or so’ introduces a slightly conversational tone and a casual, almost comic effect.
waddling
This reinforces the humorous manner in which Dickens is presenting this Megalosaurus – and note the breadth of his vocabulary in naming the beast with such scientific precision.
like an elephantine lizard
This is another simile, announced by the word ‘like’. Here is Dickens’s skill with language yet again. He converts a ‘large’ noun (‘elephant’) into an adjective (‘elephantine’) and couples it to something which is usually small (‘lizard’) to describe, very appropriately it seems, his Megalosaurus.
up Holborn Hill
There is a distinct contrast, almost a shock here, in this abrupt transition from an imagined prehistoric world and its monsters to the ‘real’ world of Holborn in London.
lowering
This is another present participle, and an unusual verb. It means ‘to sink, descend, or slope downwards’. It comes from a rather ‘poetic’ verbal register, and it has a softness (there are no sharp or harsh sounds in it) which makes it very suitable for describing the movement of smoke.
soft black drizzle
He is comparing the dense smoke (from coal fires) with another form of particularly depressing atmosphere – a drizzle of rain. Notice how he goes on to elaborate the comparison.
as big as full grown snow flakes
The comparison becomes another simile: ‘as big as’. And then ‘full grown’ almost suggests that the snowflakes are human. This is a device much favoured by Dickens: it is called ‘anthropomorphism’ – attributing human qualities or characteristics to things which are themselves inanimate. Then ‘snowflakes’ is a well-observed comparison for an enlarged flake of soot, because they are of similar size and texture. Notice next how Dickens immediately goes on to play with the notion that whilst soot is black, snowflakes are white.
gone into mourning
This reinforces the anthropomorphism. The inanimate world is being brought to life. And of course ‘mourning’ reinforces the atmospheric gloom he is trying to evoke. It also introduces blackness (the colour of mourning) to explain how these snowflakes (actually flakes of soot) might have changed from white to black.
the death of the sun
This is why the flakes have changed colour. And if the sun has died the light and life it brings to earth have also been extinguished – which reinforces the atmosphere of pre-historic darkness he is creating.
15. We will stop at this point. It would in fact be possible to say even more about the extract if we were to relate it to the novel as a whole – but almost everything listed was accessible even if you were reading the passage for the first time.
16. Literary studies are not conducted in such detail all the time, but it is very important that you try to develop the skill of reading as closely as possible. It really is the foundation on which everything else is based.
17. The next point to make about such close reading is that it becomes easier if you get used to the idea of reading and re-reading. The Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov (famous for Lolita) once observed that “Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only re-read it”.
18. What he meant by this apparently contradictory remark is that the first time we read a book we are busy absorbing information, and we cannot appreciate all the subtle connexions there may be between its parts – because we don’t yet have the complete picture before us. Only when we read it for a second time (or even better, a third or fourth) are we in a position to assemble and compare the nuances of meaning and the significance of its details in relation to each other.
19. This is why the activity is called ‘close reading’. You should try to get used to the notion of reading and re-reading very carefully, scrupulously, and in great detail.
20. Finally, let’s try to dispel a common misconception. Many people ask, when they first come into contact with close reading: “Doesn’t analysing a piece of work in such detail spoil your enjoyment of it?” The answer to this question is “No – on the contrary – it should enhance it.” The simple fact is that we get more out of a piece of writing if we can appreciate all the subtleties and the intricacies which exist within it. Nabokov also suggested that “In reading, one should notice and fondle the details”.
Sample close reading of Katherine Mansfield’s The Voyage
Sample close reading of Virginia Woolf’s Monday or Tuesday
Close reading что это
by Grant Wiggins, Ed.D, Authentic Education
On May 26, 2015, Grant Wiggins passed away. Grant was tremendously influential on TeachThought’s approach to education, and we were lucky enough for him to contribute his content to our site. Occasionally, we are going to go back and re-share his most memorable posts. So today and tomorrow we’re going to share two of his posts on literacy, starting with what it means to ‘close read.’ Per his usual, Grant took a deep dive on the topic, with lots of great examples.
What is close reading? As I said in my previous blog post, whatever it is it differs from a personal response to the text.
Here is what the Common Core ELA Standards say:
Students who meet the Standards readily undertake the close, attentive reading that is at the heart of understanding and enjoying complex works of literature. (p. 3)
What Is The Meaning Of Close Reading?
Here is Anchor Standard 1:
Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. (p. 10)
Here is how Nancy Boyles in an excellent Educational Leadership article defines it: “Essentially, close reading means reading to uncover layers of meaning that lead to deep comprehension.”
Thus, what “close reading” really means in practice is disciplined re-reading of inherently complex and worthy texts. As Tim Shanahan puts it, “Because challenging texts do not give up their meanings easily, it is essential that readers re-read such texts,” while noting that “not all texts are worth close reading.”
The close = re-read + worthy assumption here is critical: we assume that a rich text simply cannot be understood and appreciated by a single read, no matter how skilled and motivated the reader.
The next five ELA anchor standards make this clearer: we could not possibly analyze these varied aspects of the text simultaneously:
College readiness and close reading. Since a key rationale for the Common Core Standards is college readiness, let’s have a look at how college professors define it. Here is what Penn State professor Sophia McClennen says at the start of her extremely helpful resource with tips on close reading:
“Reading closely” means developing a deep understanding and a precise interpretation of a literary passage that is based first and foremost on the words themselves. But a close reading does not stop there; rather, it embraces larger themes and ideas evoked and/or implied by the passage itself.
What Is The Goal Of Close Reading?
Here is how the Harvard Writing Center defines it:
When you close read, you observe facts and details about the text. You may focus on a particular passage, or on the text as a whole. Your aim may be to notice all striking features of the text, including rhetorical features, structural elements, cultural references; or, your aim may be to notice only selected features of the text—for instance, oppositions and correspondences, or particular historical references. Either way, making these observations constitutes the first step in the process of close reading.
The second step is interpreting your observations. What we’re basically talking about here is inductive reasoning: moving from the observation of particular facts and details to a conclusion, or interpretation, based on those observations. And, as with inductive reasoning, close reading requires careful gathering of data (your observations) and careful thinking about what these data add up to.
A University of Washington handout for students summarizes the aim of close reading as follows:
The goal of any close reading is the following:
Remember—when doing a close reading, the goal is to closely analyze the material and explain why details are significant. Therefore, close reading does not try to summarize the author’s main points, rather, it focuses on ‘picking apart’ and closely looking at the what the author makes his/her argument, why is it interesting, etc.
What Are Some Examples Of Close Reading Questions?
Here are a few of the helpful questions to consider in close reading, from the handout by Kip Wheeler, a college English professor:
II. Vocabulary and Diction:
III. Discerning Patterns:
Of note is that in all these college examples the focus is on close reading as a prelude to writing. This is an important heads-up for students: close reading invariably is a means to an end in college, where the aim is a carefully-argued work of original thought about the text(s). And, in fact, the second part of Anchor Standard #1 makes this link explicit: the expectation is that students will communicate the fruits of their close reading to others in written and oral forms.
Close Reading vs. Reader Response
A key assumption implicit in all these quotes as well as in the Common Core – a controversial one, perhaps – is thus what I briefly argued in the previous post: ‘close reading’ has implicit priority over ‘reader response’ views of the aim of literacy instruction. The reader’s primary obligation is to understand the text. That emphasis is clear from the anchor standards in the Common Core, as noted above: the goal is to understand what the author is doing and accomplishing, and what it means; the goal is not to respond personally to what the author is doing.
As I noted in my previous post, this does not mean, however, that we should ignore or try to bypass the reader’s responses, prior knowledge, or interests. On the contrary, reading cannot help but involve an inter-mingling of our experience and what the author says and perhaps means. But it does not follow from this fact that instruction should give equal weight to personal reactions to a text when the goal is close reading. On the contrary: we must constantly be alert to how and where our own prejudices (literally, pre-judging) may be interfering with meaning-making of the text.
Here is how the caution is cast in a college handout (ed note: the link is now broken and removed) on close reading for students:
One word of caution: context needs to be examined with care. Don’t assume that the context of your own class or gender or culture is informing you correctly. Read context as actively and as rigorously as you read text!
This is especially true when reading rich, unusual, and controversial writings. Our job is to suspend judgment as we read – and be wary of projecting our own prior experience.
Let me offer one of my favorite sections of text to illustrate the point – two early sections from Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil:
SUPPOSING that Truth is a woman–what then? Is there not ground for suspecting that all philosophers, in so far as they have been dogmatists, have failed to understand women–that the terrible seriousness and clumsy importunity with which they have usually paid their addresses to Truth, have been unskilled and unseemly methods for winning a woman?…
5. That which causes philosophers to be regarded half-distrustfully and half-mockingly, is not the oft-repeated discovery how innocent they are–how often and easily they make mistakes and lose their way, in short, how childish and childlike they are,–but that there is not enough honest dealing with them, whereas they all raise a loud and virtuous outcry when the problem of truthfulness is even hinted at in the remotest manner. They all pose as though their real opinions had been discovered and attained through the self-evolving of a cold, pure, divinely indifferent dialectic (in contrast to all sorts of mystics, who, fairer and foolisher, talk of “inspiration”), whereas, in fact, a prejudiced proposition, idea, or “suggestion,” which is generally their heart’s desire abstracted and refined, is defended by them with arguments sought out after the event. They are all advocates who do not wish to be regarded as such, generally astute defenders, also, of their prejudices, which they dub “truths,”–and VERY far from having the conscience which bravely admits this to itself, very far from having the good taste of the courage which goes so far as to let this be understood, perhaps to warn friend or foe, or in cheerful confidence and self-ridicule.
This is a classic close reading challenge: one has to read and re-read to make sense of things – even though all the words are familiar. And one has to put many prejudices and associations aside – about august philosophers, about scholarship, about “reason,” about truth and our motives in seeking it, about manhood! – to understand and appreciate what Nietzsche is driving at.
Examples Of Close Reading Questions
Oh, c’mon Grant: I teach little kids! No matter. The same close reading needs to be done with every Frog and Toad story. Let’s consider my favorite, “Spring.” Frog wants Toad to wake up from hibernation to play on a nice April spring day. Toad resists all entreaties to wake up and play. The climax of the story comes here:
“But, Toad,” cried Frog, “you will miss all the fun!”
“Listen, Frog” said Toad. “How long have I been asleep?”
“You have been asleep since November,” said Frog.
“Well then,” said Toad, “a little more sleep will not hurt me. Come back again and wake me up at about half past May. Good night, Frog.”
“But, Toad,’ said Frog, “I will be lonely until then.”
Toad did not answer. He had fallen asleep.
Frog looked at Toad’s calendar. The November page was still on top.
Frog tore off the November page.
He tore off the December page.
And the January page, the February page, and the March page.
He came to the April page. Frog tore off the April page too.
Then Frog ran back to Toad’s bed. “Toad, Toad, wake up. It is May now.”
“What?” said Toad. “Can it be May so soon?
“Yes,” said Frog. “Look at your calendar.”
Toad looked at the calendar. The May page was on top.
“Why, it is May!” said Toad as he climbed out of bed.
Then he and Frog ran outside to see how the world was looking in the Spring.
All sorts of interesting questions can re-raised here – all of which demand a close (re-) reading:
Notice that we could ask the following reader-response-like questions:
A. Have you ever been tricked like that, or tricked someone else? Why did you trick them or they trick you?
B. Do real friends trick friends? Is Frog really being a good friend here?
From my vantage point, however, in light of what we have said so far, the first question pair is less fruitful to consider – less ‘close’ – than the second pair. The first pair takes you away from the text; the second pair takes you right back to the text for a closer read.
The Openness Required In Close Reading
Close reading, then, requires openness to being taught. Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren in their seminal text How To Read A Book make this issue of openness quite explicit at the outset. When the goal is understanding (instead of enjoyment or information only), we must assume that there is something the writer grasps that we do not:
The writer is communicating something that can increase the reader’s understanding… What are the conditions under which this kind of reading – reading for understanding –takes place? There are two. First, there is an initial inequality in understanding. The writer must be “superior” to the reader in understanding…second, the reader must be able to overcome this inequality in some degree…To the extent that this equality is approached, clarity of communication is achieved.
In short, we can only learn from our “betters.” We must know who they are and how to learn from them. The person who possesses this sort of knowledge possesses the art of reading.
The essence of such open reading is active questioning of the text. As the authors say, the “one simple prescription is… Ask questions while you read – questions that you yourself must try to answer in the course of reading.”
Here are the four questions at the heart of the book:
What is the book about as a whole? You must try to discover the leading theme of the book, and how the author develops this theme in an orderly way…
What is being said in detail, and how? You must try to discover the main ideas, assertions, and arguments that constitute the author’s particular message.
Is the book true, in whole or in part? You cannot answer this question until you have answered the first two. You have to know what is being said before you can decide whether it is true or not. When you understand a book, however, you are obligated to make up your own mind. Knowing the author’s mind is not enough.
What of it? If the book has given you information, you must ask about its significance. Why does the author think it is important to know these things? Is it important to you to know them?
Note the caution: you shouldn’t jump to judging the merit or significance of the work before understanding it – a maxim of close reading.
The bulk of the book describes dozens of practical tips, with examples, for how to annotate texts and develop better habits of active reading in pursuit of the answers to these reader questions. I can heartily recommend How To Read a Book as one the best resources ever written for learning close reading. Hard to argue with the facts: written in 1940 and a longtime best-seller, it has had over 30 printings and is still used today.
Most importantly, to yours truly, How To Read a Book taught me how to read properly. It was in a brief skim of Adler’s book, while lounging in a friend’s dorm room when I was a junior at St. John’s College – the Great Books school – that I realized with a terrible shock that I had never really learned how to read actively and carefully up until that moment. The book changed my life: I became more skilled, confident, and willing as a reader; I went into teaching in part motivated by the simple yet powerful lessons taught me about the joys of reading and thinking in the book.
What St. John’s also taught me is the power of so-called Socratic Seminar – the way all of our classes were run – for learning close reading. Indeed, that’s all a good seminar is: a shared close reading of a complex text in which students propose emerging understandings, supported by textual evidence, with occasional reminders and re-direction by teacher-facilitators.
So, ELA and English teachers – and history, math, art, and science teachers too: let’s teach kids the joys that come from discerning the richness in a great text, be it Frog and Toad, Plato’s Apology, Euclid’s Elements, or Picasso’s Guernica. I think you’ll be surprised how much a wise text can teach and reach even the most unruly kid – and, in the end, make them feel wiser, too.
This post first appeared on Grant’s personal blog; image attribution flickr users katerha and deepcwind
