Not everyone sees it your way...

Literature can be interpreted in many different ways, and there isn't necessarily one correct format for writing a paper. When someone isn't doing it your way, that doesn't necessarily mean they are doing it wrong. Consider these pictures. Write down the first thing you see in each one. 

Article of the Week

The idea for the Article of the Week came from Kelly Gallagher, a teacher in California who realized his students lacked cultural literacy when one asked him about the guy Al Queda. His students began reading a current event article each week and writing a one-page analysis. We will do the same this year.

One of the most important skills we will learn this year is annotating (marking up the text as you read). We will practice this skill in class, and you can also check out this presentation from Ms. Ukleja. You must annotate in order to really engage with the text.

The following information will help guide your analysis:

Determine what topic you would like to address in your response and make a claim. Consider the guiding questions for ideas about what to focus on. What part is the most interesting or controversial to you? What did you want to know more about? What is your opinion on the topic?

Determine what the text says explicitly about that topic. Pull out all of the details related to your specific topic and summarize what the text says explicitly.

Choose specific textual evidence that supports your claim. Find facts or statements that prove your point and refer to them in your response.

Make inferences about what is stated in the article. Are there any implications or biases present? What do these facts or opinions mean in relation to other ideas? How might the ideas in the article impact other areas of life?

Determine where the text leaves matters uncertain. What doesn’t the text say? Is the author leaving out that information on purpose? Is there another side to the issue that isn’t being discussed? What questions do you have that weren’t answered in the article itself?

For a level 4 response, find another article (or a few) that adds more information to the claim you made or addresses issues not adequately covered in the article. For example, if you think the statistics cited by the author are not realistic, find other reliable sources that present data on the same topic. Read the new article and incorporate information from that article into your response. The new article should add new information or ideas that develop your claim. Cite the article internally in your response.

Your analysis will be assessed with the following standards-based scoring guide:

Common Core State Standard RI.1

4	Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it. Cite specific textual evidence from the article to support conclusions drawn from the text, and determine where the text leaves matters uncertain. Include evidence from other sources to support your claim or address issues not adequately covered in the article.
3	Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it. Cite specific textual evidence from the article to support conclusions drawn from the text, and determine where the text leaves matters uncertain.
2	Determine explicit meaning of the text without making meaningful, logical inferences and conclusions.
1	Draw unsupported or opinion-based conclusions.