‘My New Look’

We’re going to read and annotate this together today. You’ll need a pen (or pencil).

First, absorb the text

• I’m going to read this text to you
• Please read along with me and annotate your copy of the text

Annotation

• What kind of marks did you make on your paper?
• What was the first thing you annotated?
• What were you looking for as your read through the text?
• Which parts of the text seem most important?
• Did you write any comments? If so, what did you say?

Let’s go back and take a closer look...

Find a partner, sit down together, and put your annotated texts on the table in front of you

Step 1: Vocabulary

What do you do when you encounter an unfamiliar word?

Vocabulary

• Circle any unfamiliar words or phrases.
• Look up the definition of those words or phrase.
• Simplify those definitions or find a synonym and write them on your paper.

Step 2: Whose Text Is It?

What do you learn about the person doing the speaking/writing?

The Speaker

• Who is the author? Write what you remember about him next to his name.
• Now, refine it. What does he reveal about himself? What seems relevant to this text? Highlight or underline that information on your copy.

Step 3: The Context

When and where did this text happen?

The Context

• When and where was this text “delivered”? (printed, published, spoken, presented, delivered, etc.)
• What is the time period being discussed?

Step 4: What Motivated or Prompted this?

Why does this text exist?

The Motivation (what prompted the text)

• Why does this text exist? Why does the author want to say this? What is motivating him to make these statements?
• Underline anything that explains the author’s motivation in the text. Put a letter “M” next to those lines and write a note to yourself: how does this line explain his motivation?

Step 5: Audience

Who is he talking to?

The Audience

• Who do you think this text is for? Saying “Anybody who hears or reads it” is not an acceptable answer!
• A good text always tries to reach a specific audience.
• What language is this text? Who reads this newspaper? Where do they live? Who might care about or be impacted by this text? Who might have appropriate experiences to relate to the text? Highlight or underline parts of the text that target a specific audience.

Step 6: Put It All Together

What is this text?

Put It All Together

• Write out a description of this text on the back of the packet. You may do this in several sentences. Just be sure to describe who created this text, what motivated the person to create this text, where the text was first published or delivered and to whom, and what purpose the text is supposed to achieve.
• Once you have done all of that, try to fit all of that information into a single sentence.