Unit 2 Reading Focus Essays

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Unit 2Reading Focus Essays
Collection 4 Making Generalizations Collection
5 Strategies for Understanding
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Making Generalizations
When you attend a football game or shop at the
mall . . .
. . . you usually observe the people around you.
You look at their clothes and notice their
behavior.
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Making Generalizations
Based on these observations, you might make
generalizationsbroad conclusions drawn from
specific cluesabout these people.
She likes sports.
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Making Generalizations
We also make generalizations when we read
literature.

• We notice specific clues in the text.

• Then, we reach broad conclusions about the
  authors message, theme, or purpose for writing.

The more text we read and the more clues we
observe, the more accurate our generalizations
will be.
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Making Generalizations
Heres how the generalization process works
Note specific clues the author gives
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• repetition of words and phrases
• related ideas, examples, or illustrations
• direct statements

Combine the clues to make a generalization about
the authors message.
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Making Generalizations
Apply the generalization process as you read the
following passage from Thoreaus Walden.
Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest
man has hardly need to count more than his ten
fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten
toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity,
simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or
three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead
of a million count half a dozen, and keep your
accounts on your thumbnail. . . . Instead of
three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but
one instead of a hundred dishes, five and
reduce other things in proportion.
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Making Generalizations
Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest
man has hardly need to count more than his ten
fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten
toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity,
simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or
three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead
of a million count half a dozen, and keep your
accounts on your thumbnail. . . . Instead of
three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but
one instead of a hundred dishes, five and
reduce other things in proportion.
Step 1. Notice clues.
has hardly need to count
What examples and illustrations does Thoreau use?
more than his ten fingers
What do these examples and illustrations show?
They show how to simplify.
meals a day, if it
be necessary eat but one
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Making Generalizations
Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest
man has hardly need to count more than his ten
fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten
toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity,
simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or
three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead
of a million count half a dozen, and keep your
accounts on your thumbnail. . . . Instead of
three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but
one instead of a hundred dishes, five and
reduce other things in proportion.
Step 1. Notice clues.
What word is repeated?
Simplicity,
What point does this repetition emphasize?
simplicity, simplicity!
the importance of keeping things simple
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Making Generalizations
Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest
man has hardly need to count more than his ten
fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten
toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity,
simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or
three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead
of a million count half a dozen, and keep your
accounts on your thumbnail. . . . Instead of
three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but
one instead of a hundred dishes, five and
reduce other things in proportion.
Step 1. Notice clues.
Find one direct statement Thoreau uses to
instruct people.
let your
affairs be as two or three, and not a
What does he mean by this statement?
hundred or a thousand
Do not schedule too many activities and
obligations in your life.
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Making Generalizations
Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest
man has hardly need to count more than his ten
fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten
toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity,
simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or
three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead
of a million count half a dozen, and keep your
accounts on your thumbnail. . . . Instead of
three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but
one instead of a hundred dishes, five and
reduce other things in proportion.
Step 2. Combine clues to generalize.
has hardly need to count
more than his ten fingers
What generalization can you make about Thoreaus
message?
Simplicity,
let your
simplicity, simplicity!
affairs be as two or three, and not a
He is urging the reader to simplify life by
reducing the number of details and choices that
are encountered daily.
hundred or a thousand
meals a day, if it
be necessary eat but one
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Making Generalizations
Your Turn
Read the passage from Walden that appears on the
following two slides. Apply the strategy you have
learned in this presentation. Note Thoreaus
repeated words or phrases related ideas,
examples, or illustrations and direct
statements. These will help you make a
generalization about his feelings toward the
railroads.
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Making Generalizations
Your Turn
We do not ride on the railroad it rides upon us.
Did you ever think what those sleepers are that
underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an
Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on
them, and they are covered with sand, and the
cars run smoothly over them. They are sound
sleepers, I assure you. And every few years a new
lot is laid down and run over so that, if some
have the pleasure of riding on a rail, others
have the misfortune to be ridden upon.
Continued on next slide
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Making Generalizations
Your Turn
And when they run over a man that is walking in
his sleep, a supernumerary1 sleeper in the wrong
position, and wake him up, they suddenly stop the
cars, and make a hue and cry about it, as if this
were an exception. I am glad to know that it
takes a gang of men for every five miles to keep
the sleepers down and level in their beds as it
is, for this is a sign that they may sometime get
up again.
1. supernumerary additional unnecessary.
End of Section
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Strategies for Understanding
Edgar Allan Poes writing is much like a Gothic
mansion a mix of dramatic features, complicated
structures, and fantastic details.
Edgar Allan Poe
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Strategies for Understanding
Poes ornate style is ideally suited to exploring
the dark and winding paths of the human mind.
At the same time, such deep and complex writing
can sometimes present challenges to the reader.
You may need some tips to help you understand
difficult words and sentences in a text.
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Strategies for Understanding
Breaking Down the Text
The Fall of the House of Usher, is full of rich
language and specific allusions.
Whenever you encounter an unfamiliar word or
allusion, try one of these strategies
Check for a vocabulary definition or footnote in
the textbook.

Look up the word in a reference source.

Use context clues to determine the meaning.

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Strategies for Understanding
Breaking Down the Text
Another challenging element is Poes use of
complex sentences structures.
When you come across a complicated sentence, use
these steps to break it down piece by piece.
Locate the main subject and the main verb.
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Identify any objects of the verb.
2
Identify phrases and modifiers and determine how
they function in the sentence.
3
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Strategies for Understanding
The following sentence from The Fall of the
House of Usher has an unusual structure and
includes a word that may be unfamiliar.
Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now
proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks.
To understand this sentence better, apply the
strategies for breaking down the text.
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Strategies for Understanding
First, notice the challenging word sojourn.
How can you find out the meaning of sojourn?
Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now
proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks.
Look for a definition in the textbook, check a
dictionary, or use context clues.
sojourn (SOH jurn) n. a brief stay or visit.
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Strategies for Understanding
Now examine the sentence structure.
Identify the subject and the verb.
Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now
proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks.
I proposed
Identify the direct object of the verb proposed.
sojourn
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Strategies for Understanding
Now examine the sentence structure.
The basic sentence is I proposed a sojourn.
Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now
proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks.
What does the phrase shown in orange modify?
sojourn
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Strategies for Understanding
Now examine the sentence structure.
Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now
proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks.
How might you restate the sentence in a simpler
form?
Nevertheless, I considered staying a few weeks in
this gloomy mansion.
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Strategies for Understanding
Unraveling the Meaning
With some of Poes longer sentences, figuring out
the overall meaning can be a challenge.
For long sentences like the one below, apply the
strategies for breaking down the text, and then
put all the pieces together to unravel the
meaning.
Having deposited our mournful burden upon
tressels within this region of horror, we
partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of
the coffin, and looked upon the face of the
tenant.
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Strategies for Understanding
First determine the meanings of any unfamiliar
words.
What context clues help you figure out what the
mournful burden is?
Having deposited our mournful burden upon
tressels within this region of horror, we
partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of
the coffin, and looked upon the face of the
tenant.
horror
coffin
What is it?
tenant
a coffin with a corpse in it
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Strategies for Understanding
First determine the meanings of any unfamiliar
words.
What context clues help you guess the meaning of
the word tressels?
Having deposited our mournful burden upon
tressels within this region of horror, we
partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of
the coffin, and looked upon the face of the
tenant.
deposited
upon
coffin
What are tressels?
probably some kind of stand for a coffin
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Strategies for Understanding
Now break the sentence down into its essential
parts.
What is the subject?
Having deposited our mournful burden upon
tressels within this region of horror, we
partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of
the coffin, and looked upon the face of the
tenant.
we
What is the verb? (Note The sentence has a
compound verb.)
turned, looked
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Strategies for Understanding
Now break the sentence down into its essential
parts.
Basic sentence We turned and looked.
Having deposited our mournful burden upon
tressels within this region of horror, we
partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of
the coffin, and looked upon the face of the
tenant.
Study the phrase in orange. What words does it
modify?
turned, looked
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Strategies for Understanding
Now break the sentence down into its essential
parts.
Basic sentence We turned and looked.
Having deposited our mournful burden upon
tressels within this region of horror, we
partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of
the coffin, and looked upon the face of the
tenant.
What is the direct object of the verb turned?
lid
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Strategies for Understanding
Unravel the meaning.
State the meaning of the sentence in your own
words.
Having deposited our mournful burden upon
tressels within this region of horror, we
partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of
the coffin, and looked upon the face of the
tenant.
After we placed the coffin on the stand, we
opened the lid and looked at the corpses face.
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Strategies for Understanding
Your Turn
Using the suggestions in this presentation,
rewrite the following sentences to make them
simpler to read and understand. If necessary,
look up any unfamiliar words.

1. Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a
   dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of
   the building.
2. To an anomalous species of terror I found him a
   bounden slave.

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The End