how do you analyze effectively?

For this final Connect module, we'll be breaking down ideas and analyzing deeply. Analysis means, by definition, to break something down into its constituent parts - and that's just what we'll be practicing this week!

Module summary:

• be exposed: learn about marginalia annotation
• practice: read an article to practice marginalia and analysis
• create: analyze a long form article in a blog post
• reflect: conference with Christine about your process and progress

Marginalia: the art of intense note-taking!

---

essential questions

1. How do we adapt our communication skills to fulfill an intended purpose?
2. How does the revision process strengthen our writing?
3. How can electronic publishing change the way we share ideas?
4. Why does close reading matter?

goals

1. Students will understand that we adapt our communication based on purpose or context through our word choice, voice, and sentence and paragraph structure.
2. ​Students will understand that revision strengthens writing by being critical, looking for holes in the story, and ensuring ideas are expressed clearly.
3. Students will understand that electronic publishing gives us a plethora of sources to link to our work, allowing us to make deeper and more creative connections between ideas - but that it also opens us to an uncontrolled audience, so we must be careful in how we present our ideas.
4. Students will understand that close reading hones our critical thinking skills and helps us comprehend ideas better and make deeper connections.

activities

INTRODUCE

• Complete warm up: watch news video (choose four clips to watch)
  • Write an informative paragraph summarizing and synthesizing all of the stories presented
• Review syllabus and module expectations with Christine

EXPOSE

• Read "On Marginalia" article
  • Annotate with marginalia and highlight five key takeaways
  • Write an informative paragraph summarizing key points or a persuasive paragraph that agrees or disagrees with the approach
  • If you don't like marginalia approach to note-taking, Google an alternate approach you like better
• Discuss article and note taking strategies with Christine

PRACTICE

• Read "Students Sue for Civics" article
  • Annotate intentionally (not just highlighting)
  • Take quiz
  • Discuss article and questions with Christine

CREATE

• Choose an article from www.longform.org that interests you
  • Run your choice by Christine before you start reading
  • Read and annotate intentionally

• Analyze article in a blog post:
  • Summarize the key points of the article
  • Respond with your perspective, supporting or challenging the issue
  • (Remember blog format: short paragraphs, front loaded sentences)

REFLECT

• Conference with Christine about blog post draft
• Revise response as needed

c-tachs

Writing

• Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through effective selection, organization, and analysis of content
• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in flexible and dynamic ways (open to feedback, link to other information)
• Gather relevant information for multiple print and digital sources; assessing the credibility and accuracy of each source; quote and paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism; use a standard form for citation

Reading

• Read and comprehend complex literature and informational text independently, accurately and for deep understanding 

Language

• Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar when speaking and writing
• Demonstrate command of standard capitalization and punctuation
• Spell correctly
• Determine meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases 
• Acquire and use content specific vocabulary   

​Speaking and Listening

• Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
• Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning and style used
• Present information, findings and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective
• Make strategic use of digital media in oral presentations
• Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English

resources

Senior Analysis syllabus