Model Schools Conference
JUNE 28 – JULY 1, 2015
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
85: Close Reading: Text Drives Thinking
Tammy Ledenko
Director of Implementation, North
Literacy Solutions
Intervention Solutions Group
[email protected]
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fly Firoozeh Dumas
~1
Word!» and Phrases in Context
1. Why does the author describe her life
as "one long-running Oprah show"?
Support your answer with details from
paragraph 1.
I was lucky to have come to America years
before the political upheaval in Iran. The Americans
we encountered were kind and curious, unafraid to ask
questions and willing to listen. As soon as I spoke enough
English to communicate, I found myself being interviewed
nonstop by children and adults alike. My life became
Hyperbole is a way of describing
something by saying it is much
bigger, smaller, worse, etc., than it
actually is.
one long-running Oprah show, minus the free luxury
accommodations in Chicago, and Oprah.
,12 On the topic of Iran, American minds were tabulae rasae. Judging from
the questions asked, it was clear that most Americans in 1972 had never heard
Key Ideas and Details
of Iran. We did our best to educate. "You know Asia? Well, you go south at the
2. Why is the year 1972 significant
to the author? Identify evidence
in paragraph 2.
'
Soviet Union and there we are." Or we'd try to be more bucolic, mentioning being
south of the beautiful Caspian Sea, "where the famous caviar comes from." Most
people in Whittier did not know about the famous caviar and once we explained
what it was, they'd scrunch up their faces. "Fish eggs?" they would say. "Gross." We
tried mentioning our proximity to Afghanistan or Iraq, but it was no use. Having
exhausted our geographical clues, we would say, "You've heard of India, Japan, or
China? We're on the same continent."
Sarcasm involves saying the
opposite of what you really mean
in order to make an unkind joke or
to show that you are annoyed.
Words to Know
Oprah show (11) an influential daytime television show, featuring many stories and interviews
tabulae rasae: (11) clean slates; an absence of ideas (singular: tabula rasa)
Soviet Union: (n) a former country in Europe and Asia which broke up in the 1990s into smaller countries (like Russia)
Unit 4 I Coming to America
~3
None of the kids in Whittier, a city an hour outside of Los Angeles, ever asked
me about geography. They wanted to know about more important things, such as
camels. How many did we own hack home? What did we feed them? Was it a humpy
Ted
Structure
ride? I always disappointed them by admitting that I had never seen a camel in my
3. Why does the author ask three
questions in paragraph a? What
effect does this have?
Key Ideas and Details
4. Describe "two details about Iran that
Americans were mistaken about,
according to the author.
entire life. And as far as a ride goes, our Chevrolet was rather smooth. They reacted
as if I had told them that there really was a person in the Mickey Mouse costume.
~14
My family and I wondered why Americans had such a mistaken image of Iran.
We were offered a clue one day by a neighbor, who told us that he knew about Iran
because he had seen Lawrence o[Arabia. Whoever Lawrence was, we had never
heard of him, we said. My father then explained that Iranians arc an Indo-European
people; we are not Arabs. We do. however, have two things in common with Saudi
Writing
Arabia, he continued: "Islam and j2_etroleum." "Now, 1 won't bore you with religion,''
5. How do the details in paragraphs
5 and 6 develop the author's
perspective? Analyze Dumas's
language and word choice.
he said, ·'but let me tell you about the petroleum industry."
,15 Another neighbor, a kindly old lady who taught me how to take care of indoor
plants. asked whether we had many cats back home. My father, with his uncanny
i;J.t
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j·i
,.,
/n,, .... ,
ability to forge friendships, said, "We don't keep pets in our homes. They are dirty."
,6
'·'But your cats are so beautiful," our neighbor said. We had no idea what
she was talking about. Seeing our puzzled expressions, sne showed us a picture o[
~~i~~~~,,J;S,~.
Word choice is a phrase used to
describe the specific language
an author chooses to convey a
particular message or idea.
a beautiful, long haired cat. "It's a Persian cat," she said. That was news to us; the
only cats we had ever seen back home were the mangy strays that ate scraps behind
people's houses. From that day, when I told people I was from Iran. I added "where
Persian cats come from." That impressed them.
Words to Know
LawrenCfJ.JJ.f Arabia: (n.) an old movie about a British soldier and a writer in the Middle East
petroleum: (n) o I that is obtained from the Earth and is used to make gasoline and other substances
forge: (v.) to develop something new, especially H strong relationship with others
Common CorP. Code X
,17 I tried my best to be a worthy representative of my homeland, but, like a
Hollywood celebrity relentlessly pursued by paparazzi, I sometimes got tired of the
questions. I, however, never punched anybody with my fists; I used words. One boy
at school had a habit of asking me particularly stupid questions. One day he inquired
about camels, again. This time, perhaps foreshadowing a vocation in storytelling,
I told him that, yes, we had camels, a one-hump and a two-hump. The one-hump
belonged to my parents and the two-hump was our family station wagon.
'!18 His eyes widetwd.
,19 "Where do you keep them?" he asked.
Academic Vocabulary
6. In paragraph 7, why does the
author say that her experience was
"perhaps foreshadowing a vocation
in storytelling"?
Key Ideas and Details
7. How does the author's tone change
in paragraph 7? Use text details to
support your analysis.
,110 "In the garage, of course," I told him.
w,n:;.n•,
8. What does the author mean in
paragraph 7 when she says,
"1, however, never pur1ched
anybody with my fists"?
Station wagons were originally used as specialized vehicles to carry people and luggage
to and from a train station. They have been sold worldwide for decades.
I
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Words to Know
paparazzi: (n.) photographers who follow famous people in order to take pictures of them
Unit 4
I
Coming to America
,111 Having heard what he wanted to hear, he ran off to share his knowledge with
'ri>!Jtl Structure
9. Why does the author choose to include
the line "I ran away from my geography
lesson" in paragraph 12? Explain
using details from the text.
Words and_Phrase~ in Context
10. t.Jse context clues to determine
the meaning of the word merely in
paragraph 13. Why does the author
include this word in her anecdote?
the rest of the kids on the playground. He was very angry once he realized that I had
fooled him, but at least he never asked me another question.
~12 Often kids tried to be funny by chanting, "1 ran to I-ran. I ran to I-ran.'' The
correct pronunciation, I always informed them, is "Ee-rahn." "I ran" is a sentence,
I told them, as in "I ran away from my geography lesson."
~13 Older boys often asked me to teach them "some bad words in your
language." At first, I politely refused. My refusal merely increased their
determination, so I solved the problem by teaching them phrases like man kharam.
which means "I'm an idiot." I told them that what I was teaching them was so nasty
tl1at they would have to promise never to repeat it to anyone. They would then spend
all of recess running around yelling, "I'm an idiot! I'm an idiot!'' I never told them
the truth. I figured that someday, somebody would.
An anecdote is a short story based
on personal experience.
Wn!n;•q
11. How does Dumas react to her
classmates' curiosity? Compose an
answer using at least two examples
from the text.
Key Ideas and Details
12. Why does the author admit that
she "never told them the truth"
in paragraph 13?
Firoozeh Dumas was born in
· Abad8fl! lrctnj and moved to Whittier,
Califotfila, at the age of seven. In
2001 , Firoozeh decided to write her
stories as a gift for her two children.
Funny in Farsi was a finalist forMf
PEN/USA award in 2004. Dum~ .,.
was also a finalist for the prestigious
Thurber Prize for American Humor,
the first Middle Eastern woman ever
to receive tiltS honnr.
Words to Know
determin_IDion: 111.} the quality of trying to do somelhin!J even when it's difficult
,114 But almost every person who asked us a question asked with kindness.
Questions were often followed by suggestions of places to visit in California.
At school, the same children who inquired about camels also shared their food
Text Strucrur~
13. Why does Dumas begin
with me.
paragraph 14 with the conjunction
but? What does the reader
understand as a result?
,115 "I bet you've never tried an Oreo! Have one," or "My mom just baked these
peanut butter cookies and she sent you one." Kids invited me to their houses to show
me what their rooms looked like. On Halloween, one family brought over a costume,
Key Ideas and Details
14. What evidence does Dumas include
in paragraph 15 to support her
claim that "almost every person who
asked us a question asked with
kindness"?
knowing that I would s..urely be "the only kid in the Halloween parade without one.
If someone had been able to encapsulate the kindness of these second-graders in pill
form, the pills would undoubtedly put many war correspondents out of business.
Checks for understanding
throughout each Unit.
Tto'J«t Stt'I.Wtun:
15. Determine the meaning of the last
sentence. How doe'S this sentence
fit into the larger story ·that Dumas
is telling?
L
)
An idiom is a group of words
that has a special meaning that
is different from the ordinary
meaning of each separate word.
Words to Know
encapsulate: (v.) to completely cover or contain something
war correspondents: (n.) journalists who report on wars and conflicts, sending news from the front lines
Identify Evidence | Analyze Individuals, Events, and Ideas
Evidence
“Americans we
encountered were kind
and curious, unafraid to
ask questions and
willing to listen.”
“We would say, You’ve
heard of India, Japan, or
China? We’re on the
same continent.”
“They wanted to know
about more important
things, such as camels.”
“Like a Hollywood
celebrity relentlessly
pursued by paparazzi, I
sometimes got tired of
the questions.”
Source
Page
Dumas
149
Dumas
149
Explanation
Dumas introduces the Americans that she meets, using
description to highlight their characteristics and telling about
the fact they had a lot of questions, but also revealing that
they were interested in actually learning about her and her
family.