Close Reading of “Night Thoughts” group work

Group1. The husband/father should be a stay-at-home-dad

                 -Names

Group 2. The wife/mother is the head of the household

                 - Names

Group 3. The husband is afraid of his wife, because she makes more money and makes all the decisions

                - Names

Group 4. The father is closer to the children than the mother because he is a teacher and does all the house chores

               - Names                 

             

Directions:

With your group, close read at least three sections of your choice from “Night Thoughts” by Helen Simpson focusing on finding evidence to support your impression of the character. Have one member of the group read a section out loud while others follow along. Then record observations, questions and define unfamiliar words and phrases. You may use a dictionary or access a dictionary on your phone.

Every member of your group should make annotations directly on his/her copy of the story. After you close read three sections, discuss your annotations with the group and determine whether these support or refute your initial impression of the character. Then complete the handout. Make sure every group members' name is included on the handout. Be ready to share your findings and submit the handout to the professor at the end of class.

Close/Active Reading

Close/active reading: active engagement with the text, that requires purposeful reading and rereading with a pen and a dictionary, which lends itself to exploring and developing approaches to writing assignments. 

                                                 General Guidelines for Active Reading:

-read a passage/paragraph before commenting/ marking it up

-mark key and unfamiliar words/phrases and look them up in a dictionary or reference book

-write questions and observations in the margins

-marking up text in this manner is also known as annotating text

Characters in Helen Simpson's "Night Thoughts"

After reviewing posts with your descriptions of characters in “Night Thoughts,” 

four categories emerged:

1. The husband/father wants to be a stay-at-home-dad

2. The wife/mother is the head of the household

3. The husband is afraid of his wife, because she makes more money and makes all the decisions

4. The father is closer to the children than the mother because he is a teacher and does all the house chores