Southern Nevada Regional
Professional Development
Program
RPDP.net
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Ready, Set, Read
Developing a Critical Stance
Created and Developed by
Jill M. Leone
Reading Specialist
© 2007
RPDP Secondary Literacy
We will discuss how to –
• think beyond the words
on the page
• consider the author's
intent for the selection
• and his or her success
at communicating it.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Many readers tend to accept
everything they read as being
• true
• accurate and
• well-written
RPDP Secondary Literacy
What you read is
often someone else's
ideas written down.
Sometimes what
writers have in their
minds doesn't come
through clearly when
they write about it.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Sometimes, authors
do a good job of
explaining, but
other times they
don't do a good
job at all.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
As readers, we have to
figure out what the author
is trying to explain.
We also have to judge
the author's success
in making ideas
clear to us.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
If you were to speak
with a writer directly,
you could ask about
anything that seems
unclear.
You could even
challenge the writer.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Because writers aren’t here to
help you through their material,
you can instead ask questions
of the text to help you
understand.
This can be done in different
ways depending upon your
purpose for reading.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• First, you have to be objective
or neutral about the text.
• This means to read without
any bias or prejudice.
• You need to keep an open
mind and a sense of curiosity.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Pretend you’re
standing back and
putting a little
distance between
yourself and
whatever you’re
reading.
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Before reading
During reading
After reading
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Look at some
strategies and
questions that
can help
increase your
understanding.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
The author of this passage
would probably agree with…
 What did the author have
to know to write this?
 Give examples from the text
to support your answer.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• Try to figure out the writer’s purpose.
• The writer’s purpose is closely
related to the main idea.
• Once you understand the writer’s
purpose, it’s easy to figure out the
main idea.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
If the writer says we really need
to build more hotels in Las Vegas,
you should understand that –
• The writer’s purpose is to
influence the way you think.
• The writer might be presenting
only his own point of view.
• This is probably persuasive text.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Attempts to influence and change the
way a reader thinks or acts
The writer tries to –
• persuade/convince
• discourage or encourage
• push the reader into action
• warn the reader about something
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• Check the adjectives he chooses.
• Are the writer's feelings toward the
subject positive, negative, or neutral?
• Does the writer give his own
opinion, or does he objectively
present the opinions of others?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Whose voice is heard?
Who is quoted?
Whose voice is not
represented?
Can you imagine why?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• Is this information useful?
• Is it accurate? Up to date?
• What has the writer said
about the subject?
• What doesn’t the writer
tell us?
• Can you imagine why?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• Do you trust the information?
• Is the author qualified to
write about this topic?
• How would the text be
different if told in another
time, place, or culture?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• What background information
should the author include?
• What did the author leave out?
• What does the author want us to
remember from this information?
• How did the author use descriptive
words in the text?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Compare the writer’s
style or tone
of one article or story
to another.
How are they alike?
How are they different?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Not everything in print is true.
Many people misread what’s factual
because they don’t:
• distinguish between fact and opinion
• make inferences
• pick up on the author’s bias or tone
• or use their own prior knowledge
RPDP Secondary Literacy
They accept the information
presented without questioning
or evaluating it in any way.
Many readers believe:
“If it’s in print, it must be true.”
RPDP Secondary Literacy
How does the author
show that the story
is based on fantasy?
How does the author
make this fantasy
seem real?
Give examples.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
How well does the writer use:
• Imagery
• Irony
• Mood
• Personification
• Humor
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Check to see what other literary
devices the author uses.
Some literary devices are:
 similes
 metaphors
 foreshadowing
 flashback
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Think about the title.
Another good title for this
passage is …
Explain why the title is or is
not a good choice for the
story. Use references from
the text to support your
answer.
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• Who is the narrator?
• From whose perspective is the story
told?
• What are the advantages of telling
the story in this way?
• Disadvantages?
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The setting of a story
is always important.
It influences the way
characters act and
think and all aspects
of their lives.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Does the setting
seems real to you?
Would the story have
seemed more
realistic in a different
setting?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
How did the author's
choice of setting affect
the characters in the
selection?
How effective is this
choice of setting on
what happens to the
characters?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
How does the author
show similarities
in developing
characters in the
story?
Does this add interest
to the story?
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Do all of the characters
seem real to you?
Can you compare them
to anyone you know?
Can you compare them
with characters in
another story?
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• Who is the protagonist?
• Who is the antagonist?
• Who has the power in
the story?
• How do you know?
• How is this power used?
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Does the author make
you care about some
characters yet actually
dislike other characters?
This takes a great deal of
skill on the part of a
writer.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• With whom does the author want
you to identify or sympathize?
• What in the text makes you think that?
• Do the characters try to change their
own behavior or way of thinking?
• How?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Was the sequence of
events in the story
logical? Explain.
Are the facts in the
story accurate?
Give some proof.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Was the plot strong enough to make a
convincing story? Why or why not?
Did the author finish the story the way
the characters would have wanted?
Why or why not? Explain.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• What part of the story best describes
the author’s message and why?
• What does the author hope you learn
from reading this story?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Can you
create a visual
representation
of the writer’s
message?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
In your opinion, is this a good story?
Why or why not?
Would you like to read
something else by this author?
Why or why not?
What connections can you make
between this and other stories
you’ve read?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
What connections can
you make between
this and your own life
experience?
What connections can
you make between
this and the life of
someone you know?
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Wrap-up with these questions:
• Does the author say what he has
to say clearly?
• How could the author have said
things more clearly?
• What would you say instead?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Why do you think people
What questions do you have
should or should not read this
about this story?
story?
What surprised you about this
Write one or two writing
story?
topics from your own life that
connect with this story.
Write one or two statements Write one or two statements
from someone whose point of from someone whose point of
view is represented in the view is not represented in the
book.
book.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Thinking about the way an author writes
and asking these types of questions
is called critical stance.
Stance means your viewpoint or
perspective.
Being critical of what you read
and how it is written helps
you to understand.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Try to think like a detective when you
read. A good reader is always
a good detective.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• Ask questions before, during, and
after reading.
• What is the author trying to tell you?
• Why is the author telling you that?
• Does the author say it clearly?
• How could the author have said
things more clearly?
• What would you say instead?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Copyright Notice
Permission is granted to copy (unmodified) all or
part of this PowerPoint for educational, personal,
non-commercial use off-line as long as the
copyright message (Copyright © 2007 by Jill Leone)
is maintained on the title page. This material may
not be sold, duplicated on other websites,
incorporated in commercial documents or
products, or used for promotional purposes.
Copyright © 2007 by Jill M. Leone
RPDP Secondary Literacy