The Three Levels of

READING
LT: RL2:I can determine the theme or central idea of a literary
text. I can analyze the development of the theme or central idea
over the course of the text (how it emerges and is shaped and
refined by details).
I can objectively summarize a literary text.
EQ: How can literature help me live a better life?
Questions

Notes

CLOSE READING
Close reading is a special kind of analytical

reading
You should SLOW DOWN your
reading and assess the importance of
each WORD, DETAIL, OR IMAGE.
You should MAKE INFERENCES or
DRAW CONCLUSIONS about the
meaning of the text.

3 LEVELS OF READING
Reading ON THE LINE
Reading BETWEEN THE LINE
Reading BEYOND THE LINE

1. READING ON THE LINE

ASK:
1. WHO?
2. WHAT?
3. WHERE?
FIND MEANING DIRECTLY IN THE TEXT. (You can put
your finger on it.)

2. READING BETWEEN THE LINES

You must INTERPRET what is in the text.
What does the passage REPRESENT, SUGGEST, OR

PERSONIFY?
What does a certain METONYMY or SYNECDOCHE
mean?
What does a certain ALLUSION or METAPHOR mean?
YOU ARE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

INTERPRETING
CLASSIFYING
COMPARING
CONTRASTING
FINDING PATTERNS

3.READING BEYOND THE TEXT

Connect to a UNIVERSAL MEANING (THEME)
ASK:
1. How does this text connect with my life?
2. with life in a larger sense?
3. with all human beings?
4. with my ideas about morality or values?
5. What kind of perceptions about life in general is the author
communicating to me?
6. What do I think of those perceptions?
7. Move from What? to So what?
8. CONNECT LITERATURE WITH YOUR OWN PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE/UNIVERSAL MEANING!

Three level reading assignment

DIRECTIONS
1.
2.

Take out your annotations for your short story.

INNERMOST CIRCLE READING ON THE LINES
Write the four most SIGNIFICANT words from the
work assigned. (word should behave both a concrete and
an abstract meaning)
QUOTE the sentence in which the word appears, or
enough of the sentence to reveal the words use in
CONTEXT.
Write multiple DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS of the word
(DENOTATION).
Explain why the word is important to the meaning of the
work by placing it IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
NARRATIVE.

DIRECTIONS
3.

MIDDLE CIRCLE: Concentrate on the abstract level of

meaningreading between the lines.
Referring to the text, draw 4 images inspired by the
assigned part of the reading.
Write the explanation of the link between each image
and the word you have written.

DIRECTIONS
4.

OUTER CIRCLE: Concentrate on the

thematic level of meaningreading beyond
the lines.

Write two thematic statements drawn from

the significant word you wrote in the
innermost circle and the images you drew in
the middle circle. Tie everything to the
work as a whole.

How to write a theme statement

1.

Choose an ABSTRACT CONCEPT that the

work explores.

2.

unrequited love
freedom
abuse
jealousy
self-pity

State what the literary work asserts about

this abstract topic.

If a poem is about jealousy, what opinion does it express about the

effect of jealousy on humanity?

How to write a theme statement

The_________
(genre)

__________by
(title)

____________ is about _____________

(author)
(abstract concept)
and reveals_________________________.
(assertion about effect on humanity)