30.3. "mk," Jean Fritz

The author of today's piece,
Jean Fritz, is best known for
her works of US history for kids.

What Are We Learning Today?
We're refining the note-taking skill that we discussed yesterday.

What Do I Need to Know?

1. Speed matters here, so focus on that. This skill is about reading and understanding things well enough to answer questions later in discussion or on multiple choice tests. Don't think of this as the assignment, think of it as making a reference sheet that you are allowed to use on a test later.
2. I am using * for the word "but," I've decided. Use it, too, if you don't have other strong feelings.
3. The ones I use most are This=that, this b/c that, and + Scientists are worried or * Scientists are worried, and kids dating ->low grades.
4. If something in quotation marks is three sentences or fewer, you need to read it, but you do not need to take a note on it. It is almost certainly a proving example for the previous paragraph. If it's longer, you need to, since it's a full paragraph with its own idea.
5. In some informational articles, there are conversations between people. For these, just take one note for the whole conversation.

The Text

We're talking about homeland, and I thought this selection from the seventh grade textbook was interesting. For thematic reasons, I want to talk about the following, so make sure to know what you think:

• The main character has two conversations with a person named Priscilla. Who is Priscilla and what is odd about their conversations?
• Where does the narrator consider her homeland? What is ironic about this?

Assignment: Read this memoir excerpt and take Reading Notes on it to prepare for our discussion.