Name: Class: Date:

Close Reading

Think about it!

Are you the type of person who pays close attention to detail? Here are some examples to
get you thinking….do you know the address to your best friends house? No?! Is it because you know
how to get there without it? Have you forgotten the name of a song or book and searched for it with a
quote on google. Do you know the color of your teacher’s eyes? If your thinking that all of these have
happened to you, or something like it. It is probably because these small details are of no importance to
your relationship or citation. Thus, you have never taken the time to record them in your memory. We
go through life not needing to know all the small details, because nothing bad happens if we don’t pay
attention to them. However, an author writes with purpose and the color of someone's eyes, their house,
or even the color of their outfit may be an indicator of the type of person they are or their character. For
example, a young girl in white dress, may indicate that she is pure and innocent. All of these small
things are called close reading.

Read the following passages below. Answer the questions and test your close reading skills.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. felt that all people should have the same
rights or freedoms. During Martin’s life, people had different laws based on their skin color. African
Americans were not allowed in many public places such as restaurants, bathrooms, or movie theaters.
They also had to sit on the back of the bus and give up their seat if there were not enough seats in the
white section of the bus. Martin did not believe in violence, or fighting. He led peaceful protests to try
to change these laws. He wanted America to be a place where all people were treated the same. He
thought people should be judged by their character, not their skin color. Many people did not agree with
Martin. His house was set on fire and he went to jail many times. In the end, Martin won. The Civil
Rights Act was passed in 1964.

Highlight the text to prove your answers.

1. Underline Who was the passage about?

2. Circle What did Martin want more than anything?

3. Box Put a box around 3 facts about Martin’s life.

4. On the back What does it mean that people be judged by their character and not the color of their
skin?