Getting S.A.S.E.
It's more than just an attitude.
S.A.S.E.
When you read, it's important to do the following:
- Summarize
- Analyze
- Synthesize
- Evaluate
Summarize
No interpretation; it's literal.
- Identify the main point(s)
- Summarize the key details and ideas.
- The length of the summary may vary, depending on the length of the text.
Analyze
This is your interpretation using evidence from the text.
What is the tone? (How the author sounds.)
Identify which words support the tone.
What is the main idea the author is trying to convey?
What would he/she say is most important.
What kind of inferences can you make from the text?
Use your prior knowledge, what you know, and what is in the text.
You are not making a guess. You are using reason and your knowledge to come to a conclusion.
What is the author’s purpose?
What would he/she say this is about?
Synthesize
This is how you blend what you already know with what you have analyzed.
What prior knowledge do you bring to aid in interpreting this text?
Think back again to what you already know and combine it with what you’ve learned.
Can you connect this text and its message to yourself or any current event?
Make it relevant. Why do anything without making it important?
Who do you believe the intended audience to be?
Be specific.
What type of audience would agree or disagree with this text’s message?
Evaluate
This is how you determine if the text does what it set out to do. (You get to give your opinion about it.
Judge if this text is successful in what it sets out to accomplish.
- Don’t just say, “It was boring,” or “I hated it”.
- Think back to what you believe the author’s purpose is. Does it serve this purpose? How could it be more successful?
Does this text’s impact transcend the time period during which it was created?
- Does it still matter today? Does it feel dated? Do people today still care about these issues?
Segregation By Ability
Introduction: New York City’s schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, who as a principal eliminated her school’s gifted classrooms, created a bit of stir recently by downplaying the importance of the city’s “gifted and talented” programs. Earlier this year, she said she would like to see neighborhood schools “provide gifted practices to all students.”
Question: Should public schools offer these programs?
Should High School Last Six Years?
Introduction: President Obama recently visited a six-year high school in Brooklyn, highlighting it as a model for American education.
Question: Should high school last six years instead of four?
Can Writing be Assessed?
Introduction: In revamping its SAT test for college admission, the College Board is making the essay portion optional. The written assessment was controversial since it was introduced in 2005, with some college officials expressing little confidence in what it demonstrated or how it was scored.
Question: But since an increasing number of college students are taking remedial reading and writing classes, shouldn’t the essay be mandatory? Is the bigger question, how can, or should, writing be judged?
Ms. Kremmidas
Joliet West High School