eMysteries Toolkit

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. [Project Number: 2019-1-DE03-KA201-060127] 40 had formed in the bathtub. She had begun to take on a slightly bluish tinge.) Note how the house becomes an extension of her. Layout of the text: in the text of this excerpt it is written in a different type of letter (italics) because it is the voice of an unknown character in the story, at this point. This one-page text will reappear at the beginning of each chapter. Syntax Target audience appropriateness – avoid topics that are not suitable for your students depending on the demographic. Cohesive structure – does the text focus on the main topic or does it include irrelevant information? Logical development – does the text follow a clear and logical discussion of the topic? The excerpt is appropriate for secondary students. It creates a thrill and a tension: he touches the dead body and he is in love with the corpse. Love grows with death. Cohesive structure: the text starts with the image of the victim (she) and offers some very important clues: she has been dead for some time because she is covered in ice; She is in the bathtub inside an empty house. The whole excerpt is built around the semantic field of ‘cold’. Logical development: the chapter will explain who she is and where she is, and it will unfold why she is a ‘princess’. Using short passages and excerpts When teaching using close reading methods, it is suggested that short passages and excerpts are used, like the one presented above (which is a natural excerpt that precedes each chapter development). Longer texts can cause students to lose focus and can be overwhelming at times. Choosing shorter texts or “chunking” the text, will help students to develop their critical thinkin g and comprehension skill (OWRC 2020).