Name: ___________________________________________________ Date: __________________
Close Reading
NONFICTION: “Attack at Sea,pages 4-10
December 2015/January 2016
®
THE LANGUAGE ARTS MAGAZINE
©2015 BY SCHOLASTIC INC. TEACHERS MAY PROJECT OR MAKE COPIES OF THIS PAGE TO DISTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS.
Close-Reading Questions
“Attack at Sea”
1. Read the introduction of the article. How does the last paragraph differ from the first three?
(text structure, mood)
2. When Lewis writes that the German U-boat, U-20, could creep up on any ship,” she is
personifying the U-boat—that is, assigning it a human characteristic. Where else in the
article does Lewis personify U-boats? What effect does this use of personification create?
(figurative language)
3. Lewis never explicitly writes that Schwieger decided to fire a torpedo at the Lusitania, yet
it’s clear that he did. How does the author let the reader know this? Why might she have
chosen to deliver the information in this way? (author’s craft)
PAGE 1 OF 2
Close Reading
NNONFICTION: “Attack at Sea,pages 4-10
December 2015/January 2016
©2015 BY SCHOLASTIC INC. TEACHERS MAY PROJECT OR MAKE COPIES OF THIS PAGE TO DISTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS.
4. What is the mood of the section A Nightmare”? How does the author create this mood?
(mood)
5. At the end of the article, Lewis writes that today, the wreck of the Lusitania rests in uneasy
peace” on the ocean floor. What does she mean? Why might she describe the wreck as
uneasy”?
(figurative language )
PAGE 2 OF 2
Name: ___________________________________________________ Date: __________________
Critical Thinking
NONFICTION: “Attack at Sea,pages 4-10
December 2015/January 2016
®
THE LANGUAGE ARTS MAGAZINE
©2015 BY SCHOLASTIC INC. TEACHERS MAY PROJECT OR MAKE COPIES OF THIS PAGE TO DISTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS.
Critical-Thinking Questions
“Attack at Sea”
1. Why do you think the passengers and crew of the Lusitania were so confident that the ship
would be safe?
2. Why is it important to study historical disasters like the Lusitania?