Reading Through a Critical Lens · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Asking sharper questions of a text

English · Reading Comprehension · ages 17-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What should you do before applying any lens?

    • Summarise the text fairly
    • Write the conclusion in pen
    • Count the pages twice

  2. What is a critical lens?

    • A verdict to stamp on any text
    • A set of questions for a text
    • A pair of reading glasses

  3. A lens is a verdict you apply to a text.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. One lens reads a feast scene as celebration, another as satire. What settles it?

    • The louder student in class
    • The age of the book
    • Quoted lines settle it

  5. Which questions does a power-seeking lens ask?

    • Speakers, winners and assumptions
    • How many pages and chapters exist
    • Which font looks nicest

  6. Reading through two lenses shows what each reveals that the other misses.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Nadia claims a narrator mocks the rich but points at no lines. What is wrong?

    • Mockery is impossible in print
    • Rich characters cannot be mocked
    • No lines cited, so it is a guess

  8. A lens on unseen labour surfaces nothing quotable after a full pass. What is the honest move?

    • Keep the lens and invent support
    • Drop the lens and try another
    • Blame the passage for resisting
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_ceYRZV1vOe-s1

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Asking sharper questions of a text W1-mt_ceYRZV1vOe-s1

  1. Summarise the text fairly · Claim, reasons, and evidence first; judgement after.
  2. A set of questions for a text · A lens is a way of asking, not an answer in advance.
  3. False · It is a way of asking questions, not a pre-written answer.
  4. Quoted lines settle it · Only words on the page can back one reading over the other.
  5. Speakers, winners and assumptions · Power questions hunt speakers, winners, and hidden assumptions.
  6. True · The comparison of the two views is itself the insight.
  7. No lines cited, so it is a guess · A reading without quotable support is not yet a reading.
  8. Drop the lens and try another · A lens must earn its keep with evidence the words provide.
Worksheet · LightMySky