My Reading Process of My Partner's Content-Area Text (Part II)

Image #1: Security (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #2: Sea of Police officers in the street (Refer to reflection #3)
Image #3: Football practice (Refer to reflection #7)






































This is a continuation of the reading guide I am creating from my reading of my partner’s self-chosen/content-area text, Battle Ground Chicago: The Police and The 1968 Democratic National Convention by Frank Kusch.

This blog will focus on the middle section of Chapter 4, “‘On to Chicago’: Countdown to August,” pages 51-58 of the text.

I will be applying the same format I used with my first set of reflections from my reading of this text.

1.
Text:
“Police were ordered to guard every pumping station and filtration planting starting the Saturday before the convention” (51).

Reflection:
I picture two police officers, one standing on each side of each door of each pumping station and filtration plant in the city, standing completely upright, with serious facial expressions, dressed in full uniform, and weapons in plain sight. I imagine them like secret service security guards.

Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.

2.
Text:
“Fort Daley” (52).

Reflection:
This is the subtitle of a section of text within this chapter. I predict that this portion of text will be about how Mayor Richard Daley attempted to protect Chicago by creating a metaphorical “fort.” Perhaps, he hired extra police security, denied many new permits to potential protesters, and took other precautions in order to prepare for the worst.

Strategies:
Here I am making a prediction. However, this is a little different from the other predictions I have made based on this text. This prediction is based on a subtitle alone. I assume that this subtitle aims to encompass the main theme of this section of the text. In literature this can also be called foreshadowing. Making a prediction based on a title or subtitle is also a pre-reading tactic.

3.
Text:
“The usual contingent of 6,000 officers on the streets grew to 11,900 on twelve hour shifts, up from the usual eight” (53).

Reflection:
I picture a giant sea of police officers in the streets of the city.

Strategies:
Here I am using visualization once again. The words, and in this case, the numbers were able to trigger related images in my mind.

4.
Text:
“About 500 SDS members-a fraction of their number-planned to travel to Chicago, along with members of the Chicago Police Council, the Communist Party, the Fifth Avenue Peace Parade Committee, and the Cleveland Area Peace Action Council” (54).

Reflection:
I wonder what SDS stands for. I cannot remember if SDS was mentioned in the prior pages of the chapter that I read last week or if possibly they mentioned SDS in earlier chapters of the book which I have not read. Clearly SDS stands for some type of group of people.

Strategies:
Here I am questioning the text in order to make better sense of it.

5.
Text:
“The plank proposed by Senator Eugene McCarthy a week before the convention, however, left the front-runner with little room to maneuver” (56).

Reflection:
I wonder what “front-runner” means. I believe I have definitely heard the term used before and I may or may not have known the meaning at one point in time. However, at this point I am just not completely sure. I think it must be a political term. (A frontrunner is defined as a person who leads in any competition.)

Strategies:
Here I used both context clues in the text and looked up the meaning of a word in order to better understand the text.

6.
Text:
“By convention time, the antiwar movement reviled Humphrey more than anyone else in the party” (57).

Reflection:
This quote reminds me of the last presidential election. Many people wanted to vote for Obama due to the fact that McCain was seen as more for the war. People who were “antiwar” likely voted for Obama. Therefore, politics in the 1960’s can be compared to the politics of the present.

Strategies:
Here I am making a connection between the politics of the 1960’s and current politics. This is useful because it helps me to better understand what was happening during that time period in relation to what is happening today.

7.
Text:
“Sun-Times reporter Brian Boyer thought the kids looked like a ‘football team going through summer practice’” (58).

Reflection:
I have an excellent image of a football team practicing tackles, passes, and throws. The author makes a very good comparison between the protesters getting ready for the convention and football players getting ready for opening game of the season.

Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The author was able to effectively create an image for the readers to better understand the scene that is being described.