Close Reading Background from Douglas Fisher

Close Reading is…. “Close Reading – an intensive analysis of a text in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it means.” Tim Shanahan Now that we know what close reading is not…let’s look how it is defined by the leading experts in literacy.

Close Reading is…. “Focused, sustained reading and rereading of a text for the purpose of understanding key points, gathering evidence, and building knowledge. Pearson, page 48

How To Do A Close Read Read with a pencil in hand – annotate the text Number the paragraphs Chunk the paragraphs by idea or purpose Underline main ideas Left Margin – What is it saying? (Summarize) Right Margin – Dig deeper…what does it mean? (Analysis) Language - Notice any literary devices? Persuasive techniques? Circle them.

Annotation is a note of any form made while reading text. Annotating the text can take ANY form—sketching, words, phrases, and/or complete sentences. “Reading with a pencil.”

Annotation slows down the reader in order to deepen understanding. What is the purpose of asking students to annotate the text?

People have been annotating texts since there have been texts to annotate.

Annotation is not highlighting. Highlighting alone is NOT annotating. When something is highlighted, studnents MUST be asked to note why the selection was highlighted.

Student’s annotation of connotative meanings in Charlotte’s Web It’s not always about reading difficult texts, but also about reading seemingly simpler texts in more complex ways.

Modeled annotation in Seventh Grade

Modeling in 9th Grade English

Student annotation in 11th grade English