Close Reading in the Elementary Classroom Helping Students Move to Meet the Rigor of Common Core Reading Standards

Close Reading ??? “I teach that.” I teach them to read carefully. I talk a lot about what they need to know before they read. We talk about the text in detail.

Close Reading ??? “I teach that.” We reread texts all the time in my room.

Cloze Reading ??? “I teach that.” Jan saw the deer standing by the side of the _______. She slammed on her ______.

Close Reading ??? “Alright, then what is it?” Peeling the layers (reading/rereading with purpose) to get to the heart (to deeply understand text).

Purpose of Close Reading To understand an entire text as deeply as possible

Close Reading Defined Close, analytic reading stresses examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meaning of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole. PARCC Framework

Close Reading is NOT: A one time reading activity with questions that follow the reading. A boxed program. Random texts, unrelated to your content. The same in every classroom - one size fits all.

Close Reading Is O An instructional routine O Integrated into the reading block O Focused on teaching reading independence O Guided by text-dependent questions

Key Words for Close Reading Activity: Read the PARCC Framework definition. Underline/circle key words and phrases of the definition. Use the key words/phrases to create a visual that helps you understand this definition. We will share our ideas.

Changes in Thinking When Planning Close Reading O Core programs need to be used differently. O Less “frontloading” & pre-teaching O Teacher must know the text O Students work to gain meaning from the text through their own discoveries. O Aim for student independence O Teachers must know Common Core Standards to formulate questions O Text-Dependent questions help students learn what type of thinking is required of them.

How Does it Work? An Overview Teachers Students O Choose a text worthy of examining so students can read & reread to derive deep meaning O Prepare text based questions based in CCSS that will lead students to dig deeper O Limit pre-teaching of the text to promote student independence O Learn to use their skills and strategies to independently approach a text O Look deeply at the text through repeated readings O Take the opportunity to build stamina and persistence with text that is challenging

Where does it fit in my day? O Portion of a whole group reading lesson O Introduction to a unit of study or lesson O Integrated into a science, social studies, or math lesson O Whenever it is appropriate to have students demonstrate & practice the reading strategies they have been learning to become independent thoughtful readers.

Where to Start Anchor text to use throughout the week O Plan a 30 minutes lessons to use throughout the week. Start small; maybe times during the week. O Poem that compliments basal or area of study O Article that integrates with science, social studies, or math. O Basal story or excerpt of the basal story

Literature Examples O Fairytales, Folktales O Legends, Myths, Fables O Short stories O Poetry O Scenes from a play O Excerpts from longer texts O Historical fiction

Informational Text O News Articles O Portions of content text O Biography O Memoirs or journals O Primary source documents O Literary nonfiction

Working on a Close Reading Lesson O Planning, Planning, Planning! O Choose a text worthy of examining that is integrated with your unit of study. O Decide what you want your students to learn/discover from the 1 st reading. O Ideas suggested by Dr. Nancy Boyles, 2013

Working on a Close Reading Lesson O Decide how you will prepare your students. O Should they read the whole first? O Should it be chunked into sections? O How & why will you chunk the reading? O Ideas suggested by Dr. Nancy Boyles, 2013

Working on a Close Reading Lesson O Write text-dependent questions for each chunk. O Try embedding the lesson in the Shared Reading portion of your reading block. O Think about how your work with students will carry over into small group & independent reading. O Ideas suggested by Dr. Nancy Boyles, 2013

How Text Dependent Questions Fit Into Close Reading O Text-dependent questions show students the model for how they need to shape their own thinking as they read. O Help students learn how to use the text for evidence. O Text-dependent questions are based in the Common Core Standards. O Teacher decreases the number of questions they write as students gain the ability to think and question on their own.

“Close reading must be accompanied by other essential instructional practices that are vital to reading development; interactive read-alouds, and shared readings, teacher modeling and think-alouds” -Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey Reading Teacher, 2012

Close Reading I can teach that!

Resources