North Carolina Department of Public Instruction English Language Arts Department Close Reading

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What is Close Reading? “Close Reading of a text involves an investigation of a short piece of text, with multiple readings done over multiple instructional lessons.” (Brown and Kappes 2012)

According to Alder and Van Doren, close reading is described as “x-raying the book…[for] the skeleton hidden between the covers.”

Objectives of Close Reading 1.To afford students with the opportunity to assimilate new textual information with their existing background knowledge and prior experiences to expand their schema. 2.To build the necessary habits of readers when they engage with a complex piece of text.

How To Do a Close Read Close reading brings the text and the reader close together. 1.Read with a pencil in hand, and annotate the text. Mark the big ideas and skills. 2.Look for patterns in the things you’ve noticed about the text – repetitions, contradictions, similarities. 3.Ask questions about the patterns that you’ve noticed – especially how and why.

Make Your Mark Use the following symbols to help your students annotate a piece of text: I knew that. X That contradicts my expectations. This is important. ? I have a question. ?? I am confused or puzzled. ! This is surprising or exciting to me. L I learned something new. -Stephanie Harvey and Smokey Daniels

Instructional Practices of Close Reading 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 Collaborative reading and discussion Independent reading and writing

When Not To Do a Close Read Not all texts warrant this type of attention. There is no reason to do a close reading of: Easily understood and simply organized piece of text When skimming Whole novels

Attributes of Close Reading Lessons Selection of a brief, high-quality complex text with limited front loading Individual reading of the text Group reading aloud Text-based questions & discussion that focus on discrete elements of the text Discussion among students Annotating the text and writing about the text

Comprehension Strategies During Close Reading Making Connections Visualizing Questioning Predicting Inferring Synthesizing and Summarizing Monitoring (Fisher, Fry, Lapp 2012)

Close Reading Demonstration Lesson Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution by Linda R. Monk Originally published in New York: Hyperion, 2003.

What is (and isn’t) the meaning of “popular sovereignty”? Why does Monk claim that this is the form of government in America? Standards: RI

Is Lucy Stone confused when she asks “Which ‘We the People’?” Why does Monk say this question has “troubled the nation?” Standards: RI

What evidence is there in this paragraph regarding Marshall’s claim about the “evolving nature of the constitution”? Standard: RI.6-8.1

The Focusing Question for Writing: Explain how the notion of who “the people” were has changed over time in America? Use evidence from the text to support your explanation. Anchor Standards: R.CCR.3-6 and W.CCR.2, 4, 5, 9

One Composition for Lesson Design 1.Briefly introduce lesson 2.Read 3.Reread 4.Ask text-dependent questions 5.Provide opportunities for text-based writing

This lesson…  allows the mystery and the adventure of the text to unfold,  chunks the text in a meaningful way,  includes scaffolding that doesn’t simplify the text and asks questions that require evidence,  and provides keen focus on paragraphs, sentences, and words.

Attributes of Close Reading Lessons Selection of a brief, high-quality complex text with limited front loading Individual reading of the text Group reading aloud Text-based questions & discussion that focus on discrete elements of the text Discussion among students Annotating the text and writing about the text

Fostering Routines for Close Reading Look Out For Lightning Chapter 9, “A Warrior Rescue”

Second Pass This time we are going to read the text and look for figurative language. Look for how and why the author uses it.

“Wow, lightning struck that tree!” Dennis yelled. Wendy had only seen the lightning flash from the corner of her eye, but she could see the black streak along the side of the big oak tree behind the school fence. It looked like someone had just pulled off the bark with a giant potato peeler. Mrs. Stuard grabbed the microphone. “The game is postponed. Everyone, leave the field and go inside the school until the storm passes.” Mr. Holmes was already leading the two soccer teams across the field. He unlocked the back door of the school. People climbed down from the bleachers and walked away from the sidelines as more thunder rumbled.

Stock Taking In this approach, we are going to stop at key points to take stock of developments and new information.

Wendy waved at her parents and Dennis’s father as they followed the crowd into the school. “Get inside, Wendy,” her father said. Wendy nodded. She turned to follow Dennis and Jessica. Then, she saw Austin and his parents hurrying toward the parking lot. “Wait!” Wendy shouted. “Come on,” she said to Dennis and Jessica. They had to stop Austin’s family from getting into their car. Sometimes Austin could be weird, but Wendy didn’t want him or his family to get hurt. “Stop!” she shouted again as more thunder echoed. But Austin’s parents kept walking. Dennis ran past Wendy and Jessica. He stopped in front of Austin’s parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Scott, you have to get into the school until the lightning stops,” Dennis said, gasping to catch his breath. What is going on in this first part? Who can summarize it for us? What’s new in this part of the story?

Story Questions As you read, think about these questions: 1.What is the setting of the story and what’s going on? How does that shape the action? 2.What problem did Wendy recognize? 3.How did Wendy and Dennis solve the problem? 4.What changed Mr. Scott’s mind about leaving in the car?

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