Close Reading Based upon Text-Dependent Questions: Pathways to Close and Critical Reading, Fisher and Frey, 2015

Creating a Close Reading Use a short passage

Repeated Readings Ask students to read first. It’s OK if they struggle – this should be a complex piece of text for them. If it’s a poem or something with complex words or structure, the teacher may read the passage or a portion of the passage so students hear how it should be read, after they’ve read it on their own first. Have students reread – annotating or “reading with a pencil.” Set purpose with a big idea type (essential) question. “What type of character would one need to be…?”

Creating a Close Reading Use a short passage Re-reading

Creating a Close Reading Use a short passage Re-reading “Read with a pencil”

Underline major points. Star, asterisk, or other doodad in the margin to be use sparingly to emphasize the most important statements. Numbers in the margin to indicate a sequence of points made by the author in development of an argument. Circling of key words or phrases to serve much the same function as underlining. Writing in the margin, or at the top or bottom of the page to record questions (and perhaps answers) that a passage raises in your mind.

Creating a Close Reading Use a short passage Re-reading “Read with a pencil” Text-dependent questions

Questions What does the text say? (Standards 1-3) Start with literal level – who, what, where, when, why, how Summarize Think about theme Story elements

Questions How does the text work? (Standards 4-6) Vocabulary Structure (problem/solution, cause/effect, sequential, compare/contrast, description) Author’s craft (genres/features of genres, mood/tone, role of narrator, sentence length/rhythm, text features) Literacy devices – flashback, foreshadowing, imagery, irony, point of view, time lapse, hyperbole, figurative language, symbolism, etc.

Questions What does the text mean? (Standards 7-9) Inferential How the parts relate to the whole and vise versa. Lexical – making an informed judgment about the meaning of an ambiguous word, using grammatical, contextual, and structural cues Predictive: forming a plausible hypothesis Elaborative: Filling in unstated information Determining whether the word read is a noun or verb, and whether it is past tense or present tense.

Creating a Close Reading Use a short passage Re-reading “Read with a pencil” Text-dependent questions Give students the chance to struggle a bit

Always… The student must use evidence from the text to support their thinking.