Practicing within the Framework of Close Reading CULTIVATING EFFECTIVE LITERACY HABITS: Dr. Julie Joslin/ELA Section Chief/NCDPI

High Achievement in ELA Classrooms…. requires regular support and practice with a number of literacy components in order to comprehend grade-level texts, communicate thinking, and engage in academic discussions.

Article: Creating High Achievement in ELA for Every Student With your shoulder partner, find similarities and differences in the skills for elementary and secondary students

Why such an emphasis on close reading? “Close analytic reading integrates and further develops many of the elements that are needed to support every student. This capacity for incorporating so many of the other strands in one set of activities makes close analytic reading essential.”

Standards Connection R.CCR.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Close Reading Basics Careful selection of a passage to read closely Amount or length of passage Annotating Teacher modeling

Close Reading Infographic

“Analytic reading cultivates the habits of mind that develop students into strong independent readers.”

Close ReadingVolume of Reading Less pagesMore pages Grade-level complex text Text at different levels of complexity All students same text Student or teacher choice of text Teaches students to attend to text and to words Rapidly builds knowledge & vocab

Close ReadingVolume of Reading Heavy supportLight support Solely instructionalGuided or Independent Exposes students to higher-level content Builds knowledge of words, and the world Gives all students access Builds love of reading

Close analytic reading can incorporate: Academic language Word study Fluency Learning from text independently Evidence based speaking and writing in addition to listening and reading

I. ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

WHAT: More than vocabulary, terms, conventions and genres it is the language that is used in school to acquire new or deeper understanding of the content and communicate that understanding to others. WHY: “Close attention to words, sentences, and language use within the context of the text’s unfolding ideas initiates students into the academic language essential to becoming an educated person.”

Academic Language is:  the language used in the classroom and workplace  the language of text  the language of assessments  the language of academic success  the language of power

Not so much taught… but acquired through interactions with complex texts and meaningful instructional conversations in which attention is drawn to the ways in which meaning relates to words, phrases, clauses in the texts. (L. Wong Fillmore)

Three Dimensions of Academic Language Word/Phrase – Academic vocabulary, multi-meaning words, technical language Sentence – Academic language at this level is characterized by grammatical structures, conventions, mechanics, fluency Discourse – Oral and written. Could include lab reports, timelines, word problems, storytelling, sheet music

Integrating Academic Language into Close Reading Instruction  Ask text dependent questions to clarify and build ideas in preparation for a conversation.  Do repeated readings to discover alternative ways to interpret text.  Establish a systematic coding system to use while close reading.  Try wide-angle reading that emphasizes the broader discourse and message- organization level of reading. O’Hara, Pritchard, Zwiers

“An effective word study program raises students’ awareness of the power and beauty of words.” II. WORD STUDY

“Word study" is an alternative to traditional spelling instruction. It is based on learning word patterns rather than memorizing unconnected words.

Word Study and Close Reading

III. FLUENCY

“Fluency is reading like you talk, not too fast and not too slow, with expression and no sounding out. It’s also important to understand what you read.”

Components to Fluency:  Word Accuracy  Automaticity  Prosody or Expressive Reading

Fluency and Close Reading Using a meaningful passage in a close reading to practice fluency is a perfect opportunity to comprehend, savor language, and listen to the rhythm of a text.

“Rereading and hearing rich text read aloud develops fluency. At the same time, it brings struggling readers and ELL students into the discussion on an equal footing rather than segregating them with simpler and too often, lesser texts.”

“Close analytic reading integrates support and teacher guidance with tasks and culminating assignments done by students in small groups and independently. “ IV. LEARNING FROM TEXT INDEPENDENTLY

Close reading itself cannot provide the volume of reading needed to acquire the lexicon of academic words and the background knowledge essential for all students to achieve academic success. What it does, is change the way students read by providing the tools and developing the habits of mind that will allow all students to learn independently from the texts they read. This will allow all students to successfully read the quantity of text needed to become fully college and career ready. Learning from Text Independently and Close Reading

Regular and systematic evidence based writing and speaking from sources. Using evidence from texts to present careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information. V. EVIDENCE BASED SPEAKING AND WRITING IN ADDITION TO LISTENING AND READING

“Analytic reading lessons consistently integrate discussion of the text under consideration as well as multiple opportunities for writing using text evidence. The lesson always culminates in a writing assignment that calls on the students to demonstrate understanding of the text under consideration.”

Close Analytic Reading

Where/When Cultivating Effective Reading Habits Region 1 - Nov. 5 (Plymouth) Region 2 - Nov. 7 (Wallace) Region 3 - Oct. 15 (Raleigh) Region 4 - Oct. 7 (Hamlet) Region 5 - Oct. 23 (Clemmons) Region 6 - Oct. 9 (Charlotte) Region 7 - Oct. 2 (Wilkesboro) Region 8 - Sept. 30 (Candler) Contact the RESA director to register

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