1. Prepared for: Chisholm Trail Middle School Friday, October 3, 2014

2. Hold up 1, 2, or 3 fingers showing your level of comfort of Close Reading.  1= “I know little to nothing about Close Reading.”  2= “I know some, and have had some experience/ training in Close Reading.”  3 = “I’m an expert. I’ve taught it, and have used it with my students, and I could easily be teaching it to this group right now.”  Quick Share Out- What do you know about Close Reading?

3.  It’s a careful and purposeful reading and re-reading of a text.  This text can take on many different forms of non-fiction such as a speech, or an article as well as literary components such as a poem, drama, short story, an excerpt from a novel, songs, art, etc…- works with all content areas!  Occurs when a reader independently stops at moments in a text, or media, or life to reread and observe the choices an author has made. He or she reflects on those observations to reach for new understandings that can color the way the rest of the text is read and thought about.  It’s an encounter with the text where students really focus on what the author had to say, what the author’s purpose was, what the words mean, and what the structure of the text tells us. Source: Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts by Nancy Frey and Dr. Douglas Fisher pp. 43-72

4.  Students must re-read the text because they will have to respond to questions, text dependent questions that require that they go back into the text and search for answers. These aren’t just simply recall questions, but rather questions that allow students to THINK about the text, the author’s purpose, the structure, and the flow of the text.  Requires that students actually THINK and UNDERSTAND what they are reading.  It’s an intensive analysis of a text in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it really means..  It’s a way to study the topics and issues we love more carefully and appreciate their subtleties more fully. Source: Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts by Nancy Frey and Dr. Douglas Fisher pp. 43-72

5.  When we have students really read carefully, they pay attention to the words, the ideas, the structure, the flow, and the purpose of that text.  This allows them to be ready to answer more complex questions that require that they really think about what the author said, and compare that with what they know, what they believe, and what they think. Source: Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts by Nancy Frey and Dr. Douglas Fisher pp. 43-72

6.  A first reading is about figuring out what a text says; it is purely an issue of reading comprehension. An added layer can be added to this step that involves “diffusing” some unknown vocabulary words used in context with the text. “Diffusing” means replacing unfamiliar words with synonyms or definitions for the underlined words.  If a student is reading a story, they should be able to easily retell the plot; if someone is reading a science, social studies, or math chapter or article, they should be able to answer questions about the key ideas and details about the text. Source: Timothy Shanahan: Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Founding Director of the Center for Literacy and Chairman of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and past president of International Reading Association

7.  Focuses on figuring out how this text worked.  How did the author organize it?  What literary devices were used, and how effective were they?  What was the quality of the evidence presented?  If data were presented, how was that done?  Why did the author choose this word or that word?  Was the meaning of a key term consistent, or did it change across the text?  For this second reading, many times the teacher will read it aloud, since the student has already read it independently the first time, and circles words, and or phrases (other than the underlined words) that they do not know or that they feel might be important to the meaning of the passage. Source: Timothy Shanahan: Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Founding Director of the Center for Literacy and Chairman of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and past president of International Reading Association

8.  The reader goes even deeper than with the first two readings, asking themselves…  What does this text really mean in the grand scheme of things? What’s the “So What?” of the piece of text?  What was the author’s point?  What does this text have to say to me about my life, or my world?  How do I evaluate the quality of this work- aesthetically, substantively?  How does this text connect to other texts I know?  Students will highlight their text evidence that supports their answer. Source: Timothy Shanahan: Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Founding Director of the Center for Literacy and Chairman of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and past president of International Reading Association

9.  Do students have opportunities to practice these skills independently in my classroom, or do I find that a large portion of their time is spent under my direction? What can I adjust?  Are students internalizing habits for observing and reflecting? How do I know?  Do my students think of close reading instruction as being question and answer specific or as observations/ understandings?  Do I see evidence of my students applying skills more and more without prompting? How can I strengthen this trend, or revise my instruction to see more of this?  Do my students see close reading as only living within pages of a book and only during my class period? Or do they see this as a skill for living a more wide awake life? Source: Timothy Shanahan: Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Founding Director of the Center for Literacy and Chairman of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and past president of International Reading Association

10.  Q: Should I give students a preview of the text?  A: No, you probably shouldn’t, but it isn’t unreasonable to have students do their own look over, allowing them to get the “lay of the land”.  Is it okay to set a purpose for reading?  A: Yes! It is very reasonable to give students a purpose for reading, but these purposes should not reveal a lot of information about the text that the students will be able to find out from reading the text.  Does close reading require that every text be re-read?  A: Yes, it really does, but that doesn’t mean that every text should be given a close reading. Implement close reads on texts that have the most significant value over which power standards you are trying to teach; prioritize- you simply don’t have the time to make every reading of a text a close read.  What if I am unsure whether to discuss prior knowledge before reading a text?  A: If you think there is key information that students need to know before they read the text (something necessary for making sense of the text that isn’t stated in the text), by all means tell it. If there is no pre-information necessary, then don’t hold such a discussion. If you are uncertain, give kids a chance to make sense of it. If it goes well, great! If not, then add the information before the second reading. Source: Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts by Nancy Frey and Dr. Douglas Fisher pp. 43-72

11.  We will all go through the Close Reading process together using an article from Learning Targets. We’re using Learning Targets because it applies to all of us, and is something we’re implementing district-wide, but it works with articles from any content area, and at any grade level.  Take a minute to have conversations with your curriculum coordinator and your department discussing this reading strategy, the process, and one new way that you could implement close reading in the very near future.  Each Department please be prepared to quickly share out. Source: Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today’s Lesson by Connie M. Moss and Susan M Brookhart

12.  Thank you for your time this morning!  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at…  bbragg@nisdtx.org, dbickley@nisdtx.org, mgriffin01@nisdtx.org, and tward@nisdtx.orgbbragg@nisdtx.orgdbickley@nisdtx.org mgriffin01@nisdtx.orgtward@nisdtx.org anytime! We’re always happy to help out!!!  Happy Reading!!!