Close Reading
Close Reading
Levels PK-12 Content - Any
Close reading is a strategic process a reader uses in dealing with a complex text to acquire the information needed to complete a task. There is no single correct way to read something closely. Some experts have argued that to closely read a complex text, students need to read it at least three times. Others argue that teachers should be asking students text-dependent questions. This strategy page includes the detailed framework for multiple reads and the structure of text dependent questions. Note that close reading applies to any complex materials: scientific process, steps to solve a complex math problem, short story, diagram, sheet of music, directions to play a game... there is close reading needed to access most every content area. (wested.org)
READ
READ
The ability to read a complex text and to understand what is being stated or implied within it is a skill needed in all content areas, not just in English Language Arts. Every content area has complex material that students need to be able to analyze. Perhaps one of the most common misconceptions about close reading is that the term “text” refers only to printed words. Anything that contains complex information can be considered a challenging text.
For example, each of the following could all be considered complex texts that students might need to read closely: charts, maps, diagrams, word problems, tables, music (in all forms), artwork, photographs, bodies in motion (imagine trying to explain a football game to someone unfamiliar with the rules), natural phenomena (a fly fisher reading the river and what is hatching in order to select flies), machines, plans for building a piece of furniture, and more.
Given this broad view of what constitutes a complex text, virtually all teachers, irrespective of the subject they teach (e.g., physical education, shop, calculus) will find themselves needing to teach their students how to read closely. And given the importance of teaching students how to interpret complex information from a wide variety of “texts,” it is no surprise that the first Common Core anchor standards expects students to “read closely to determine what [a] text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it” .
LISTEN
LISTEN
Elementary Subscribe to Sarah Henley's podcast. Episode 30 is all about the "buzz word" Close Reading and what it really means. Scroll down to episode 30 and subscribe using your favorite Podcast platform.
Secondary Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts, authors of Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts — and Life, share on this Choice Literacy Podcast. (scroll down a tiny bit and push play)
PLAN
PLAN
4 LEVELS OF CLOSE READING
Level 1 What does the text say? (literal, key details, main idea)
Level 2 How does the text work? (vocab, structure, craft, text features, divide text into chunks)
Level 3 What does the text mean? (author’s purpose, intertext connections, answer text dependent questions)
Level 4 What does the text inspire you to do? (write, debate, present, investigate)
3rd GRADE
link is to article describing the lesson, video is within article (eleducation.org)
TEXT DEPENDENT
QUESTIONS ELEMENTARY
WATCH SECONDARY
SCIENCE
In which phases of the instructional model might this strategy be used?
In which phases of the instructional model might this strategy be used?
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