Close reading can help our thinking become precise, sophisticated, and interesting. Text evidence can be examined through many lenses. For this lesson, we will read through the lens of what characters think, say, or do. Other text evidence lenses include relationships, setting descriptions, and time period.
"One reason to read a text closely is to help us think more powerfully about our characters. Today we are going to focus specifically on what close reading for text evidence might reveal about the characters in our books."
Let's look at the close reading for text evidence in fiction chart (Chart 1).
Read All Ball and think about the main character. Let's narrow our focus and pay attention to particular details by close reading through the lens of "What a character thinks".
Now let's make a list of what the character was thinking, organize the information, and come up with a new understanding.
You try it. Read Eleven and fill out the (Close Reading Graphic Organizer - Eleven Found in our Google Reading Classroom) Use the Close Reading Graphic Organizer - All Ball (above) to help you.
Use these "Phrases for Reflection" to help you start your new understanding.
The reason why the character __________ is because __________.
It seems like this character tends to __________.
My thinking about this character has changed because __________.
These characters are really different because __________.
One issue I am noticing in this book is __________.
I think the author is trying to teach me __________.
I think __________ because the author wrote __________.
You can read for the remainder of the time. Do not forget to do an entry in your - Keeping Track of my Reading.