CLOSE READING STRATEGIES: FOCUS ON COMMON CORE

ELA Department Presentation

Facilitator: Kirsti Cady

January/February 2014

PACKET CONTENTS

� Five Close Reading Strategies to Support the Common Core (AVID)

� Multiple Readings for Multiple Purposes

3PQ (Pre-Reading)

Chunking the Text

� Approaches to Common Core: How to Paraphrase

� Summary Writing – “Say, Do, Mean”; “IDPATS”

� Levels of Questioning

� Text Connections

� Writing and Drawing in the Margins

� “Listen Up: To Protect Your Hearing, It’s Best To Limit Loudness” – Practice Text

ITEACH. ICOACH. IBLOG.

Five close reading strategies to support the Common Core Court Allam

Monday, June 11, 2012

I walked in to my first college class, Political Science 101, eager to learn. For my inaugural college assignment, my

professor asked the class to read the first three chapters of the textbook for the next class period.

That night, I returned to my dorm room, determined to learn everything I could in those three chapters. I pulled out my

textbook and highlighter. Growing up, that is what I always saw the “older kids” using when they read a textbook. In my

naïve 18-year-old mind, I believed that highlighters must have some magical power that transports the words on the

page directly to your brain. I assumed that if I just figured out the right words to highlight, then it would be easy for me

to remember what I read.

However, when I opened my textbook it was unlike anything I had read in high school. Where were the pictures? Where

were the definitions for words in the margins? Where was the chapter summary at the end of each chapter? All of the

things I relied on in high school to get me through a text were missing.

I shrugged, pulled out my highlighter and started highlighting. That is what college kids did to study… right? But, what

was I supposed to highlight? The bold words? The headings? “Important” information? I wasn’t sure. I started

highlighting everything that looked important on the page. Before long, the page looked something like this:

I quickly realized that I had no real game plan for reading this complicated textbook. I didn’t know what to highlight or

how to find the important information to study. The text simply overwhelmed me.

Flash forward to my first few years of teaching. I taught senior English, and I was determined to provide my students

help when it came to annotating texts. We practiced annotations throughout the year, and my instructions went

something like: “Mark it up! Underline important information! Write in the margins!”

While this method may have been slightly more effective than what I used that first day of college, it was still too vague

and ambiguous for my students. They had no direction for reading, especially when it was a complicated text they did

not understand.

Last fall, I attended an AVID workshop about critical reading strategies. To be honest, it completely changed the way I

teach reading. I learned many simple strategies to help my students attack a text. After the conference, our department

began adapting the strategies to all of the types of texts that we teach. Here are five simple strategies to help teach

students how to critically read complex texts. The best part? Highlighters are not required.

1. Number the paragraphs

The Common Core asks students to be able to cite and refer to the text. One simple way to do this is by numbering each

paragraph, section or stanza in the left hand margin. When students refer to the text, I require them to state which

paragraph they are referring to. The rest of the class will be able to quickly find the line being referred to.

2. Chunk the text.

When faced with a full page of text, reading it can quickly become overwhelming for students. Breaking up the text into

smaller sections (or chunks) makes the page much more manageable for students. Students do this by drawing a

horizontal line between paragraphs to divide the page into smaller sections.

At the beginning of the year, I group the paragraphs into chunks before I hand out the assignment. In the directions I will

say, “Chunk paragraphs 1-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12.” I look at the paragraphs to see where natural chunks occur. Paragraphs 1-3

may be the hook and thesis statement, while 6-8 may be the paragraphs where the author addresses the opposition. It

is important to understand that there is no right or wrong way to chunk the text, as long as you can justify why you

grouped certain paragraphs together.

By the end of the year, I begin to let go of that responsibility and ask my students to chunk the text on their own. They

number the paragraphs then must make decisions about what paragraphs will be grouped together. Usually, most of the

class is very similar in the way they chunked the text.

3. Underline and circle… with a purpose.

Telling students to simply underline “the important stuff” is too vague. “Stuff” is not a concrete thing that students can

identify. Instead, direct students to underline and circle very specific things. Think about what information you want

students to take from the text, and ask them to look for those elements. What you have students circle and underline

may change depending on the text type.

For example, when studying an argument, ask students to underline “claims”. We identify claims as belief statements

that the author is making. Students will quickly discover that the author makes multiple claims throughout the

argument.

When studying poetry, students could underline the imagery they find throughout the poem.

Circling specific items is also an effective close reading strategy. I often have my students circle “Key terms” in the text. I

define key terms as words that: 1. Are defined. 2. Are repeated throughout the text. 3. If you only circled five key terms

in the entire text, you would have a pretty good idea about what the entire text is about.

I have also asked students to circle the names of sources, power verbs, or figurative language.

Providing students with a specific thing you want them to underline or circle will focus their attention on that area much

better than “underlining important information”.

4. Left margin: What is the author SAYING?

It isn’t enough to ask students to “write in the margins”. We must be very specific and give students a game plan for

what they will write. This is where the chunking comes into play.

In the left margin, I ask my students to summarize each chunk. I demonstrate how to write summaries in 10-words or

less. The chunking allows the students to look at the text in smaller segments, and summarize what the author is saying

in just that small, specific chunk.

5. Right margin: Dig deeper into the text

In the right-hand margin, I again direct my students to complete a specific task for each chunk. This may include:

· Use a power verb to describe what the author is DOING. (For example: Describing, illustrating, arguing, etc..) Note: It

isn’t enough for students to write “Comparing” and be done. What is the author comparing? A better answer might be:

“Comparing the character of Montag to Captain Beatty”.

· Represent the information with a picture. This is a good way for students to be creative to visually represent the chunk

with a drawing.

· Ask questions. I have found this to be a struggle for many students, as they often say they don’t have any questions to

ask. When modeled, students can begin to learn how to ask questions that dig deeper into the text. I often use these

questions as the conversation driver in Socratic Seminar.

There are many other things students can write in the margins. However, we must model and teach these strategies so

that students will have an idea of what to write when they are on their own.

Here is what a completed Article of the Week might look like after a student has performed a close read of it:

To ensure our students are college and career ready, we must teach them critical reading strategies in order for them to

independently attack a text. They must learn how to own a text, rather than letting the text own them. After following

these steps, students have read the text at least five times and they are actively interacting with the text. This is a much

different experience than skimming through a text one time with a highlighter in hand.

http://iteachicoachiblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/five-simple-close-reading-strategies.html

MULTIPLE READINGS FOR MULTIPLE PURPOSES

Reading complex text is like eating an elephant: It cannot be done with one bite. Common Core necessitates

close reading. Plan strategies and purposes for multiple readings, moving from “What does the text SAY?”

(CCS 1-3) to “What does the text DO to communicate that message?” (CCS 4-6) and then to “What does the

text MEAN, to me, beyond me?” (CCS 7-9).

a. Start with 3PQ, which is a perfunctory skim enhanced by thinking.

b. Do a preliminary reading to answer the read-to-find-out questions students generated with 3PQ. That will

eliminate their frustration with trying to comprehend everything on a first read because all they need to

focus on is finding clues to the answer to their questions.

c. The second read might be to Mark the Text. Now that students have worked through the text once by

themselves. A teacher read-aloud would be appropriate; students will benefit from hearing the text read

with fluency and expression. The teacher decides what students should mark, based on the teacher’s

understanding of the text and the difficulties it might present. Teachers will need to model Marking the

Text, using a document camera, if possible. Throughout the semester, gradually turn over responsibility to

students. Marking the Text involves three distinct marks:

i. Numbering the paragraphs (useful during discussion when citing textual evidence). For math,

number each sentence, or each phrase.

ii. Circling--Specify one of the following

1. History: key terms (repeated, defined, related to the title, used in a unique way, central to

the piece), concepts, words that signal relationships or time, names of important people,

places, events, dates

2. Science: key terms (repeated, defined, related to the title, used in a unique way, central to

the piece), concepts, names of people, theories, experiments, properties, units of measure,

variables

3. Math: words that indicate a mathematical operation, units , variables

4. Literature: repeated words or ideas, names of people or characters, vivid language, diction

worthy of note, stylistic elements, language that indicates author’s values or tone

iii. Underlining—Specify one of the following

1. History: claims, evidence, details supporting or explaining a main idea, facts about a

particular person, place, thing, idea, cause-and-effect relationships

2. Science: claims, definitions, evidence, examples, guiding language, hypotheses, “if-then”

statements, main ideas, methods or processes

3. Math: verbal models, processes, definitions

4. Informational text in all content areas: claims—the author’s or those of someone the author

refers to.

5. Literature: descriptions, figurative language (in general or one in particular), analogies,

literary devices, characterization clues, imagery, context clues

d. Another read might use Pause and Connect. Model for students how to identify essential information and

then visually connect it to related parts of the text using arrows, lines, symbols. One example: If a text has

a strong thesis/forecast statement, have students color-code each part and then draw color-coded arrows

to the text that develops each part.

e. An excellent read for understanding text structure is Chunking the Text. Students decide which paragraphs

belong together because they all serve the same function: introduce the piece, tell a story, present a claim,

define an important concept, contrast two points of view, rebut a counter-argument, etc. Once students

have finished Chunking the Text with horizontal lines from margin to margin, they can Write in the

Margins, explaining what each chunk is doing or saying. Better yet, they can make their marginal note in

non-linguistic form—a drawing or symbol.

f. One read might involve Pause and Respond. Students can use sticky notes or marginal notes to indicate

that they see a connection, don’t understand, have questions, feel strongly, wonder….You can chunk the

text, read aloud and stop at the end of each chunk, and ask students to Pause and Respond. The small

sticky note will make them feel less intimidated.

g. Reading for Meaning involves students in reading and re-reading to find textual evidence to support an

inference. You can adapt the activity for math, science, or history.

3PQ

WHAT IT IS

3PQ is a pre-reading strategy. Teach it to students as a way for them to get into a text that is not of their own choosing.

HOW IT WORKS

3PQ: Preview text features in order to predict main idea and text genre. Make connections to prior knowledge. Create

read-to-find-out questions.

• Preview text features… Kids won’t know what that means! Think about title and subtitle, byline and author

information, publishing information, headings, sections, or paragraphing (as a clue to structure), topic sentences or

headings, visuals that accompany the text, bold or italicized words, sidebars, previews, summaries,

focus/essential/end-of-passage questions, introductions/conclusions, white space, etc. For a long piece without

headings but with lengthy paragraphs, a read of first sentences helps to figure out the general flow of information

throughout the piece. Don’t just read the text features; think about them, and use them to…

• Predict main idea and text genre… What will the article be about? What point will it make about its topic? Is the text

going to be narrative, expository, persuasive, or technical? … and then make connections to …

• Prior Knowledge. What do you already know about this topic? What have you heard about it? Use what you know

about this text genre (narrative, expository, persuasive, technical) to determine your reading strategy. What do you

need to watch for as you read narratives? How can you read differently when you read expository text?

• Question: Based on the ideas from the 3P’s, create one to three read-to-find-out questions.

Now read, and mark the text for anything that relates to your read-to-find-out questions.

CAUTIONS AND TIPS

Start by explicitly teaching the strategy. Tell kids it is a way to “get into” a passage they don’t find innately interesting or

wouldn’t have chosen on their own. Write the strategy on the board, along with explanations of each part. Help kids

look for text features in the particular article. Also help them to think about them, to make connections. Available text

features vary from one passage to another; keep them aware of all the options. Also, get them to discuss how to read

the various text genres. Many kids mistakenly think they read everything all the same way, by starting with the first

word, and saying each word until they get to the end. Talk about what other pieces they have read that match this text

genre and what they know about how to read it. For example, with narrative, the reader keys in on the characters and

the main events, and reading the whole piece in order is essential. For technical passages, though, we often use

headings to find the specific information we need; we don’t read everything.

Continue to guide students in using the strategy for several different reading passages. Refer to it explicitly and

repeatedly.

Slowly turn responsibility for knowing and using the strategy over to students. Hand out a new piece and ask them

what they should do before they actually read it. Have them do 3PQ in small groups, with a different designated leader

each time. Progress to having them do 3PQ with a partner, and then individually.

Have them figure out places they could use the strategy beyond your class or seminar. Transfer of learning is the

hardest thing to accomplish. Kids will use 3PQ in your presence because you are their reminder. Help them find other

reminders for the times you are not around!

CHUNKING

Rationale:

An important skill for students to practice is the ability to comprehend challenging texts. Chunking is an

example of a strategy that helps students’ breakdown difficult text into more manageable pieces. Dividing

content into smaller parts helps students identify key words and ideas, develops students’ ability to

paraphrase, and makes it easier for students to organize and synthesize information.

Step One: Preparation

Chunking can be used with challenging texts of any length. A paragraph can be chunked into phrases and

sentences while a reading of several pages can be chunked into paragraphs or sections. You can write down

your chunk on a graphic organizer or just in the margin of your paper.

Step Two: Review Reading Strategies

As you read, remember to…

• Circle words that are unfamiliar.

• Use context clues to help define.

• Look up the meaning of unknown words.

• Write synonyms for these new words in the text.

• Underline important places and people and identify.

• Read aloud.

• Read multiple times.

Step Three: Chunk the Text

“Chunking the text” simply means breaking the text down into smaller parts. Sometimes teachers chunk the

text in advance for you. Other times, teachers ask students to chunk the text.

Step Four: Paraphrase Meaning

You should rewrite “chunks” in your own words. By the end of this activity, you should have a paraphrased

version of the original text.

Step Five: Assessment and Sharing

The paraphrased text can be used to evaluate your understanding and reading ability. You can compare your

chunks of the text with other students to see what they got out of it. If they have something different, ask

them to talk more about it so you can learn more. This step often leads to interesting discussion about

interpretation – how people can often find different meaning in the same words?

This strategy will help you determine importance of what you read and be a great tool to study with!

Adapted From: http://www.facing.org/resources/strategies/chunking

The Literacy Cookbook blog

by Sarah Tantillo, Ed.D., LLC

APPROACHES TO THE COMMON CORE: HOW TO PARAPHRASE

Posted on August 22, 2012

Paraphrasing is not as simple as it might seem. Paraphrasing requires you to perform three distinct

operations:

� Unpack vocabulary (attack roots; use prior knowledge and context clues)

� Unpack syntax and grammar (unpack clauses and phrases; pay attention to punctuation)

� Draw inferences from idioms

For now, let’s look at how you can train students how to paraphrase STRATEGICALLY. One reason that

students struggle with paraphrasing is that they are unsure which words to CHANGE vs. which to KEEP.

They need a strategy for how to make these decisions.

Here’s one that works, no matter what grade or subject you teach:

STEP 1. CIRCLE or BRACKET the words or phrases that you CANNOT or don’t want to change. These

words/phrases are crucial to the meaning of the passage and should not be changed because doing so

would change that meaning. MNEMONIC HINT: Help students remember what to circle by telling them to

“wrap the words you want to keep in protective bubble wrap” and pretend to hug something

precious. The words you want to keep or “protect” might include:

� Proper nouns (unless they can be replaced by something that does not change their meaning, such as

“Obama” or “the President”)

� Statistics/specific information

� Words that are unique or difficult to find a synonym for

STEP 2: UNDERLINE the words or phrases that you know you CAN change.

That’s it. Here’s an example, using a random sentence from the NY Times:

ORIGINAL: [Jimi Hendrix’s jacket], along with a mesmerizing hoard [of trinkets from rock’s] glory days,

[were] stuffed haphazardly into every corner of the shop [until last fall, when rent increases] forced the

store to close.

PARAPHRASED: Jimi Hendrix’s jacket and a fascinating collection of trinkets from rock’s heyday were

jammed randomly throughout the store until last fall, when rent increases made the owner shut down

the business.

SAY, DO, MEAN SUMMARY

SAY, DO, MEAN TEMPLATE

In the _____________________________ ____________________________________________,

(type of source) (title of source, correctly punctuated)

_________________________________________, ________________________________________,

(author’s name: first and last) (information about the author)

____________________________________ that _________________________________________

(verb in present tense: explains, claims, suggests, supposes, etc.)

___________________________________________________________________________. This is a

significant point because ______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________.

PLANNER FOR A SAY, DO, MEAN SUMMARY:

OPENING SENTENCE FOR A SUMMARY OF A TEXT:

Name It Verb It Big Picture It

Title, author, publication,

date

Tells, shows, describes, explains,

discusses, lists, explores,

illustrates, teaches, compares

Big idea of entire passage

John Smith, in the 2013 New

York Times article “How

Poverty Shapes the Brain,”

explains the effects of poverty on the

auditory processing of the

brain.

IDPATS SUMMARY FOR “LISTEN UP”

IDPATS MNEMONIC:

� Introductory sentence that Identifies the source (Name it, verb it, big picture it)

� Development: What does the author do first, second, next, in order to advance the argument?

(illustrates an idea, describes an event, shares an anecdote, draws a comparison, presents

statistics)

� Purpose

� Audience: Who is the intended audience?

� Tone: What is the author’s relationship to that audience? In what “tone of voice” is the author

speaking/writing?

� Significance (So what?)

IDPATS SUMMARY OF “LISTEN UP”

In the Sacramento Bee article entitled “Listen Up: To protect your hearing, it’s best to limit loudness,”

reporter Carla Meyer reminds readers that they should safeguard their hearing when listening to loud

music. She first supports this claim with comments from an audiologist, who compares the loudness of

music to everyday noises. Then, she provides remarks from a long-time member of the music industry,

who also recommends protection when attending concerts. As her final point, Meyer quotes an actual

musician, who adds that ear protection does not have to distort the quality of the music. Meyer’s purpose

is to gently alert parents and teenagers, who may not yet notice the damage loud music is doing to their

hearing, to the need to protect hearing when listening to either recorded or live music. The significance of

Meyer’s article is revealed by the American Medical Association’s estimate that “one in five teenagers has

hearing loss.”

THREE-LEVELS OF QUESTIONING

PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR READING:

Before, During, and After

DESCRIPTION:

Three-levels of Questioning is a great strategy for all levels of students because of the varying degree

of skills required to answer the questions. The first level of questions is explicitly found in the text so

students who struggle with comprehension can feel a sense of accomplishment by answering these

questions. The second level of questions requires a bit more advanced comprehension skills. They are

a little harder than the first level but can still be found in the text. The third level of questions goes

beyond the text and requires students to apply what they have read to other concepts. This level

requires advanced comprehension skills and may be difficult for struggling readers, but the layout of

the worksheet provides a smooth, gradual transition from easy to difficult. Students are provided

questions so the purpose for the reading is set before they read the text. During the reading, they are

guided through the text by the three levels of questions. After the reading, the students discuss their

answers as a class, providing an opportunity to reinforce what they have read and for clarification.

Level I --- Literal Level: What does this reading say about …?

Level II --- Interpretive Level: What does this reading mean?

Level III --- Applied Level: How does this information apply in the real world …?

DIRECTIONS:

1. Provide an introduction to the three levels of thinking/questioning.

2. Students should read the text individually, seeking evidence for their interpretations they are

formulating to the questions.

3. Students should meet with and reach consensus in their small groups.

4. Lead an entire class discussion in an attempt to reach whole-group consensus.

SUGGESTIONS/MODIFICATIONS:

• If you have students who really struggle with reading, you can divide the reading into section (A, B, C…)

and write on the worksheet what section each question comes from to help students find the answers.

• After the students have completed the study guide and discussed as a class you can have them each

choose a question from the third level of questions and write an essay/paper to explore the question

or concept further.

THREE-LEVELS OF QUESTIONING - SAMPLE

DIRECTIONS: Read the following information. Then decide which of the statements answer the question

for that level. Check ( ���� ) each correct statement and be prepared to support your choices.

Three Levels of Questioning: How Light Emitting Diodes work

Reading: http://www.howstuffworks.com/led.htm

Instructions: Scan the statements on this study guide before reading. Then, during or after reading, place a

check mark in the space next to the statements with which you agree. Be prepared to explain your choice. Be

sure to be able to refer to the text to support your choices whether you agree with a statement or not.

LEVEL I: RIGHT THERE ON THE PAGE

___1. LEDs do not have filament that can burn out.

___2. A semiconductor with extra electrons is called a P-type material.

___3. LEDs release a higher number of photons than other diodes.

LEVEL II: READING BETWEEN THE LINES

___4. LEDs are much more efficient than incandescent bulbs.

___5. LEDs emit less light than incandescent bulbs their size.

___6. One disadvantage of the LEDs is their size.

LEVEL III: READING BEYOND THE LINES

___7. The use of LEDs is expanding in recent years.

___8. With the increased focus on environmentally friendly practices, LEDs have become a better option.

___9. It would make sense to use LEDs in battery operated devices when possible.

Text Connections

What is a text connection? A text connection is a critical thinking tool that allows you (the reader) to:

� actively reflect upon the reading

� keep a record of your evolving process of text analysis

� develop critical thinking skills

� develop an independent literary/informational analysis of a text

What is in a text connection?

� Carefully selected passages which are significant.

� Parenthetical citations for each passage.

� An indication of the type of text connection (Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, Text-to-World) made to each

passage. (See below for explanation)

� Reflective and in-depth statements for every selected passage which:

� place the passage in context

� explain the meaning and significance of the passage

� explain reason(s) for this type of text connection

� connect back to the novel/short story/informational text by explaining what each text connection has

helped you understand about the novel/short story/informational text

What are text connections? A text connection indicates the reasons why you selected a

passage and it reveals the depth of your critical thinking. There are three types of text

connections:

Text to World

This is a connection you can make between the selected passage and the world

outside of your own experience or a book. For example, text to world connections

reference significant moments in sports or history. They can also reference places in

our world or current events.

Text to Self

This is a connection you can make between the selected passage and your own

personal experiences.

Text to Text

This is a connection you can make between the selected passage and another book,

short story or film. It can also indicate a connection you can make between this

passage and another part of the same book or informational text.