How to Use the Close Reading

Shift Kit

Shift One:Engage with Complex

Text

Table of Contents

• Critical Directions• PowerPoints• Articles and Research• Webinars• Videos• Websites• Handouts—these are not listed in the table

of contents

International Reading Association Guidelines (Critical Direction)

• Use of challenging texts• Foundational Skills• Comprehension• Vocabulary• Writing• Disciplinary Literacy• Diverse LearnersThe attached link from RI places the information into a chart form.

A Primer on Close Reading(Critical Direction)

• Close Reading defined• Key questions:– What is close reading of text and what are essential

attributes?– How and for what purposes should teachers employ

this strategy?– What is the role of background knowledge in reading

comprehension and when should teachers activate or provide background knowledge?

– What should teachers/district leaders consider as they prepare to implement Close Reading into practice?

The Art of Close Reading(Critical Direction)

• Key Questions:– For what purpose are students reading the text?– For what purpose did the author write the text?– What systems of meaning are in the text?– What ideas can be interconnected within the text

and beyond the text?– How does the structure of the text extend

thinking?

PowerPoints

• Illinois State Board of Education– K-5– 6-12

• Timothy Shanahan – K-12

Research

• Closing in on Close Reading by N. BoylesKey Question: What does it mean to bring

this strategy into the classroom?

• Engaging Children in Close Reading: Multimodal Commentaries and Illustration Remix by B. DaltonKey Question: How does inferring and technology connect with close reading?

• Close Reading in Elementary Schools by D. Fisher and N. FreyKey Question: How can close reading be applied to

the elementary classroom?• Teaching students to closely read with

texts: How and why by D. LappKey Question: How can infusing primary sources

help students develop critical literacy skills?

Research

• The Power and Potential of Primary Sources By D. Morgan and T. Rasinski

Key Question: How can infusing primary sources help students develop critical literacy skills?• Engaging the Adolescent Learner: Text

Complexity and Close Readings By Doug Fisher and Nancy FreyKey Question: What factors make a text complex and

how can close reading better equip students to meet the CCSS?

Research

Handouts

• Planning Text Dependent Questions– What are text-dependent questions?– Start with a high quality text– Non text-dependent questions

Text Dependent Questions

1.Identify key ideas and core understandings of the text.

2.Start small and build confidence.3.Target vocabulary and text structure.4.Tackle tough sections head-on.5.Create coherent sequences of text dependent

questions.6.Identify the standards that are being addressed.7.Create the culminating assessment.

www.achievethecore.org Text Dependent Resources

Resources

• Dr. McClennen’s Close Reading Guide– Doing a close reading– Writing it

• Close Reading Exemplar Tasks

Book Titles• Beers, K. and Probst, R. (2013). Notice and

note: Strategies for close reading. New Hampshire: Heinemann.

• Brummett, B. (2010). Techniques of close reading. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

• Cummins, S. (2013). Close reading of informational text: Assessment-driven instruction in grades 3-8. New York: Guilford Press.

Book Study Ideas

• Begin a book study with a group.• Start an independent study and become a

teacher leader on a topic.• Some books have study guides or podcasts

from the authors available from the publishers—check out their websites!

• Share your knowledge—start a wiki, a newsletter or blog in your district.

Check back often!

• Please check back often for new articles, research, powerpoints or books that might assist you.

• As your professional knowledge deepens around the topic of Close Reading, please contact us with your ideas: plscomments@gmail.com