Short complex texts,

with deep reading activities.

design ©H

arryarts / Freepik

SHORT TEXTS | DEEP READING

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What is Close Reading?

GUIDED READING Short Reads Nonfiction

Close reading is designed to help students of all levels of ability understand complex text. The goal of close reading is to teach strategies for approaching text that allow students to successfully read the same sort of text independently. It develops thinking skills that pleasure reading and straight comprehension activities cannot.

This is achieved through a carefully structured reading and rereading of the text:

PREPARE AND READNote the main features of the text, and then read independently

READ CLOSELYRevisit the text in a systematic way, in order to gain further understanding of the text. This includes questioning/discussion about:

DISCUSS AND WRITEDiscuss in pairs challenging questions about the text once again, and support answers with evidence from the text.

Complete an information/explanation or opinion writing task that requires revisiting the text to reorganise, analyse and restructure ideas, or state their own opinion with reference to the text. These higher order thinking skills are essential in advanced problem solving and essay writing required throughout high school and university.

“Close, analytical reading ... empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole.”

grades 3-11. Version 2.0. Retrieved from 222.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/�les/PARCCMCFELALiteracyAugust2012_Final.pdf

Why Short Reads Non-Fiction?TEXTS FOR CLOSE READING AND DEEP COMPREHENSIONClose reading involves careful study of a short text passage to build a deep, critical understanding of the text. By developing children’s comprehension and higher-order thinking skills, you can help them make sense of the world.

“A significant body of research links the close reading of complex text—whether the student is a struggling reader or advanced—to significant gains in reading proficiency, and finds close reading to be a key component of college and career readiness.”

(Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, 2012, p. 7)1.

READING AND RE-READING FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSESThe texts in Short Reads Non-fiction are carefully selected and deliberately short. This focusses students on purposeful reading, re-reading and responding. They learn about the topic through rich vocabulary development and deep comprehension.

PREPARE

AND READ

1st Reading

READ

CLOSELY

2nd Reading

DISCUSS

3rd Reading

WRITE

4th Reading

Students re-read and analyse the text through questioning to explore:

• text structure and features• key ideas and details• connections/conclusions• predictions/inferences• words and phrases in

context

Students actively respond to the text using:

• higher-order thinking skills• paired discussion• written responses

Choosing a Short Text Your students should ideally be reading texts at a level appropriate to their reading development, or have teaching support to help them access texts outside their normal reading range.

WITHIN A STUDENT’S READING RANGE

• subjective data including: —students’ prior knowledge of or interest in the topic —support provided during reading (e.g. the text being read aloud)

• —colour wheel/book bands —reading level (as levelled by Scholastic)

BEYOND A STUDENT’S READING RANGEYou might choose a text that is outside a student’s normal reading range,

students are not from English-speaking backgrounds.

You can support students by:• providing background information about the topic• clarifying the vocabulary in advance• reading the text aloud• using ‘think aloud’ techniques to model ways to access the text• actively engaging the students in conversations about what they’ve read

Scheduling Short Reads in the ClassroomThe cards are designed as teacher-led, small group activities and should be an alternative to other group activities. Because the cards are short, your class should be able to read, re-read and discuss a card in one lesson of 20–30 minutes. Students may then complete two independent writing activities, which should each take between 10 and 20 minutes.

¹ Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. (2012). PARCC model content frameworks: English language arts/literacy grades 3-11. Version 2.0. Retrieved from www.parcconline.org/resources/educator-resources/model-content-frameworks/ela-model-content-framework/structure-of-the-model-content-frameworks-for-ela-literacy

² Lexile, Lexile Framework and the Lexile symbol are U.S. registered trademarks of MetaMetrics Inc.

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InstructionsTurquoise, Level 18, 390L

Text Type: Procedure

Summary: These pages describe what mining is and why we do it, and challenges students to pick the chocolate chips out of a biscuit without damaging the biscuit.

Themes/Ideas: mining; environment; resources; experiment; tools; human impact; best practices

Text Features: heading, subheadings, equipment list, photos, diagram, illustration, text boxes, list of rules, capital letters, rhetorical questions

Vocabulary:

• buried: hidden underground

• cheaper: lower in price

• crush: to push hard against something so it breaks or loses its shape

• damage: harm; injury; a lowering of the value, usefulness or function of something

• mine (verb): to dig in the ground to collect minerals, metals, jewels etc.

• precious: valuable or costly

Chocolate Mining Focus Question: Can people mine for things without causing major

damage to the environment?

PREPARE & READ

• Discuss what it means to mine for something.• Ask if the students know any objects that we dig for in the ground.• Ask students to read the card.

READ CLOSELY

Illustrations and VocabularyLook at the tiny illustration near the heading. How does this Illustration help you understand the meaning of the word mining? 1

Make ConnectionsRead the introduction under the heading and the “What do we dig for?” section. Why does the author first talk about ways we use things that grow or exist on Earth’s surface, when most of the card is about mining? 2 3

. . . The author connects the ideas of needing things from the surface of Earth with needing things from underground. It made me think about how much we need Earth to survive. This was still in my mind when I read “What’s the Problem?”, which discusses the damage caused by mining.

Sequence The presentation of this procedure is different from that of other procedures. How is it different? Why did the author arrange things in this way? 2 – 7

. . . Procedures usually have an introduction, an equipment list and a series of steps to explain how to complete the activity. In this procedure, the author presents a real-life problem (damage caused by mining), poses a challenge (can you get the chocolate without damaging the biscuit?), lists the equipment to use, and then states the rules to follow. This works as a challenge because there are no steps provided in a challenge. The author wants readers to try different techniques to solve the problem—as long as they use the listed equipment and follow the established rules.

Author’s Language ChoicesPages 1 and 2 have two quite different styles of writing. How are they different? How does the author use humour in the final comment to reinforce the main message presented in the card? 7

. . . The front of the card is written in first person (uses I/we), while the back is written in second person (uses you/your). This works well because the front and back of the card have different purposes. The front explains a problem that “we” all have, while the back explains a challenge the author wants “you” to try. The author jokingly talks about not wasting the chocolate I dug from the biscuit as a “precious thing”, just like coal or oil that is dug from Earth. This reinforces in a fun way that Earth’s resources are valuable.

?

DISCUSS

These questions can be used for paired discussion. Ask students to use the text to support their reasoning. Then ask them to share their conclusions with the group.

• What’s the difference between getting electricity from digging up and burning coal, and using solar panels to make energy from the sun?

• Permission to mine things from Earth usually comes from governments. How can the rest of the community make the government know they are concerned about mining in their local area?

• Why was mining not a big problem to the environment in the past? How did mining methods change the level of damage done to Earth?

WRITE

Have students choose either one of the following options for writing, or do both.

• Fold your paper in half. On one side write the heading “Reasons for Mining” and on the other side list “Problems with Mining”. List facts from the front of the card under the appropriate heading. (Information/Explanation)

• Write a letter to your local newspaper. Explain why we should be careful when mining for things underground. Use examples from the card to support your reasoning. (Opinion)

Summarise What are some of the different things we dig for? What things do we make using objects from underground? What are some of the problems caused by mining?

BOX 2 Teacher’s GuideShort Reads Non-fiction

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Using the Short Reads Lesson Notes

REFERENCE PANEL Card reference data for teachers

FOCUS QUESTION The question posed by this card

PREPARE AND READBrief prompts to engage students

READ CLOSELYQuestions teachers can ask to encourage careful re-reading.

RED NUMBERS BESIDE QUESTIONS Cross-reference to card illustration, pointing to where students will find the answers

POSSIBLE RESPONSE Exemplary answers for challenging questions

DISCUSS Summative questions for paired discussion, encouraging higher-level thinking skills

WRITE Two writing tasks using information, explanation and opinion writing skills

RED NUMBERS ON CARD Cross-reference to questions in “Read Closely” section

STUDENT TEXT Copy of both sides of the card

Short Reads Non-fiction BOX 2 Teacher’s Guide