TEXT DEPENDENT QUESTIONS & CLOSE

READING

Text Dependent Questions

Questions that can only be answered by

referring back to the text

Text-Dependent Questions are not…• Low-level, literal, or recall questions

• Focused on comprehension strategies

• Just questions…

Text-Dependent Questions...• Can only be answered with evidence from the

text.• Can be literal (checking for understanding) but

must also involve analysis, synthesis, evaluation.• Focus on word, sentence, and paragraph, as well

as larger ideas, themes, or events.• Focus on difficult portions of text in order to

enhance reading proficiency.• Can also include prompts for writing and

discussion questions.

Three Types of Text-Dependent QuestionsWhen you're writing or reviewing a set of

questions, consider the following three categories:

• Questions that assess themes and central ideas

• Questions that assess knowledge of vocabulary

• Questions that assess syntax and structure

Non-Examples and Examples

•In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Describe a time when you failed at something.

•In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair.

•In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote?

What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous?

What can you infer from King’s letter about the letter that he received?

“The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year 1776. According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech?

Not Text-Dependent Text-Dependent

An example of Close Reading (Annotating)

5 STEPS TO DO A CLOSE READING (Annotating)

1. Number the paragraphs2. Circle unfamiliar terms3. Underline key terms/main ideas with a

purpose4. Summarize paragraphs in the right

margin5. React to the text in the left margin

Sample article from an ELA class on uniforms being mandatory in schools.

Take a minute to quickly read through the article.

STEP ONE

• Students read/review the text independently and number each paragraph.

• Teachers may opt to chunk the text, in which students would number each chunk.

• Chunking is breaking the text in shorter and more manageable sections or units.

STEP TWO

• Students read/review the text independently and circle terms he/she are unfamiliar with.

• Teachers may choose to pre-teach certain terms prior to the lesson. This is up to each teacher’s discretion.

• If students are circling several terms, then the teacher may want to re-examine the level of the text or choose another text.

STEP THREE

• Teachers will set the purpose for reading the text prior to teaching the lesson.

• Students read/review the text independently and underline or hi-light the main ideas, key terms or phrases that connect to the purpose.

STEP FOUR

• Students read/review the text independently and summarize the paragraphs or chunks in their own words.

• This should be 1-2 sentences quickly summarizing the main points of each paragraph or chunk.

• The summaries go in the right margin.

STEP FIVE

• Students read/review the text independently and react to the text.

• Students will write what comes to mind, activating prior knowledge:

• Text-to-Text• Text-to-World• Text-to-Self

• The student reactions go in the left margin