Teaching Close Reading Resource I. Close Reading Planning Guide – Resource II. Completed Exemplar – Supplement III. References Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents, All rights reserved SanfordInspireProgram.org Close Reading Planning Guide Resource (Back to Table of Contents) I. Choose a Text Several factors affect the complexity of a text, as well as its accessibility and readability for students. Use the questions below to guide your text selection for close reading. Title/Section/Passage: Quantitative Measures of Text Complexity What quantitative information do you have about the complexity of this text? This may include Lexile score, Fry readability score, or other quantitative measures of grade level. Notes: Qualitative Elements of Text Complexity Levels of Meaning Structure Language Clarity Knowledge Demands To what extent are the ideas To what extent does the Does the text use simpler, To what extent does the text in this text simple, direct, structure and organization of tier 1 vocabulary or more require specialized and explicit? the text support the reader’s formal, academic (tier 2 and background knowledge that To what extent are they comprehension? tier 3) words? How long are may be unfamiliar to abstract or implied? the sentences? students, or distant from their experiences? Notes: Relevance and Student Interest Connection to Unit of Study Based on what I know about my students, how likely are How is this text connected (topically or thematically) to the they to find this text relevant and interesting? current unit of study? Notes: Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents, All rights reserved SanfordInspireProgram.org II. Choose a Focus A close reading lesson should ultimately be driven by a specific purpose, or focus. The focus is the “thing” (or group of things) that you want your students to notice, analyze, discuss, and use to construct meaning. Use the table below to select a focus for the close reading. Also, please make note of the following: • The focus for a given reading should be narrow (one or two foci). • The focus may shift from one reading to another. • As students reach increasing levels of independence, they may choose their own focus for a reading. Literary Texts Informational Texts Any Text Elements of Plot Key ideas Author’s purpose (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) Point of view or argument Word choice (diction) (claims, supporting evidence, logical (use of specific words/phrases, effect Setting (geographical, historical) reasoning) on tone, emotions evoked) Conflict Rhetorical devices Syntax (man v. man, nature, society, himself) (ethos/pathos/logos, appeals to reason (sentence length and structure, word or emotion, use of story or anecdote, arrangement) Characterization humor) (character’s words, actions, thoughts, Point of view physical appearance, relationships) Use of facts, data, expert quotes (character’s or author’s, what makes it persuasive, level of reliability) Theme Images, charts, graphs (key ideas, issues, messages, irony) Use of repetition Organization (words, ideas, images) Symbols and motifs (headings, sub-headings, captions) Comparisons to other texts Figurative language Concepts and specialized (similarities and differences between (simile, metaphor, personification, vocabulary characters, themes, topics across imagery) (terms and concepts defined by the texts) author) Point of view Inclusion and exclusion (first-person, second-person, third- Author’s bias (whose perspectives are provided and person-limited/omniscient) whose are missing; information not Comparisons given) Why this Focus? Why is this focus appropriate for the selected text? Notes: Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents, All rights reserved SanfordInspireProgram.org III. Plan an Activating Experience An activating experience could be an activity that calls up or builds student background knowledge that will be useful in accessing the text. It could also be an activity where students apply the focus or skill of the lesson to texts or contexts that are familiar from their lives. Background Knowledge What Background Knowledge is Needed? What Background Knowledge do My Students Have? What background knowledge or information will students What are some things my students already know about need in order to access or make sense of this text? (either through study in class or their own experience) that can serve as a point of connection to the text? Notes: Activating Experience Which of the following activities could be used to activate and build student background knowledge in preparation for reading the text? Discussing or debating a question Watching or listening to an audio/video clip, followed by discussion Reading a different (short) text Pre-writing, followed by discussion (e.g. listing all that you know about a topic, completing a K-W-L chart, rating levels of agreement with a series of statements connected to the text) Other Description of activity: “Reading the World”1 Real-World Application Activating Experience How do (or how could) students use the focus of the close What task or activity could prompt students to use the focus reading lesson in their day-to-day lives? of the lesson on a text (or in a context) with which they’re familiar? Description of activity: 1 Freire, Paulo, and Macedo, Donaldo. (1987). Literacy: Reading the Word and the World. South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey. Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents, All rights reserved SanfordInspireProgram.org IV. The First Reading In a “first-draft reading,” students should work to build a literal understanding of the text, and get a feel for its structure and the way it uses language.2 Use the table below as a guide for framing the first reading. Setting the Focus In the first reading, do I want to have students attend to the focus chosen in Step II? or: Do I want to use the first reading as an opportunity for students to make a personal response to the passage? (A personal response may include feelings or reactions, personal connections, questions and wonderings) Monitoring Comprehension Considerations Strategies for Monitoring Comprehension • How will I have my students monitor their • Highlighting words or sentences that are confusing comprehension as they read? • Rating levels of understanding for different sections • Should I model a specific comprehension- of the passage monitoring strategy? • Posing questions Recording Thinking Considerations Strategies for Recording Thinking • Do I want my students to record their thinking as • Post-its they read? If so, how? • Annotating the margins • What will be the purpose of having my students • A chart or table record their thinking during this reading? (E.g. a three-column chart for “I noticed”, “I wonder,” “This reminds me of…” etc.) • A double-entry diary (e.g. a two-column chart in which one column contains quotes from the text and the other questions or reactions to that quote) • Other Notes/plans for the first reading: 2 Gallagher, K. (2004). Deeper reading: Comprehending challenging texts 4-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents, All rights reserved SanfordInspireProgram.org V. First Discussion The first discussion should be used to help students build a basic understanding of the text that can then be elaborated upon with subsequent readings and discussions. Questions and observations shared during the first discussion can set the stage for the second reading. Beginning the Discussion Considerations: Possible Discussion Topics and Sentence Stems • Would I like to begin the discussion by having • Observations: “I noticed…One thing that stuck out to students share the thinking they recorded during me was…One thing that caught my attention was…One the first reading? place where I saw [focus] appear was…” • Would I like to initiate the discussion by posing a • Questions: “I wondered about…I was confused by…I question? By having a student pose a question? didn’t understand what it meant when it said…” • Connections and Reactions: “___ reminded me of…When I read ___, I felt…” Structuring the Discussion Considerations Possible Discussion Structures/Supports • Do I want the discussion to take place in a whole- • Save the Last Word3 class setting? In small groups? In partners or • Silent Discussion4 triads? What norms will we set prior to the • Dialogue Groups5 discussion (e.g. listening carefully and not • Discussion stems: interrupting) - “I agree/disagree with [student] because…” • Do I want to use any specific discussion - “[Student’s] comment makes me think…” structures? - “[Student’s] comment reminded me of… - “[Student’s] comment makes me wonder…” - “’One thing I’d like to add is…” Notes/plans for the first discussion: Notes/observations from the first discussion (i.e. common “noticings,” questions, or points made by students): 3 Students are arranged in groups. Each student shares a short quote from the text. All of the other students in the group share their thoughts or reactions about that quote, then the initiating student shares the “last word.” 4 Students are arranged in groups. Each student writes a short response to a question initiated by the teacher (or another student in the class). They then pass their papers, and write a response to the response that was written before theirs. After each paper makes its way back to the original owner, the group shares their thoughts verbally. 5 Students are arranged in groups, and each group has a different topic or focus (e.g. “Questions,” “Challenging