Common Core Institute

Instructional Shifts in Literacy: Close Reading

Team Building Activity

What comes to mind when I say the words _____________?

CCSS Literacy Key Terms

1.

Anchor Standards 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Strands Clusters College and Career Readiness Depth of Knowledge Literacy Shifts

Thinking Notes

Read pages 1-3 of the Common Core Primer. Use the above marks to annotate your thinking.

Close Reading Primer Share

Close Reading Video • After viewing the video, discuss your impressions with your team.

• Discuss which attributes from the article were present in the video.

Common Core Primer Jigsaw

Read your section of the Common Core Primer. Use the above marks to annotate your thinking. Prepare to share your key findings.

Review

What comes to mind when I say Close Reading?

Reflection Form – Close Reading Common Core Institute – Day 1  How might your experience as a learner in this lesson inform your own teaching?

 What connections can you make to the Balanced Literacy Approaches?

 year?

What shifts in practice are essential for implementing Close Reading next

1984

Close Reading Lesson

: Analyze how author George Orwell uses descriptive details to reveal the setting and main character in the opening pages of the novel

1984

.

Guiding Question

: What can we understand about Winston Smith and the society he lives in based on the descriptive details George Orwell includes in the first few pages of

1984

?

Individual Reading of Text

Directions

: Read the text independently, annotating the text by circling unknown words, underlining key words or phrases that help you visualize the character or setting, and using double question marks to indicate places in the text you find confusing.

Checking for Understanding

In five sentences or less, what is your initial impression of Winston Smith and the society he lives in? (Please use the space at the top of the front page.)

Think Aloud

Please follow along in the text during the rereading. Continue to notice the descriptive details that are revealing Winston's character and the society he lives in.

Text-Dependent

•

Questions

What is the connotation of a society that has something called Hate Week?

• What do Winston's "varicose ulcer" and his need to rest on his way upstairs suggest about his character?

• What else seems significant in this paragraph?

Second Reading

Directions

: Read the remaining paragraphs aloud as a group (choose a reader). Continue to work through the remaining paragraphs, underlining at least one descriptive detail in each paragraph.

Discuss

: What mood do the posters of Big Brother create? Why are the posters up everywhere?

Writing About the Text

Prompt

: Choose one word or phrase that you feel best describes the character of Winston Smith or the society he lives in. Write a paragraph explaining your rationale, using at least two descriptive details from the text to support your choice.

(Please use the space at the bottom of the text.)