Falling In Love With Close Reading
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Transcript Falling In Love With Close Reading
Close Reading Strategies for
Middle School Readers
I N S T R U C T I O N A L S U G G E ST I O N S B A S E D O N F A LLI NG I N L O VE
W I T H C L O SE R E A DI NG B Y C H R I S TO P H E R L E H M AN A N D K A T E
R O B E R TS
MEG GLEASON
UPPER FREEHOLD REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Close Reading, A Love Story
Reading closely was, “…the process of trying to tune
out everything else while looking at the style, words,
meter, structure, and so on, of a piece of writing –
letting the text itself shine through” (2).
CCSS R.1, R.3, R.4, R.5, R.6, R.9
What is Close Reading?
It is an interaction between the reader and a text
It is about making careful observations of a text and
then interpretations of those observations
It often involves rereading; rereading short portions
of text that help readers to carry new ideas to the
whole class
Powerful Close Reading Instruction
Is NOT giving students a complex text then forcing
them to read it again and again until they
understand it.
Close reading requires clear, engaging, transferable
and responsive instruction
Teaching Within a Close Reading Ritual to Build
Independence
First, read through lenses
2. Use lenses to find patterns
3. Use the patterns to develop a new understanding of
the text
1.
The Essence of Understanding:
A Study of Text Evidence
There are ways to describe text evidence and ideas in
narratives
Precise thinking is critical
This helps students to transfer skills to their independent
practice in more powerful ways
I’m going to pay attention to descriptions of the setting
I’m going to consider the type of relationship these characters
have (see fig. 2.2, p. 12)
Gather evidence, then develop an idea
CCSS R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says
explicitly and to make logical references from it
Closely Reading Media: Engage Students
Through Popular Songs and Text Evidence
Example song: Boyfriend, by Justin Bieber
Have students listen to song, then look at the lyrics
When students read the lyrics closely, they notice that the narrator
mostly talks about how much money he has and what he can do
with it
Students can then recognize that songs, like books and people,
have messages they want to send out into the world
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/justinbieber/boyfriend.html
More Than Just “Because”: Closely Reading
Narrative Texts to Analyze Evidence and Meaning
• The ritual for reading a text closely:
1.
Deciding what to carefully look for
2.
Finding what these things have in common
3.
Stepping back and seeing what new understanding this gives
you about the text
4.
Look for patterns, and be specific: say both what you see and
the quality of it
Reading closely for text evidence: Read through
lenses
Choose specific details to gather as data:
What characters/people say, think and do
Relationships
Setting descriptions
Time period
Which details fit together?
How do they fit together?
Use Patterns to Develop a New Understanding of
the Text
Look at patterns to think about:
Characters/People’s
Feelings
Traits
Relationships
Whole Text
Themes
Lessons
Phrases for Reflecting on Text Evidence and
Meaning
A Way With Words – A Study of Word Choice
RL 4: By the end of the grade, students can
“…interpret words and phrases as they are used in a
text” (CCSS).
The goal is to have students start describing both what a text is
about and noticing how it’s written
Students should refer to the author more often
Reading Closely for Word Choice
Read Through Lenses
Choose specific words to gather
Words that evoke
Strong emotions
Strong images
A clear idea
Use lenses to find patterns
Which words fit together?
How do they fit together?
Use the patterns to develop a new understanding
Think about an author’s
Tone
Purpose
Relationship to the subject
Central idea
Closely Reading Media – Engage Students
Through TV Ads and Word Choice
Lesson idea
Have a video clip ready of an ad that is aimed at your
students’ age range.
Show two clips that can be compared
Use print ads from teen magazines or style section of
a pop-culture magazine
Closely Reading Media – Engage Students
Through TV Ads and Word Choice
Set up student response to word choice in an ad:
Words
Impact
Idea
Draw students’ attention to word choice and tone
Frames for Thinking About Word Choice
Seeing patterns
One pattern I see is ___________ with words like ______
Some words fit together, like ___ and make me feel ______
These words fit together because they sound___________
The author could have _____but instead_____________
There seems to be more than one pattern____ and also____
Additional Lessons for Providing Extra Support
Reflect on text difficulty through word choice
Use tangible scaffolds to support building ideas
Use text evidence to refine ideas
Find symbols in patterns
Compare texts based on craft choices
Closely Reading Life – Looking at Word Choice
in Our Lives
Study social language
Study “other” texts
Study the words we choose
Run experiments on authoring new patterns