Close+Reading

Beers and Probst  || Source: Michigan Education
 * Close Reading **
 * Just as rigor does not reside in the barbell but in the act of lifting it, rigor in reading is not an attribute of a text but rather of a reader’s behavior—engaged, observant, responsive, questioning, analytical.
 * Close reading is careful and purposeful reading and rereading of text where students focus on:
 * what the author says
 * the author’s purpose
 * the meaning of words
 * how the text is structured.
 * It is getting into what the author had to say while bringing one’s own ideas into the process.
 * In close reading, students reread text realizing that text-dependent questions require them to search for answers.
 * These kinds of questions encourage students to think:
 * about the text
 * the author’s purpose
 * the structure and flow of the text.
 * Close reading requires students to think and understand what they are reading. With CCSS, students must provide evidence and justification for their answers.
 * CCSS Learning Objectives within Close Reading **
 * Reading Comprehension: ** Students should read the day’s passage independently and then follow along when the teacher reads aloud. After that, the class explores the text through a set of concise text-dependent questions which compel students to reread and investigate certain portions of the text. Multiple readings with text-dependent questions can act as scaffolding.
 * Academic Vocabulary: ** Text-dependent questions should ask students to explore the meaning of words in context to determine the author’s intention in using the words and their implications.
 * Syntax: ** Students should note challenging syntax for meaning and importance to determine why the author constructed the sentences in this manner.
 * Discussion: ** By discussing the passage in depth, students develop confidence when reading complex texts and move toward independence in their reading and thinking.
 * Writing: ** Students should construct brief written responses to text-dependent questions with a final written response that asks students to draw together what they have learned about the text.