close reading columbia
DESCRIPTION
Strategies for and definitions of close readingTRANSCRIPT
Close ReadingColumbia Public Schools
Summer 2014
Amanda Arens, literacy consultant
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A few titles . . .
Close Reading
What is Close Reading?
It is an interaction between the reader and a text (Douglas Fisher in the online video interview, “Close Reading and the Common Core State Standards,” April 3, 2012).
It is about making careful observations of a text and then interpretations of those observations (Patricia Kain for the Writing Center at Harvard University, 1998).
It involves rereading: often rereading a short portion of text that helps a reader to carry new ideas to the whole text (Kylene Beers and Robert Probst in Notice and Note, 2012.)
pg. 4 Falling in Love with Close Reading
Close ReadingClose reading, then, should not imply that we ignore the reader’s experience and attend closely to the text and nothing else. It should imply that we bring the text and the reader close together. To ignore either element in the transaction, to deny the presence of the reader or neglect the contribution of the text, is to make reading impossible. If we understand close reading this way, when the reader is brought into the text we have the opportunity for relevance, engagement, and rigor.
Close Reading (cont’d) The practice of close reading has the following characteristics: It works with a short passage.
The focus is intense.
It will extend from the passage itself to other parts of the text.
It should involve a great deal of exploratory discussion.
It involves rereading.
pgs 36 – 38, Notice and Note
Close ReadingMuch attention has been given to the process of close reading, which relies on repeated readings of short passages of complex texts. A key purpose of close reading is to encourage students to examine in detail what the text has to say. The first assumption behind the practice of close reading is that the text is worthy; not everything we read requires this kind of inspection. However, understanding the text itself is necessary for comprehension and is key to making the kind of analytic and evaluative judgments that mark a competent reader. One question we often hear is in regard to the use of close reading practices with students who are not yet fully independent readers. It is helpful to keep in mind that the intent of close reading is to foster critical thinking skills to deepen comprehension. Therefore, the thinking skills needed for close reading should begin in kindergarten.
pgs 13 and 14 Rigorous Reading
Falling in Love with Close Readingby Chris
Lehman & Kate Roberts Close Reading for Text Evidence Close Reading for Word Choice Close Reading for Structure Close Reading for Point of View and Argument Close Read Across Texts
Using Out of My Mind excerpt to try it out Dad never spoke baby talk to me like my mother did. He always
spoke to me as if he were talking to a grown-up, using real words and assuming I would understand him. He was right.
‘Your life is not going to be easy, little Melody,’ he’ d say quietly. ‘If I could switch places with you, I’d do it in a heartbeat. You know that , don’t you?’
I just blinked, but I got what he meant. Sometimes his face would be wet with tears. He’d take me outside at night and whisper in my ear about the stars and moon and the night wind.
‘The stars up there are putting on a show just for you, kid,’ he’d say. ‘Look at that amazing display of sparkle! And feel that wind? It’s trying to tickle your toes.’
And during the day he would sometimes take off all the blankets that my mother insisted I be wrapped in and let me feel the warmth of the sun on my face and legs.
He had placed a bird feeder on our porch, and we would sit together as the birds darted in, picking up seeds one at a time.
“That one is a cardinal,” he’d tell me, and “that one over there is a blue jay. They don’t like each other much.” And he’d chuckle.
What Dad did most was sing to me. He has a clear voice that seems made for songs like “Yesterday” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Dad loves the Beatles. No, there’s no figuring out parents and why they like stuff.
Three step process for reading closely
Close Reading
1. Read through lenses
2. Use lenses to find patterns.
3. Use the patterns to develop a new understanding of the text.
Reading closely for TEXT EVIDENCE
1. Read through lenses Choose specific details to gather as data:• What characters/people say/think/do• Relationships• Setting descriptions• Time period
2. Use lenses to find patterns.
• What details fit together?• How do they fit together?
3. Use the patterns to develop a new understanding of the text.
Look at patterns to think about:• Character’s/people/s feelings traits relationships• Whole text: themes lessons
Out of My Mind
Close Reading Reading closely for TEXT EVIDENCE
1. Read through lenses
Choose specific details to gather as data:• What characters/people say/think/do• Relationships• Setting descriptions• Time period
Close Reading Reading closely for TEXT EVIDENCE
2. Use lenses to find patterns.
• What details fit together?• How do they fit together?
Close Reading Reading closely for TEXT EVIDENCE
3. Use the patterns to develop a new understanding of the text.
Look at patterns to think about:• Character’s/people/s feelings traits relationships• Whole text: themes lessons
Phrases for Reflecting on Text Evidence and Meaning
The reason why the character _________ is because ________ It seems like this character tends to _________________ My thinking about this character has changed because ______ These characters are really different because _________ One issue I am noticing in this book is ___________________ I think the author is trying to teach me _________________ I think this because the author wrote _____________________
Non-fictionReading closely for TEXT EVIDENCE
1. Read through lenses
Choose specific details to gather as data:• Facts• Phrases• Descriptions• Photos or graphics
2. Use lenses to find patterns.
• What details fit together?• How do they fit together?
3. Use the patterns to develop a new understanding of the text.
Look at patterns to think about:• Definitions of unknown terms or concepts• Central idea of an entire text• Author’s bias or point of view
Falling in Love with Close Readingby Chris
Lehman & Kate Roberts Close Reading for Text Evidence Close Reading for Word Choice Close Reading for Structure Close Reading for Point of View and Argument Close Read Across Texts
Close Reading
1. Read through lenses
2. Use lenses to find patterns.
3. Use the patterns to develop a new understanding of the text.
Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers & Robert E Probst
STOP and Notice and Note When you’re reading and a character says or does
something that is the opposite (contradicts) of what he
he has been saying or doing all along,
you should stop and ask yourself:“Why is the character doing that?”
The answers could help you make a prediction or
make an inference about the plot and conflict.
Contrasts and Contradictions
Thank You, Ma’amby Langston
Hughes Read aloud, you follow along Stop when I ask you to Remember – our question is:
Why would the character act this way?
Try it again . . .
Chrysanthemum Can you think of others?
Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts
by Nancy Frey and Doulas Fisher
Six practices that guide students’ understanding of complex texts: Short, worthy passages
Students rereading
Limited frontloading
Text-dependent questions
Annotation
After-reading tasks
Six Types of Text Dependent Questions
The Lion and the MouseAesop’s Fables
ONCE when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. “Pardon, O King,” cried the little Mouse: “forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?” The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Sometime after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters, who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, sent up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. “Was I not right?” said the little Mouse.
“LITTLE FRIENDS MAY PROVE GREAT FRIENDS.”
The Lion and the Mouse
Text Dependent Questions
General Understandings What happened? Tell me the story using your own words.
Key Details How did the lion help the mouse? How did the mouse help the lion?
Vocabulary and Text Structure
What does the mouse mean when he says, “Perhaps I might be able to do you a turn one of these days?”
Author’s Purpose What is the moral of the story that Aesop wants us to know?
Inferences Why is the lion so surprised at the idea that mouse could help him? What does the lion say and do that helps you answer this question?
Common Core English Language Arts in a PLC at Work, Grades 3-5 Fisher and Frey
Use of two texts and the process that goes with: Lady Liberty: A Biography (Doreen Rappaport-
Matt Tavares) The New Colossus (Ezra Lazarus)
What would you do with them? Which process that we used would work for this? An you design a lesson?