Close Reading for Comprehension

1. Close Reading for Comprehension NTES February 20, 2013 Betsy Madison, GRREC

2. “The Gulf Stream” by Winslow Homer Make a list of what you objectively observe in this painting. What are the FACTS of the painting?

3. How would you define “Fake Reading”? “I have discovered that too many adolescent readers know how to “fake read”. They have become so good at playing the “game of school,” they have figured out how to get the grade without “getting the comprehension.” (Chris Tovani)

4. Close Reading “Reading like a detective”

5. A Close Reading does not… Retell the plot or summarize the passage Profile the characters List reactions that popped into your head while reading or the reasons you like it Compare the society depicted in the story to your own Compare the choices and values of the narrator to your own Use a literary work as an example to support general claims about the outside world

6. Close Reading In a close reading, a text is not so much a mirror to reflect your own opinions and personal reactions; nor is it a window, to look through in order to learn about the subject of the text or the author’s motivations or goal; rather, you look at the glass itself—you look at the language, grammar, punctuation, structure, with the understanding that the author chose each word, each line break, each allusion, in order to achieve a certain effect.”

7. Close reading is the careful, sustained interpretation of a brief passage of text (wordiq.com). Close reading is analyzing a specific passage in fine detail, as if with a magnifying glass (web.cn.edu/kwheeler) “The principal object of close reading is to unpack the text. Close readers linger over words, verbal images, elements of style, sentences, argument patterns, and entire paragraphs … within the text to explore their significance on multiple levels.” (James Jasinski, Sourcebook on Rhetoric, Sage, 2001)

8. Close Reading of an Image Ombrello-Rosso Make a list of what you objectively observe in this painting. What are the FACTS of the painting?

9. Close Reading of an Image Ombrello-Rosso • So what? • Why these details? • What does this mean?

10. Day 1

11. Day 2

12. What did you notice about the questions I asked?

13. Text Dependent Questions What Are they? • Specifically asks a question that can only be answered by referring explicitly back to the text • Does not rely on a student’s background knowledge • Does not rely on a student’s own experiences • Forces students to dig further into the text by asking them to re-read, re-visit, and search for meaning

14. Types of Text Dependent Questions • General Understandings • Why would the author title the chapter “Go Away”? • Key Details • Find two places in the text where something could have been done to prevent this tragedy? • Vocabulary and Text Structure • How does the chronological structure help you understand the events?

15. A Night to Remember Ch. 10 • Author’s Purpose • Whose story is most represented and whose story is under-represented? • Inferences • Why would Mrs. Brown run lifeboat number 6 with a revolver? • Opinions, arguments, intertextualconections • Compare this book with Ken Marschall’sInside the Titanic. • Give two similarities and two differences.

16. So what’s up with the red umbrella? Anchor Standard 9 Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic Anchor Standard 6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

17. Four reasons to pair text Some standards require multiple texts. The CCSS suggest that we limit pre-reading activities. Background knowledge can be built with paired text. All students need to participate in close reading of challenging text. Paired texts can provide the necessary scaffolding for students reading below grade level. The CCSS call for more informational text at all levels.

18. Or Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

19. What’s wrong with pre-reading activities? They take too much time away from reading. Many are BORING. (just ask the kids!) Pre-reading commonly focuses on the wrong information. Previews can spoil the reading experience. Previews are rarely purposeful. (Shanahan on Literacy 2/21/12)

20. How can paired text help? • Select a short same-topic text or piece of media text. • Select text your students can access fairly independently. • Select text containing vocabulary students will need to know to access your KEY text. • Select text that will help your students build/practice literacy skills. Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

21. What’s next? “Close Reading is a re-reading aimed towards producing commentary in either spoken or written form.” (“Close Reading as Genre” by Andrew Goldstone 07-25-11, arcade.stanford.edu)

22. “I don’t know what I think until I write it down.” Norman Mailer “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” Joan Didion

23. Everybody Writes Set your students up for rigorous engagement by giving them the opportunity to reflect first in writing before discussing. This allows for more effective responses. Gives students time to prepare answers for discussion. Allows every student the chance to be part of the conversation even if not called upon. Processing thoughts in writing refines them, a process that challenges students intellectually, engages them, and improves the quality of their ideas and their writing.

24. Writing to Learn Students read what others have written then mimic the author’s style and methods. Reflectivity--Students reflect on their learning—what was learned, not learned, how it was learned and why. Reflexivity– Students reflect and then determine what effect they have on the thinking. How do their own character and beliefs affect their understanding of what they have read?

25. Writing to Demonstrate Learning A culminating project In response to a prompt Students show what they’ve learned by synthesizing information and explaining their understanding Students write for an authentic audience with a specific purpose Argument, Informational/Explanatory, or Narrative Short or sustained REQUIRES TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

26. Close ReadingReflection 2 Ideas Still Rolling Around in my Head. . . 3 Ideas I Will Take Back to Try 1 Idea that Squares with my Thinking

27. Betsy.madison@grrec.ky.gov Betsymadison.com