The Reading and Writing Connection:Integrating Close Reading Practices with Academic Writing

INTEGRATING CLOSE READING PRACTICES AND ACADEMIC WRITING

Part 1: Investigate

College and Career

CCRA.R.1: Read closely to determine

what the text says explicitly and to make

logical inferences from it; cite specific

textual evidence when writing or

speaking to support conclusions drawn

from the text.

Skills involved in the close reading process:

• Careful Reading

• Critical Reading

• Focused Reading

• Re-Reading

• Persistence

• Discussion and responses connected to the text

“Close reading is not one thing; there are many versions of it. Get a structure for close reading in mind. But then let the text dictate the

terms of engagement.”Timothy Shanahan

www.shanahanonliteracy.com

What is the Purpose of Close Reading?

Students will integrate new information with existing schema to comprehend deeply and increase knowledge.

RESEARCH REVIEW

New Critical Theory

Text based approaches, based on New Criticism, are grounded

upon some objective meaning self contained within the text.

http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/new.crit.html

Everything is already present in the work being examined. The

reader reads to gain knowledge and insight from the text.

We can’t ignore the text…

A Transactional Theory Reader Response theory places emphasis on the role of

the reader and his/her individual interaction with the text. Reading is a transactional interplay between the reader and the text.

Rosenblatt, L.M. (1982). The literary transaction: evocation and response . Theory into Practice,(21) 268-77.

We can’t ignore the reader…

“The finding of meaning involves both the author’s text and what the reader brings to it” (Meaning does not reside not solely within the text or solely within the reader’s mind.)

Rosenblatt, L.M. (2005). Literature as Exploration and The Reader, the Text, the Poem. Voices From the Middle (NCTE) (12)3.

Elements of Reading Comprehension

Comprehension consists of 3 key elements--the reader, the text, and the activity. These elements are interactive with the social and

cultural context in which reading takes place.

RAND Reading Study Group 2002

ReaderActivityText

Context

A Balanced Approach

The resources a student brings to the reading affect how he or she comprehends

the information contained within the

text.

Douglas Fisher Interview Part 1Part 2

Based on the information so far, how would you describe “close reading” and when

would you use it in the classroom?

Active Reading with Annotations

Students may highlight important information and monitor comprehension by:

taking metacognitive (think-aloud) notes.

questioning and summarizing in margins.

noting main ideas, connections, and patterns.

Thinking Notes

Sample Annotations for Close Reading

Key vocabulary/unfamiliar vocabulary

Main Ideas (double underline)

Supporting Details (single underline)

Confusing information or concepts

Evidence for…

Metacognitive (Think Aloud) Notes Notes in margin

Selective Highlighting

Focus, Attention, and Engagement

Close Reading with Rigor

How do you keep students attentive, focused and engaged when reading text?

Components of Close Reading

Complex text

Repeated reading

Chunking

Deep thinking

Active engagement and comprehension monitoring

LEVELS OF CLOSE READING

Purpose and Understanding

Collaborative Discussion

Frame the Text

Read Carefully

Return To Text

Write and

Reflect

Adapted from Gallagher, 2004

Sample Close Reading Model

Frame the Text

Hook students and activate prior knowledge,through engaging questioning and discussion, by providing context and reinforcing ONLY the essential knowledge needed to comprehend the selection.

Set the context and the purpose.

Limit pre-reading load; the teacher’s main role is scaffolding with quality questioning and probing.

Cold vs. Warm Close Reading

Explain the purpose of framing the text and describe how you might balance the pre-reading discussion, so not to defeat the

purpose of reading the text closely?

Read through once for fluency and understanding

This first read should be uninterrupted; it allows students to get a general sense of the text. All students need access to complex text through:

Read AloudRead Along (Choral and Partner)Read Alone

Return To Text

Return to the text multiple times for multiple purposes for deeper understanding

Prompt students to take notes during the re-reading process, finding text evidence and responding to text dependent questions.

Collaborative Discussion

Students may share notes in small, collaborative discussion groups.

Groups may share with class, expanding and elaborating notes.

Teacher facilitates discussion with prompts and probes

Comprehension is deepened through collaboration.

Text Talk

Note the strategies the teacher uses during the discussion to scaffold students’ understanding.

1. Comprehension Monitoring

2. Cooperative Learning

3. Graphic and Semantic Organizers

4. Questioning (generating and responding)

5. Summarizing

S

Think aloud to model comprehension and metacognitive strategies for understanding.

QUESTIONING

What types of text based questions will allow

students to build gradual understanding of overall

meaning?

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate

understanding of a text, referring

explicitly to the text as the basis for the

answers.

RI.3.1

Text-Dependent Questions:

require careful examination of text

require students to respond with support from text.

range from simple to complex, going beyond basic facts and recall.

promote deep comprehension and retention of content

Words/PhrasesSentencesParagraphSegmentsSelection

Across Texts

… to build gradual, overall understanding.

A variety of questions on a variety of levels

Key Ideas and Details

Questions at this level relate to main ideas, supporting details, and the relationship between ideas in a

text.

Craft and Structure

Questions at this level relate to vocabulary, style, genre, language use, text structure, and author’s

point of view.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Questions at this level ask students to integrate and extrapolate

information from the text (including all features), and to analyze and use reasoning and evidence to make inferences, conclusions, and connections.

Graphic and Semantic Organizers

Levels of Text-Dependent Questions Worksheet

Write and

Reflect

Connecting Reading and Writing

What are the big ideas, and enduring understandings students should take away from the reading?

Students demonstrate learning by responding to essential questions.

LESSON SNAPSHOTS

Videos

First Grade: Using Text Evidence to Draw Conclusions

Close Reading: The Case of the Strange Noise

Grappling with complex informational text through close reading

Fifth Grade: Finding Main Ideas and Important Details

High School: Close Reading for Content, Meaning and Style

The Art of Questioning: Content, Meaning, and Style

What type of written assignment could students complete following these close reading

exercises?

Discuss:• Challenges in

design• Implications

for instruction

Fifth Grade: The Omnivore's Dilemma

Additional Video Samples

High School: Explicit and Implicit meaningsThe Road Not Taken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pZIQcwbHRKYIn this video, a group of 4th grade students closely read a text about toy inventors, discussing their ideas with their peers. Their teacher models her thinking on some tricky parts, asks text-dependent questions, and guides their annotation and writing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nznO1BMtahwLucy Calkins and Colleagues at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project present Bringing Close Reading and Accountable Talk into an Interactive Read Aloud of Gorillas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WgQYvj2U4KwIn this first day of instruction, the teacher focuses his first graders on a complex text. The instruction centers on the vocabulary. The subsequent lessons focus on text-dependent questions and details. This is the first of three days' worth of instruction on this text.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX3kNk3NrJo&list=UU5mN2B-2JYc9XiK1qFQjeSg&feature=player_detailpageIn this video, a 6th grade teacher focuses on closely reading a social studies informational text using think-aloud modeling and annotations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU5mN2B-2JYc9XiK1qFQjeSg&v=QE9YbeCkLeQ&feature=player_detailpageIn this video, a 6th grade educator provides her students an opportunity to closely read a text while annotating.

http://vimeo.com/album/2192389/video/55965892Accountable Talk based on text, using text details for support, referring to text features, drawing conclusions from text information.

Additional Video Samples

THE PLANNING PROCESSPart 2: Plan

Collaborative Discussion

Frame the Text

Read Carefully

Return To Text

Write and

Reflect

Putting it All Together! The

Model

Planning Guide for Close Reading

Text Complexity Analysis

Worksheet

Text Dependent Questions Worksheet

Learning Expectations

Students will demonstrate (in writing) a thorough understanding of the costs and benefits of wind farms, choose a position, and cite evidence from the text to support this position.

Pre-Read Selection

Source: Kucan, L. & Palincsar, A. S. (2013). Comprehension instruction through Text-Based Discussion.

Harnessing the Wind

The Standards’ Model of Text Complexity

Step 4: Recommended Placement

61

Quantitative Measures Comparison

Quantitative MeasureLexile Stretch Band

Lexile Rating: 1070Grade Band: 6-8

Step 4: Recommended Placement

64

What other factors make the text complex?

Qualitative Measures

Qualitative Measures

Step 4: Recommended Placement

68

1. This selection is part of a larger research project, embedded within a unit of instruction about energy

2. The content is appropriate based on our standards, objectives, and our qualitative analysis..

We must consider the level of student motivation and prior knowledge, since this selection comes very early in the unit.Due to this challenge and the complexity of the text, a close reading experience is necessary

Step 4: Recommended Placement

72

Step 4: Recommended Placement

73

Middle Low

Middle High

Middle High

Middle High

Lexile 1070Grade Band: 6-8

Motivation and Prior Knowledge may be a challenge, since this selection comes very early in the unit.

Due to challenges and complexity, text will be presented in a close reading exercise.

This selection is appropriate for the grade level, instructional intentions, and learning expectations.

Quantitative: (Lexile: 1070 Grade Band: 6-8)Qualitative: Middle/low on purpose, Middle High on structure, language and knowledge elementsReader and Task—To successfully read and comprehend the selection: Students will need background knowledge about geographic regions and technical vocabulary; attention will be paid to text features with an initial mini lesson and we will focus on this element during close reading; students may need a review on critical think-aloud notes, annotations, and strategies for summarizing.

Planning Guide for Close Reading

Culminating Task

In a written composition, students will compare the costs and benefits of wind farms, based on the evidence from this text. They will take a stance, casting their vote for Pro or Con, using evidence to support their position. A graphic synthesis of student responses will be displayed.

Frame the Text

Frame the Text and Hook the Students

• Determine Background Knowledge

• Set a Purpose • Engage and Motivate

Based on the Qualitative and Reader/Task Measures students will need background knowledge about geographic regions in the US and explicit instruction for the following essential vocabulary: turbines, surplus, kinetic and mechanical energy. Special attention will be paid to the various text features including charts, sidebars, diagrams, and captions.

Segment the Text

Chunk into appropriate units based on complexity, themes, concepts, and purposes for reading.

Segment 1: Paragraph 1 Segment 4: Paragraph 8-9Segment 2: Paragraph 2-4Segment 3: Paragraph 5-7Vocabulary: turbines, surplus, accustomed, Prairies, kinetic energy and mechanical energy, Persia, harnessed, irrigating, generator, kilowatt, megawatt

Construct Text-Dependent Questions

See Levels of Understanding WorksheetDiscussion will take place following each TDQ in small groups first with a follow up whole group share so that students can update their notes.

Strategies for Instruction

Comprehension and metacognitive strategies modeled and practiced in this lesson include: Thinking Aloud and metacognitive notes; annotations for identifying main ideas; Getting the Gist strategy for summarizing main ides following each chunk of text; using text features to aid comprehension; applying discussion moves; and organizing notes for writing)

Share thoughts about this session.What would you adjust, add, or omit to tailor

this process to your needs?

Take it for a test drive!

When designing a lessons, try it out with a colleague, to fine tune and make necessary adjustments, before implementing it in the

classroom.

Other Models and Sample Lessons

Sample Lessons

Grades K-12Grades 6-12

APPLICATION: DESIGN A LESSON

Part 3: Apply

Collaborative Discussion

Frame the Text

Read Carefully

Return To Text

Write and Reflect

Putting it All Together!

Learning Expectations

Pre-Read Selection

The Standards’ Model of Text Complexity

Quantitative Measures Comparison

Step 4: Recommended Placement

105

Qualitative Measures

Step 4: Recommended Placement

107

Step 4: Recommended Placement

111

Pre-Read Selection

Culminating Task

Frame the Text

Segment the Text

Construct Text-Dependent Questions

Levels of Understanding

Strategies for Instruction

Construct the details

for the lesson.

Take it for a test drive!

Try the process out with a colleague, to fine tune and make necessary adjustments, before

implementing it in the classroom.

ReferencesBeers, K. & Probst, R. E. (2013). Notice and Note: The importance of close reading I cultivating engaged readers and addressing the CCSS. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2012). Close reading in elementary schools. The Reading Teacher (66)3, 179-188.

Gallagher, K. (2004). Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts. Portland ME: Stenhouse.

Kucan, L. & Palincsar, A. S. (2013). Comprehension instruction through Text-Based Discussion. Newark DE: International Reading Association.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects: Appendix A. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington DC.

National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

RAND Reading Study Group (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R&D program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica CA: RAND.

Rosenblatt, L.M. (1982). The literary transaction: evocation and response . Theory into Practice,(21) 268-77.

Rosenblatt, L.M. (2005). Literature as Exploration and The Reader, the Text, the Poem. Voices From the Middle (NCTE) (12)3.

www.shanahanonliteracy.com

http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/new.crit.html