Oh No! Not Close Reading!

David.Cain@hesperiausd.org @DFCainSecondary Literacy Coach, Hesperia USD

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CLOSE READING• It is not cloze reading, or closed reading—

it is thoughtful and careful attention to the text, moving from the intention to the interpretation through deliberate process

• Bob Probst—”Read it again, and likely again”

• It is a conversation with the text and author—an transactional exchange of ideas.

• Close reading is text-dependent—what does the text say about itself, how does it say it, how does it connect to other texts, and why is it significant?

• “Close reading is an instructional routine in which students critically examine a text, especially through repeated readings.” Fisher & Frey

CLOSE READING: WHO CAME UP WITH THIS STUFF

THE MOST ANNOTATED AUTHORS

CLOSE READING

• A significant body of research links the close reading of complex text—whether the student is a struggling reader or advanced—to significant gains in reading proficiency and finds close reading to be a key component of college and career readiness. (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, 2011, p. 7)

• This is a shift from a Subjective Reader-Response approach to text—California Department of Education’s position from 1980-2010—toward a measured New Critical approach.

• Note that this mirrors the shift from teaching to learning, direct instruction to PBL/inquiry approaches, teacher control to Gradual Release of Responsibility Model, and more that shift the process of learning back to the student’s realm.

WHAT KIND OF READING DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN EACH DAY?

THE DIFFERENCES IN READING

• Samuel Johnson, 1723-1792, distinguished four types of reading:

• Hard study—with pen in hand• Perusal—searching for information• Curious reading—engrossed in a novel• Mere reading—browsing and skimming

• Deep reading vs. Hyper reading (Katherine Hayles, How We Think)

CLOSE READING• According to former International Reading Association president, Tim Shanahan, close reading in the CCSS era must:

• Utilize short text selections—what can be surface-read by students in no more than 10 minutes.

• Focus on text meaning• Minimize background preparation/explanation• Minimize text apparatus (marginal notes, vocabulary, ancillary information, etc.)

• Students must do the reading and interpretation, not teachers

• Teacher’s role is to ask text dependent-questions and encourage student generation of text-dependent questions

• Build stamina—multi-day, multiple-read approach to text

• Practice purposeful rereading, each with a separate purpose

Three Reads

Three Reads: Take One

Three Reads: Take One•Frame:

•General overview, broad strokes, but short enough to be read in <10 minutes

•Setting:•Empty hands, limited distractions•Eliminate the frontload•Put aside the overlays (reading structures, prompts, or guidance) •Silently read by individual students—Independent readers needed

•Action:•Keep the eyes tracking and don’t pause for more than two heartbeats•It is about moving through the text—not racing, but not stopping•Skip strange vocabulary•Don’t worry about a complicated structure, timeline, or details•Meaning is directed mostly by typeface, image, and caption

•Cut:•Be ready to share what you think you found, or a question you still have.

Three Reads: Take Two

Second read:

Three Reads: Take Two•Frame:

•Close-up, and ready to fill in the details with smaller chunks of text

•Setting:•Pencil or pen in hand—avoid the highlighter •Conversational noise level•Overlays in hand and on the mind

•Action:•Contextual vocabulary identification•Marking structure, timeline, and details—including overlays•Collaborative sharing and reading of specific portions•Proposing a hypothesis, generating a deeper qeustion•Meaning is directed mostly by clarification, collaboration, and rereading

•Cut:•Share what changed about your original impression

Three Reads: Take Three

Third read:

Three Reads: Take Three•Frame:

•Post-editing, cutting room floor, and film festival premiere in one

•Setting:•Formal presentation•Attentive audience

•Action:•Contextual vocabulary identification•Defending a broader argument with specific details•Structured criticism/questioning•Meaning is transactional—putting some of ourselves and our knowledge back into the text

•Cut:•Waiting for the reviews, going meta-, and seeing the world differently

SO WHAT ARE WE DOING?

• Think of the traditional approaches to text:• Background/pre-reading activities• Vocabulary• Grammar activities• Literary elements• Outlining• Silent reading• Annotation• Journal responses• Discussion/dialogue/debate• Essay composition• Oral reading• Etc.

• How do these activities fit with the Three-Reads approach?

Adapted from Frey, N. & Fisher, D. ELA PLC at Work, Solution Tree, 2015

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE• Think of close reading in the same way that your digital identity took shape.

• You started by collecting• First read

• Moved on to curating• Second read

• And now many of you are creating• Third read and beyond

WHAT WOULD THIS THREE-READ SYSTEM LOOK LIKE IN YOUR CLASS?

•What would students do in your class before a first read? Following?

•What would students do in your class during a second read? Following?

•What would students do in your class during a third read? Following?

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN•Remember, we are always learning

•From our students•Watch and listen

•From ourselves•Take time to reflect and then try something new

•From our colleagues and other experts

•Be willing to try another approach

•When teachers stop being innovative, failure quickly follows