Close Reading

There is a new strategy in reading that teachers are using. Maybe it has been around for awhile, but the term is "close reading". The strategy is as follows:

There are many lenses students can use, and you can choose a lens based on reading fiction or nonfiction. Lenses for fiction might include the point of view, setting, character traits, and many more. Lenses for nonfiction might be the facts, the descriptions, and may more. We have to start out slow.

The idea, that when you read a text for comprehension, you may need to read it more than once, using different lenses, to understand it better.

After introducing Close Reading and our first focus, Ms. Leom pulled up a United States text we read two weeks ago. Then together, we applied the facts lens to read the text. Before we could start, we had to define "facts". This is the student generated list. Ms. Leom supports students, by adding details they are missing.

When we are finished, at the end of a section or end of a page (if it is a short amount of text), we stop to record our thinking. We call this a Reader's Response. Research on reading comprehension shows that when students write about what they read, they improve their understanding.

Ms. Leom reteaches the lesson, using the same steps with Mr. Greninger's class. You will notice the details may differ. The learning is generated by the students in the class.

In small group instruction, with Ms. Leom, we are working on the same skills. Students could choose the Peru or Uruguay text to read though the lenses of facts. 

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While students are working in small group with Ms. Leom, this week, the other students are reading to partner, related books about South America.

Developing Close Reading in fourth grade.