Close Reading

Close Reading

Beers and Probst—Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading

Say:

Close reading strategies are an intricate part of working with literature in the classroom.  On all reading levels, students are going to need to know how to implement close reading strategies.  Kyle Beers and Robert R. Probst’s book, Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading, shows us how to teach students close reading strategies in very practical ways.  Notice and Note is probably my favorite book we have read so far this semester because of how practical their strategies are to implement into the classroom.  The reading strategies are not very intimidating, and judging by the sample lesson plans, they seem very easy for students to use.  I think I liked this text so much because it does seem like it can be applicable to a wide range of students with very different reading levels. 

            In Part I, the focus is to make teachers think about the necessity and implications that come with close reading strategies, and the questions that we think about.  Beers and Probst state, ”We want them inside the text, noticing everything, questioning everything, weighing everything they are reading against their lives, the lives of others and the world around them” (3).  Essentially, the authors explicitly argue that students need intricate interaction with the text for the best understanding possible.  Questioning the text is the first major step in making this happen. 

            The first major thing that Beers and Probst ask us to consider is how reading has changed.  Technology has become a huge part of our world, and we cannot ignore it.  Instead of only thinking of the past, teachers need to see the advantages of reading through technical devices.  Reader-to-reader and reader-to-other-text connections will be much easier to make.  Additionally, there are many online resources, like Goodreads, that can help students find texts that will be more appealing to them (13).  Altogether, teachers need to embrace what technology can do to help students, rather than think only of what it can do to hinder it. 

            Furthermore, section I asks us to consider many questions.  Some of my favorites were: what is close reading and are we creating lifelong readers?  In terms of close reading, Beers and Probst acknowledge that most people would answer that it is closely studying the text.  While this may be true, they also argue that it is much more complicated than that.  Close reading also involves forming cohesive arguments from the text, understanding your own interpretation in the text along with others, and thinking about your own experiences with the text while also considering others experiences as well (36).  Close reading is not a black and white process.  Some of the characteristics associated with close reading are: it works with any text, the focus is intense, it will extend throughout the whole text, discussion is key, and rereading is necessary (38-39).  To continue, the questions “are we creating lifelong learners” was also one of my favorites because this is the most important goal.  Through using close reading strategies, we are creating more careful readers which then creates careful learners.  Essentially, we are trying to rewire the way students approach text (62).  Therefore, change in their learning process will definitely follow.  Altogether, Part I provides and answers many important questions about close reading.

            In Part II, the goal is to make teachers aware of signposts noted by the two authors.  This is my favorite section because it explicitly states some of the best strategies that we can implement in our classroom (68).  The major signposts noted in this book are:

·         Contrasts and Contradictions— when character does something that contrasts with what you’d expect or contradicts his earlier acts or statements. This helps you as a reader make predictions and draw inferences about the plot and conflict .

·         Aha! Moments—When A character realizes, understands, or finally figures out something.  This tells you as the reader something about the conflict or the theme.

·         Tough Questions—When a character asks himself a very difficult question.  This tells you as the reader about the conflict, and helps you predict what might happen later in the story.

·         Words of the Wiser—When a character (probably older and wiser) takes the main character aside and offers serious advice.  This advice is probably the theme of the story.

·         Again and Again— When a word, phrase, or situation is mentioned over and over.  This tells you as the reader about the theme and conflict, or will foreshadow what might happen later in the story.

·         Memory Moment-- When the protagonist reflects on a past memory.  This is usually telling you something specific and important about the character.

(71-73)

Altogether, these are the strategies that will help students connect with the text on multiples levels.  My other favorite part of Part II involves the anchor question.  “We didn’t want to lose the power of asking questions, because questions have almost always been a teacher’s primary way of helping students” (76).  Essentially, questions are the driving force to making these strategies work.  In Part III, Beers and Probst give us many lesson plans that show how we can actually implement these strategies in the classroom (112). 

            Overall, I really enjoyed reading Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading because it gave so many meaningful ways to implement close reading strategies into the classroom.  Instead of only arguing that we need them, Beers and Probst give us tangible strategies that we need to implement, and they show us lesson plans to help us implement them.  This is definitely a resource I will use in the future because close reading strategies will be necessary on any reading level. 

 

DO: **This is a lesson that I actually taught in the classroom.**

 

 

 

Daily Lesson Plan 3

 

Instructor And Room #:   Kim Tiedemann 521A	Date & Start-Stop Times:    8:35-9:25 (repeat from 9:25 to 10:15)	Subject and Block/Period:   English I 1st and 2nd Period		Unit and Topic:   Identifying Major Themes and Close Reading Strategies in “Marigolds”
Student Objectives:   Identifying the major themes in “Marigolds” with specific passages Identifying forms of close reading strategies with “Marigolds” Identifying correct summaries with the given passages Comprehension of affect and effect in bell ringer Working collaboratively with group members			Common Core:   RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.2 SL.9-10.1
Items to Display as Agenda:  (Activities)   Small Group Discussions Whole Group Discussion Summary of previous mini-lesson given on the major themes in “Marigolds” Summarizing “Marigolds” into major points Jig sawing passages
Purpose: Opening Statement of Value for Day’s Lesson—the WHY   The purpose of this lesson is to engage students with specific passages in “Marigolds.”  In yesterday’s lesson they learned about the themes, but today they will actually be identifying those themes in specific passages.  Additionally, students will be identifying how some close reading strategies may also be found in the given passages.  The purpose of this lesson is to get students to collaborate with one another to identify major themes and close reading strategies throughout “Marigolds.”  This will give students hands on practice with themes and close reading strategies, and it will help them learn how to collaboratively work with others.
Lesson Procedures: (Introduction, Development, Conclusion)   Before: (10 minutes) ·         While students are coming into the classroom, there will be a slide up on the board that prompts them to take out there earbuds and put away their phones.  Additionally, the note will ask students to put away their Chromebooks for this portion of class. ·         I will ask students to give a short summary of yesterday’s class.  This will help student remember where we left off and also segue into the next part of the lesson.    During: (45 minutes) As I enter into the formal analysis section, I will introduce the next class activity.  In this assignment, students will be instructed to work with their table groups.  I will pass out passages from “Marigolds.  In the first group activity, students will be given flash card labels with the major themes on them.  Students will have to work together to identify which theme goes with each passage.  The passages should be pretty familiar for students because they are the same passages from yesterday’s lesson.  ·         We will then discuss their answers as one major group. ·         Next, we will go over the major close reading strategies that they have previously learned about.  I will show them a PowerPoint as a reminder.  Mrs. Tiedemann has already taught them these strategies, but I wanted to give a short review. ·         Then, students will open their Chromebooks.  They will begin an individual assignment on their class website that asks them to identify close reading strategies that would work best with the “Marigolds” passages.  I will explain this assignment, and pass out a reference sheet with all of the close reading strategies on it.  This reference sheet will be put in their binders to turn back to for the remainder of the year.    Closing: (5 minutes) If students finish their close reading strategies worksheet, they will start on a new writing prompt activity.  This will be found on Google Classrooms (their classroom website).  This prompt will ask them to discuss how one of the themes and/or one of the close reading strategies works with the passages and/or text.  Essentially, this assignment will ensure that students were paying attention and understand the discussions that happened in class.   This writing engagement will only need to be 5-7 sentences.  This assignment will not be due until Friday.
Materials and Resources:   SMART board PowerPoint Passages from “Marigolds” Labeled notecards for themes Close reading strategies Worksheet
Assessments and Assignment:   For this lesson, students will be assessed on their participation with their groups.  To earn full points, students must be helping and contributing to conversation.    Additionally, there will be a worksheet administered to assess their close reading strategies skills.  This will be graded as a classwork assignment; I will be looking for accuracy.  Furthermore, the writing prompts will also be graded.  These writing prompts will ensure that students were paying attention in class and understand the major themes happening in “Marigolds.”  This will count as a classwork grade.  Classwork grades count as 20% of the overall student grade.

 For documents pertaining to this lesson, please go to the link below:

 https://sites.google.com/site/saydodocuments/home