Features of Close Reading
•
•
•
•
•
•
Short, worthy passages
Students rereading
Limited frontloading
Text-dependent questions
Read and annotate
After-reading tasks
Fisher & Frey (2013)
Rigorous Reading
PARTICIPATE IN A CLOSE READ
Read the lyrics to “Alone in the
Universe” from Seussical the Musical
With the group in a circle read the lyrics aloud:
 First read each person reads one line.
 Second read, each person reads to the end stop.
 Third read, each person points on the pronoun.
 How many times do the characters use “I” or
“me”?
 How many times do they use “you” or “they”?
PARTICIPATE IN A CLOSE READ
Read the lyrics to “Alone in the
Universe” to yourself.
• Annotate the text
 BOX the central message

CIRCLE
unclear words and phrases
 In your own words, write two notes about the
song in the margins
GENERAL UNDERSTANDING
In the group, read the lyrics stopping at the end
stop, choose the most important word in each
complete thought (end stop punctuation):
 Repeat the word
 Physicalize the word with a movement or
gesture
 Repeat the word with the movement
 With a partner discuss the following questions:
 Who is singing these lyrics?
 Where are they? Do you think they can see each
other? What lyrics support your answer?
 What do you think has happened to these two
characters right before the song starts?
 Write your answers in the margins.
KEY DETAILS
This song is a duet! Read the lyrics
with a partner, then discuss the
following questions:
• THE OBJECTIVE: What do the singers of this song
want?
• THE OBSTACLE: What is keeping the characters
from getting what they want?
 Write the objective and the obstacle in the
margins for each character in the margins.
 What lyrics in the song support your choice?
Reread: Deeper Focus
Circle up in groups of 4-5.
• Each person in the circle reads one stanza aloud.
Add pauses, inflections, intonations, and
emphasis to the text.
• How does this change your initial
understandings of the lyrics?
• Are there any shifts in tone for the characters?
With your group, brainstorm a list of tactics that
these characters could use to overcome their
obstacles.
Write down your list of tactics
Vocabulary
With your table group, discuss:
• What does Horton mean when he states, “I
found magic, but they don’t see it”?
• What does Jojo mean when he states, “My own
planets and stars are glowing?”
• What is the tone of the lyrics? What words and
phrases support your claim?
• Add to your annotations.
Structure
With a partner, read the entire scene
(song and dialogue).
•
•
•
At what point do you think Horton and Jojo see
one another?
How would you stage their recognition?
With your partner act out the dialogue portion
of the script. Add gestures and movement to
show their discovery of one another.
 What do Horton and Jojo have in common?
What are their differences?
 What parts of the lyrics or script support
your choices?
 Add to your annotations
Inferences
With your table group, discuss the
following:
• To whom is Horton referring when he states,
“They all call me a lunatic”?
• What does Jojo mean when he says,
“sometimes my thinks are what get me in
trouble”?
 Add to your annotations. Make sure to include
the text that supports your claims.
Inferences
With your table group, discuss the
following:
What does Horton mean when he says, “I go to
strange places like Solla Sollew”?
What is the significance of Solla Sollew? Is it the
same for Horton and Jojo?
Describe or draw your idea Solla Sollew.
 Add your description of Solla Sollew to your
annotations.
Opinion
Working with a partner
• Make a list of words that describe Horton.
• Choose the lyrics that best support your
description of Horton as a character.
 Add to your annotations.
Culminating Task
Working by yourself, answer the
following prompt:
When you know something, how do you prove it to
someone else? Do you have to prove it to know it’s
true? Give an example of something you know but
that you can’t justify with physical proof? How did
you come to know that thing?
 Share with a partner.
Reflect on the Model
Consider the following prompt:
What changed in your ideas of the lyrics
over the course of the close reading model?
Be prepared to share to the whole group.
 There is no right or wrong, just more effective
choices!
Creating a Close Reading
• Choose a short, worthy passage
• Plan for re-reading
- Where’s the evidence?
- Different foci for each read
• Limit front-loading and preteaching vocabulary
- Give students the chance to make their own
choices
• Design text-dependent questions
- Part to whole
• Require students to “read with a pencil”
- Read aloud and independently and annotate
• Incorporate after-reading tasks
Annotation: Some Suggestions
• Underline the major points.
• Circle words or phrases that are confusing or
unknown to you.
• Use a question mark (?) for questions that |
you have during the reading. Be sure to write
your question.
• Use an exclamation mark (!) for things that
surprise you, and briefly note what it was that
caught your attention.
•
(continues)
Annotation: Some Suggestions (continued)
• Draw an arrow (↵) when you make a connection
to something inside the text, or to an idea or
experience outside the text. Briefly note your
connections.
• Mark EX when the author provides an example.
• Numerate arguments, important ideas, or
key details and write words or phrases that
restate them.
Connect to the Classroom
Whole
Across texts
Opinions, Arguments,
Intertextual Connections
Entire text
Inferences
Segments
Author’s Craft & Purpose
Paragraph
Vocabulary & Text Structure
Sentence
Word
Part
Key Details
General Understandings
Fisher & Frey (2013)
Ideas for After-Reading Tasks
Connected to the Arts
•
•
•
•
•
Write a monologue
Create a piece of visual art
Represent the topic/subject through a tableau
Perform a scene
Make a connection to another piece of
music/play/movie
• Write a song/poem