ACTIVE READING
Most of us have experienced the frustration of reading something and not
having a clue what we have just read. Sometimes, it’s because the
content was complex or confusing. More often, though, it’s because we
didn’t engage our brains while reading. Our eyes can read words and make
grocery lists in our heads while we do so. Our students are no different.
This lesson teaches (or reminds) students the process of active reading.
Use the slide show to guide your discussion, then use the two passages I
have included to practice. The passages are on the slides, with examples
of the things a reader might think if she were engaged with the material.
What’s the difference between active
reading and close reading?
Active reading is the process of engaging with the material. Active
readers use strategies to engage their brains while they read.
Close Reading requires the reader to take a “close look” at the text. The
reader looks at the fine details of the passage for the purpose of coming
to an understanding of the author’s purpose.
Active Reading = Pay attention
Close Reading = Pay attention and Interpret
ACTIVE READING
Active Readers:
Active Reading Strategies
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
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Question
Connect
Visualize
Clarify
Predict
Evaluate
Set your purpose
Review text features
Question
Take notes
THINK!
Seek clarification
Read again and reflect
Use some active reading strategies as you read and annotate the following:
Life's a freaking mess. In fact, I'm going to tell Sarah we
need to start a new philosophical movement:
messessentialism instead of existentialism: For those who
revel in the essential mess that is life. Because Gram's
right, there's not one truth ever, just a bunch of stories,
all going on at once, in our heads, in our hearts, all getting in
the way of each other. It's all a beautiful calamitous mess.
It's like the day Mr. James took us into the woods and cried
triumphantly, "That's it! That's it!" to the dizzying
cacophony of soloing instruments trying to make music
together. That is it.
~ Janda Nelson, The Sky is Everywhere
ACTIVE READING
Active Readers:
Active Reading Strategies
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
Question
Connect
Visualize
Clarify
Predict
Evaluate
Set your purpose
Review text features
Question
Take notes
THINK!
Seek clarification
Read again and reflect
Use some active reading strategies as you read and annotate the following:
My mother ran her house as her brothers ran their boats.
Everything was clean and spotless and in order. She was
tall and dark and powerfully energetic. In later years she
reminded me of the women of Thomas Hardy, particularly
Eustacia Vye, in a physical way. She fed and clothed a
family of seven children, making all of the meals and most
of the clothes. She grew miraculous gardens and magnificent flowers and raised broods of hens and ducks. She
would walk miles on berry-picking expeditions and hoist her
skirts to dig for clams when the tide was low. She was
fourteen years younger than my father, whom she had
married when she was twenty-six and had been a local
beauty for a period of ten years. My mother was of the
sea, as were all of her people, and her horizons were the
very%literal%ones%she%scanned%with%her%dark%and%fearless%eyes.%%
~ Alistair MacLeod, The Boat