In this blog post I’m going to discuss how I teach close reading strategies in the classroom with a focus on non-fiction. Close reading means to read a text more than once in order to develop a greater understanding of the text. When teaching close reading strategies, I work with small groups of no more than six students, whilst the rest of the class rotate around independent reading activities.
Before reading
Firstly we look at the overall layout of the text together before starting reading. We focus on organisational features, title and briefly scan the text. What do students predict the text is about? Is it fiction/ non-fiction? What is the genre? Have they seen a similar text previously? Before the first read the student begin to form ideas about the text based on their own experiences and knowledge.
The first read
I encourage students to annotate the text, i.e. highlight any words they are unsure of, anything that they find particularly interesting or something they’ve learned.
Students then read quietly to themselves.
I then focus on the new vocabulary students have highlighted. I model reading the sentence around the word and putting it into context. ‘Can we work out what the word may mean using the sentence around it?’ Students then apply this skill to their own highlighted words.
We also discuss parts of the text the students may have annotated. What did they learn? What did they find interesting?
I use sentence openers and for partner discussion about what the text is about. These could be basic ‘W’ questions such as ‘Who…’, ‘What…’, ‘Where…’, ‘When…’. sentence starters to get an overall basic idea of the text.
The second read – introduce close reading strategies
We then move on to the second read. This a more in depth read where the student really delve deeply into the text and dig out meaning. When applying close reading strategies for elementary students, I like to concentrate on one area of comprehension. This could be making connections, inference or main idea, for example.
If focusing on the main idea. I ask the group to summarize particular sections or paragraphs to draw out what the focus is. Which parts are relevant to the key idea? We may look for evidence to support their ideas, which I draw out through questioning. This is where ‘How’ and ‘Why’ questions come into play. These could be, ‘How do we know…?’, ‘How does the text say..?’ ‘Why does…? , ‘Why do you think…?’ I usually ask students to discuss their responses in pairs.
Finally – summarize close reading strategies used
I like to summarize the session by bring the group together to share their responses to the questions and I encourage students to support their ideas by backing up with with evidence from the text. We summarize the close reading strategies we have used and how they have helped us to develop a greater understanding of the text.
Of course, there are many ways of teaching close reading skills, but this is the way I find particularly useful for my students.
No Prep Close Reading Resources
Finding reading passages for non-fiction texts can be challenging, so I created some of my own based on animals. I have six sets: Rainforest Animals, Arctic Animals, Ocean Animals, African Animals, Desert Animals and Australian Animals. They can be used for group instruction or for independent student work. They cover a range of close reading strategies and comprehension skills such as summarizing, vocabulary development and reasoning. They come complete with student response sheet and answer keys to save you time. Both US and UK spelling options are included in each close reading set. Digital Google Slide versions are also included as well as printable sheets, ideal for distance learning. You can also purchase as a bundle and save over a third on price! They are available here in my Teachers pay Teacher store!
You can also download my Mountain Animals Close Reading set completely FREE!
How do you teach close reading? I’d love to hear your thoughts.