Close Reading

What is Close Reading?

The Common Core State Standards are encouraging teachers to engage their students in the task of close reading, but many of us are not quite sure what that is.

–It is an interaction between the reader and the text.  (Douglas Fisher “Close Reading the the Common Core State Standards” April 3, 2012)

–It is about making careful observations of text and then interpretations of these observations. (Patricia Kain, Writing Center of Harvard University, 1998)

–It involves rereading; often rereading short portioin of a text that helps a reader to carry new ideas to the whole text. (Kylene Beers and Robert Probst, Notice and Note, 2012)

Close reading requires rereading a text three times for increased levels of understanding.  Each reading, during a close read, has a new purpose and after completing it the reader has a new depth of understanding.   Typically a close read asks for three readings of a selected text. 

http://writenow21st.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-process-of-close-reading.html

1^st Read:  Get the Gist

During your first read, readers are looking for basic understanding of what the text was about—a main idea, a brief summary, asking questions about what was read. 

2^nd Read: Dig a Little Deeper

The second read is meant to increase and expand upon your students’ basic understanding of the text.   Before you begin reading you should set the purpose for this read.  The purpose can range from identifying the author’s purpose to noticing text features.  Readers can be asked to notice how a character acts/feels or discuss the words used by the author.

3^rd Read: Put it all Together

In the third read, our goal is for reader to take their understanding of the text from the first and second read and apply it to their existing knowledge to draw new conclusions.    You can ask readers questions about text patters, similarities between this book and another book, inferences and/or connections made.

Now that you know what Close Reading is, how do you make it a successful experience for your students?

First, you should practice this strategy WHOLE group, several times.  Use the same book for different purposes as suggested in the Close Reading steps.  When you begin, pick books that you know well to increase your experience with this new approach. 

Next you will want to take the time to plan your close reading lesson(s).  You should think about how each level of reading will be different.  What will be your focus?

To increase your students’ success with this approach, you will want to provide them with support.  Use bookmarks, hang anchor charts and provide organizers.  For resources, click here.

http://www.mshouser.com/teaching-tips/close-reading-anchor-chart

The ABCs of CoTeaching in the Secondary Setting

As a professor, I often hear my graduate students, all first year teachers, cry out in agony over their co-teaching partnerships.  Their complaints range from having no voice in the classroom to never receiving a lesson plan. 

Collaborative teaching in an inclusive model has been with us for several decades now, which makes me wonder why can't we get it right and if not right, then better? 

When considering the issues discussed by my students, it occurred to me that maybe some co-teachers still don't know what is needed to make this relationship thrive. 

Approaches to co-teaching--there are 6 of them according to Friend and Cook.  Take a moment to review and try them out in your class room. Click here for more information.

Be an active participant in every class--just because there are two of you doesn't mean one gets a break. If one person is teaching, then the other should be working with students.  (See the 6 teaching approaches above for suggestions about the roles of both teachers.)

Common planning time--this is a must!  If your school doesn't provide you with common planning time, then consider looking into your schedule for time that can be dedicated to making your classroom work.  You are together for a year, it is worth sacrificing some of your prep time to this endeavor. 

Differentiate up and down--if you are teaching in the inclusion setting, you have students with varying needs.  It is important that you address all needs, including your advanced students.  Consider using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to guide you. 

Expand your horizons--learn from your co-teacher and the content area you teach together.  Encourage your co-teacher to learn about your work, too.   

Flexibility--because there are two people and as many as 30 students involved, even the best planned lessons and units may change.  Be flexible when this happens and create a plan together to get back on track.

Give you partner a chance.  You are two different people with two different points of view.  Hear each other out and give the other person an opportunity to share what they know.  You are both certified in different areas; learn from each other.

Honesty--if this relationship is going to work, then you have to be honest with each other. In a constructive way, have regular discussions with your co-teacher about the happenings in your classroom.  Sometimes all you have to do is speak up to prevent communication break down. 

Insist on a common discipline system for the class-create a plan that you both agree to follow.  This will prevent you having to assume the good cop, bad cop roles.  

Join forces--recognize that two heads are better than one and two bodies cover more ground in a classroom.  Work together as a team to divide the work load and reach the needs of all learners in the room.

Kindness--your co-teacher will be your partner for a full year so be kind.  In these high stress situations, we sometimes forget to do this.

Lesson Plans- both parties need them so they can contribute to the classroom.  This is nonnegotiable. 

Modifications--the content, process and product of a lesson may need to be differentiated so all parties can learn.  Be open to the idea that not all students should learn the exact same thing in the exact same way. 

Names, as in two, on everything--both teachers' names need to appear, from notes home to report cards and the door sign.

Outline your thoughts, ideas and beliefs for your co-teacher at the beginning of the year with the S.H.A.R.E worksheet by Murawski and Dieker. 

Patience--co-teaching is challenging, especially in the secondary setting.  Have patience when things don't work out and be willing to return to the drawing board to make a new plan. 

Question what you don't understand in the classroom.  We encourage our students to ask questions, so let's take our own advice.  If you are unsure about the content of a lesson, a policy in the room or an action by your co-teacher, ask about it. 

Release the reigns--as teachers, we like to be in control of everything, however when you have a co-teacher this responsibility must be shared.  It is not your classroom, it is a shared classroom.

Small group instruction should be the foundation of the co-teaching setting.  Both teachers need to acknowledge that in the course of the day, students need time for remedial and enrichment small groups.  

Take a step back--before you react to something that isn't going well, take a minute to think about it and look at the big picture.  Avoid blaming your partner for shortcomings that are occurring in your shared room. 

Unit planning--considering taking time once month to devise a big picture plan.  This will ensure that both teachers know the direction of the next couple of weeks and can contribute to this vision.

Voice your Concerns--if something doesn't seem right to you, speak up.  If you feel that your students needs aren't being met or you are moving too quickly through the content, share this with your co-teacher.  Don't let your bad feeling fester; stop and talk about them with your co-teacher.  

Work in progress--know that your relationship is a work in progress and as such it will need readjustments and time to grow.  

Xtra Support--because working in a collaborative team is challenging, ask for support from your administration.  Professional development about how to make this relationship work is available and beneficial, whether you are new to the setting or have been doing it for many years 

Yearly review--if you are lucky enough to have a partner for more than one year, spend time at the end of the year discussing what worked and what needs to change.  This will make you more powerful for round two.

Zero tolerance for failure--consider having a policy that provides your students with the opportunity to remedy their failures and missing work.  To learn more about this idea, watch Rick Wormeli talk about redos and retakes as a policy. 

Using UDL

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to instruction that gives all students access to the curriculum.  It asks us to look at our students as individuals to understand what they need, what their strengths are and what motivates them. A common misconception about UDL is that this approach is only appropriate for students with disabilities.  While students with disabilities benefit from the modifications made using the three principles of UDL, this approach is beneficial to everyone.  

Universal Design for Learning uses three principles to make instruction accessible to all students in a classroom.  These principles are:  Multiple Means of Representation, Multiple Means of Action and Expression and Multiple Means of Engagement.  These three principles were created because we have three networks in the brain that help us learn: Recognition Network, Strategic Network and Affective Network.  To learn more about this, visit Cast.org by clicking here. 

Multiple Means of Representation asks us to provide content in various ways to our student. This can be done by providing audio, video, visuals, manipulatives and handouts during class instruction.  This principle not only includes how we deliver the content of a lesson but how we help students categorize this information. This is important when we are planning so that we can be sure to activate prior knowledge and link our lesson to a meaningful activity, asking students to apply what they learned.

Multiple Means of Action and Expression asks us to provide some choice and variety when students share what they know.  Here, we should consider that some students do a great job expressing themselves in written form, while others prefer speech. Assistive technologies are especially very helpful here--using an tablet, cell phone or computer to complete/access an assignment.  We should provide opportunities for students to set their learning goals here and monitor their own progress, as well.

Multiple Means of Engagement asks us to consider a students interests and strengths. Here we ask ourselves the question, "What motivates my students to learn?"  We can provide options for students to focus on their individual interests by increasing choice in the classroom.  We want to encourage their effort and interest in this principle by allowing students to collaborate and providing them with constructive feedback.  Finally, to further engage our students with a task, it is important that we ask them to self reflect and assess their own product and learning. One suggestion is to provide a rubric for students to use for self scoring before you grade their assignment. 


To learn more about Universal Design for Learning, check out the video by CAST below or visit Cast.org.