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Close Reading
in the Early Grades
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Objectives
By the end of this presentation, you will be able to:


distinguish how close reading is different from other
reading activities, and
describe the process of developing a close read
activity.
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Can students participate in a close
read if they are unable to
independently read a complex text?
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Anchor Reading Standards
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Kindergarten Reading Standards
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Grade 1 Reading Standards
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Close Reading
A Look at the Process
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What Is Close Reading?
• Close reading is a careful, sustained analysis of a written work
used to uncover layers of meaning in order to deepen
comprehension.
• Close Reads can use texts:
 students are reading
 that are read-aloud
• Read-alouds serve as an instructional tool to expose students to
rich, complex texts they would otherwise be unable to access
on their own.
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Text
3
Teacher
Student
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Text Complexity
Determining Qualitative Dimensions
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•
Increasingly complex
content
•
Increasingly complex
language
o
o
o
o
Vocabulary
Grammar
Syntax
Sentence structures
Less
Complex
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More
Complex
Dimensions of Complexity
Knowledge Demands:
o Levels of Meaning
o Life Experiences
o Cultural and Content
Knowledge
Language Demands:
o Structure
o Conventionality and
Clarity
(CCSS ELA Appendix A, p. 6)
3
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“Hot Cross Buns”
Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a
penny,
Hot cross buns!
Meaning:
I have buns for sale.
One for a penny, two for a
penny.
I have buns for sale!
Explicit  Obscure
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Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a
penny,
Hot cross buns!
Structure (K or Grade 1):
Sentence has an article, a noun, a verb
and an adjective or adverb.
“The muffin is sweet.”
“The runner is fast.”
I have buns for sale!
Conventional  Unconventional
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Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a
penny,
Hot cross buns!
Knowledge:
Most students would know the words
hot, cross, and buns.
What are hot cross buns?
•
•
Spiced sweet bun made with raisins
and marked with a frosting cross on
the top
Traditionally eaten on Good Friday
Everyday Knowledge  Cultural Knowledge
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Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a
penny,
Hot cross buns!
Language:
Literal language will be less complex
than figurative language.
“one a penny” versus
“one for a penny”
Contemporary Language Archaic Language
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Important Points to Keep in Mind
Remember:
• Expectations are that complexity will increase as students
progress through the grades;
• Reading and readings in the early grades will be more
concrete and less abstract.
o Early grades—usually will find 1 or 2 elements or
dimensions of complexity employed through a single
text.
o Upper grades—usually will find multiple aspects of
complexity in a single text.
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Planning Close Reading
Activities
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How To Plan Close Reading
Activities
Be strategic to ensure you are aligning your goals with those of
the CCSS at your grade level.
• Close Read Planning Process:
Outlines key components you
should look and plan for when
developing a close read activity.
• Close Reading Planning
Tool: Use to capture this
information for your specific
passage.
1–2
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Challenges and setbacks for the Continental Army
1. Identify Key Ideas
The men soon realized that they would never have enough bullets for
the fight ahead. Later that summer, British warships were spotted
entering New York’s harbor. King George had gotten help from the
Germans as well. More than thirty thousand trained troops arrived to
fight the unprepared colonial militiamen.
George Washington nearly lost his army in the fierce fighting around
New York and New Jersey that fall. The Redcoats chased the
Continental Army south, across the Delaware River. Thinking that
they had scared them off, the Redcoats left only a small force to
guard them on the other side of the river. It was December, and they
felt sure that nobody would fight during the dead of winter. But they
were wrong.
George Washington came up with a daring plan. On Christmas
night, he gathered his men together. It was snowing and cold, but
Washington had the men get into their boats and row quietly across
the ice-filled river. More than two thousand soldiers crossed the river.
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Success under leadership of George Washington
1. Identify Key Ideas
George Washington came up with a daring plan. On Christmas
night, he gathered his men together. It was snowing and cold, but
Washington had the men get into their boats and row quietly across
the ice-filled river. More than two thousand soldiers crossed the river.
The crossings took nine hours! Marching through the wind and sleet
of the December cold, the Continental Army reached the British
troops just before dawn. While the Redcoats were still sleeping,
Washington’s men launched a surprise attack on the enemy camp.
The Redcoats were surprised all right! Some of them came out of
their bunks in their underwear and just held up their hands. It was a
total victory for General Washington. Nobody in his army had been
killed. Washington and his army returned to Philadelphia to shouts
of joy. But the war wasn’t over yet.
The Continental Congress knew that they needed more help in order
to win their war for independence. German soldiers were fighting
alongside the British.
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2. Identify Knowledge Demands
The men soon realized that they would never have enough bullets for
the fight ahead. Later that summer, British warships were spotted
entering New York’s harbor. King George had gotten help from the
Germans as well. More than thirty thousand trained troops arrived to
fight the unprepared colonial militiamen.
George Washington nearly lost his army in the fierce fighting around
New York and New Jersey that fall. The Redcoats chased the
Continental Army south, across the Delaware River. Thinking that
they had scared them off, the Redcoats left only a small force to
guard them on the other side of the river. It was December, and they
felt sure that nobody would fight during the dead of winter. But they
were wrong.
George Washington came up with a daring plan. On Christmas
night, he gathered his men together. It was snowing and cold, but
Washington had the men get into their boats and row quietly across
the ice-filled river. More than two thousand soldiers crossed the river.
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3. Identify Language Demands
The men soon realized that they would never have enough bullets for
the fight ahead. Later that summer, British warships were spotted
entering New York’s harbor. King George had gotten help from the
Germans as well. More than thirty thousand trained troops arrived to
fight the unprepared colonial militiamen.
George Washington nearly lost his army in the fierce fighting around
New York and New Jersey that fall. The Redcoats chased the
Continental Army south, across the Delaware River. Thinking that
they had scared them off, the Redcoats left only a small force to
guard them on the other side of the river. It was December, and they
felt sure that nobody would fight during the dead of winter. But they
were wrong.
George Washington came up with a daring plan. On Christmas
night, he gathered his men together. It was snowing and cold, but
Washington had the men get into their boats and row quietly across
the ice-filled river. More than two thousand soldiers crossed the river.
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4. Select Passage
The men soon realized that they would never have enough bullets for
the fight ahead. Later that summer, British warships were spotted
entering New York’s harbor. King George had gotten help from the
Germans as well. More than thirty thousand trained troops arrived to
fight the unprepared colonial militiamen.
George Washington nearly lost his army in the fierce fighting around
New York and New Jersey that fall. The Redcoats chased the
Continental Army south, across the Delaware River. Thinking that
they had scared them off, the Redcoats left only a small force to
guard them on the other side of the river. It was December, and they
felt sure that nobody would fight during the dead of winter. But they
were wrong.
George Washington came up with a daring plan. On Christmas
night, he gathered his men together. It was snowing and cold, but
Washington had the men get into their boats and row quietly across
the ice-filled river. More than two thousand soldiers crossed the river.
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Your Turn
1.
Find your passage and corresponding Close Reading
Planning Tool.
• Kindergarten (Willy the Water Drop, pp. 4–8)
• Grade 1 (Cinderella, pp. 9–13)
2.
Read the grade-level text to identify:
a) key ideas/understandings;
b) knowledge demands;
c) language demands; and
d) the passage that will be
used in the close read activity.
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1.
What did you find
challenging about this
exercise?
2.
What did you find most
helpful?
3.
How does this inform how
you analyze and select
passages for close reads for
read-alouds and student
reading?
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Success under leadership of
George Washington
Challenges and setbacks for
the Continental Army
5. Craft Culminating Activity
George Washington nearly lost his army in the fierce fighting around
New York and New Jersey that fall. The Redcoats chased the
Continental Army south, across the Delaware River. Thinking that
they had scared them off, the Redcoats left only a small force to
guard them on the other side of the river. It was December, and they
felt sure that nobody would fight during the dead of winter. But they
were wrong.
George Washington came up with a daring plan. On Christmas
night, he gathered his men together. It was snowing and cold, but
Washington had the men get into their boats and row quietly across
the ice-filled river. More than two thousand soldiers crossed the river.
The crossings took nine hours! Marching through the wind and sleet
of the December cold, the Continental Army reached the British
troops just before dawn. While the Redcoats were still sleeping,
Washington’s men launched a surprise attack on the enemy camp.
The Redcoats were surprised all right! Some of them came out of
their bunks in their underwear and just held up their hands. It was a
total victory for General Washington.
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6. Text-Dependent Questions
• Text-dependent questions can only be answered through
close analysis of text.
• Encourage student to gather evidence, insight, and
knowledge from the text.
2
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Ask Students To…
• Analyze paragraphs to determine the role played by paragraphs,
sentences, phrases, or words.
• Investigate how meanings altered by changing key words.
• Probe each argument, idea, and key detail, and observe how
these build to a whole.
• Examine how shifts in an argument/explanation are achieved
and their impact.
• Question why authors choose to begin/end when
they do.
• Note patterns of writing.
• Consider what the text leaves uncertain/unstated.
(Student Achievement Partners)
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Types of Questions
———
Literal
assess students’ recall of content
Inferential
guide students to infer information from the
text
Evaluative
guide students to build upon what they have
learned from the text to use their creative,
analytical, and application skills
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Keep In Mind
• CCSS grade-level expectations:
 What types of questions (literal, inferential, evaluative)
should you be asking at your grade level?
ALL (but frequency of each differs through grades)
• Order Matters:
 Begin with “winnable” question—
foster confidence
 Sequence coherently—
build understanding
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1.
Sequence the list of text-dependent questions and to build
confidence and understanding.
2. (Step 7: Ensure Alignment) Review the CCSS Anchors
document to note which grade-level standards the questions
are addressing.
3. (Time Permitting) Revise and/or
develop additional questions
based on your passage. Then
repeat steps 1 and 2.
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1.
What did you find
challenging about
this exercise?
2.
What did you find
most helpful?
3.
How does this
inform how you
develop and identify
what you need to
consider when
developing textdependent
questions?
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Closing
Summary, Next Steps, Closure
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Reflection
3
things you are currently doing that can facilitate close
analysis of complex texts in your classroom.
2
things you plan to start as soon as you return to your
classroom.
1
18
thing you still have questions about.
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Summary of Key Points
1. Close reading is a process led by teachers, not a strategy
students use.
2. As part of a close read, teachers ask text-dependent
questions.
3. Three types of questions that are generally used with texts
include: literal, inferential, and evaluative.
4. There is a distinction between close read CCSS anchor
standards and grade-level standards.
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Tools for Continued Support
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