Powerpoint/Resources
 You will find the powerpoint and needed resources
in our LiveBinder:
 http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/297779
 Under “CCSA 2015” tab
Forty-Seven Minutes
by Nick Flynn
Years later I’m standing before a roomful of young writers in
a high school in Texas. I’ve asked them to locate an image
in a poem we’d just read—their heads at this moment
are bowed to the page. After some back & forth about the
grass & a styrofoam cup, a girl raises her hand & asks,
Does it matter? I smile—it is as if the universe balanced
on those three words & we’ve landed in the unanswerable. I
have to admit that no, it doesn’t, not really, matter, if rain
is an image or rain is an idea or rain is a sound in our heads.
But, I whisper, leaning in close, to get through the next
forty-seven minutes we might have to pretend it does.
Why such an emphasis on
close reading?
“Close analytic reading integrates and further develops many of
the elements that are needed to support every student. This
capacity for incorporating so many of the other strands in one set
of activities makes close analytic reading essential.”
Close Reading
Volume of Reading
Fewer pages
More pages
Grade-level
complex text
Text at different
levels of complexity
All students
same text
Student or teacher
choice of text
Teaches students to Rapidly builds
attend to text and knowledge & vocab
to words
Close Reading
Volume of Reading
Heavy support
Light support
Solely instructional Guided or
Independent
Exposes students Builds knowledge of
to higher-level
words, and the world
content
Gives all students Builds love of reading
access
Standards Connection
 R.CCR.1:
Read closely to determine what the text says
explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite
specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to
support conclusions drawn from the text.
Close Reading Basics
 Choosing a passage to read closely
 Amount or length of passage
 Annotating
 Teacher Modeling
How to Conduct a Close Reading
Depending on the difficulties of a given text and the teacher’s knowledge of
the fluency abilities of students, the order of the student silent read and the
teacher reading aloud with students following might be reversed .
Academic vocabulary could be introduced as the teacher reads aloud or as part
of a brief introduction to the text.
1. Briefly introduce text (i.e. draw attention to time period, author etc.) then
have students read text silently.
2. Teacher reads text aloud to students as they follow and draws attention to
academic vocabulary.
How to Conduct a Close Reading,
cont.
3. Students reread the text independently or with a partner and
summarize (rehearsal/partner reading).
4. Teacher asks a series of text dependent questions about the text.
5. Allow opportunities for text-based writing – returning students to the
text as evidence as well as using the text as a guide or mentor text.
“The book was long, and difficult to read,
and Klaus became more and more tired as
the night wore on. Occasionally his eyes
would close. He found himself reading the
same sentence over and over. He found
himself reading the same sentence over and
over. He found himself reading the same
sentence over and over.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning
“Analytic reading
cultivates
the habits of mind
that develop students
into
strong
independent
readers.”
Close Reading
Creating High
Achievement
 Review the article
 Venn Diagram activity
Academic Language
WHAT: More than vocabulary, terms, conventions and genres
it is the language that is used in school to acquire new or
deeper understanding of the content and communicate that
understanding to others.
WHY: “Close attention to words, sentences, and language
use within the context of the text’s unfolding ideas initiates
students into the academic language essential to becoming
an educated person.”
Academic Language is:
 the language used in the
classroom and workplace
 the language of text
 the language of
assessments
 the language of academic
success
 the language of power
Not so much
taught…
but acquired
through interactions with
complex texts and meaningful
instructional conversations in
which attention is drawn to
the ways in which meaning
relates to words, phrases,
clauses in the texts.
(L. Wong Fillmore)
Three Dimensions of
Academic Language
 Word/Phrase – Academic vocabulary, multi-meaning
words, technical language
 Sentence – Academic language at this level is
characterized by grammatical structures,
conventions, mechanics, fluency
 Discourse – Oral and written. Could include lab
reports, timelines, word problems, storytelling,
sheet music
1. Word/Phrase Dimension
 Includes Academic Vocabulary – Tier 2 words
 Words in phrases are more meaningful than
vocabulary in isolation
 Is only one aspect of Academic Language acquisition
 Teach word-learning strategies (roots, suffixes,
prefixes)
 Foster word consciousness (an awareness of and
interest in words and their meanings)
 Cross disciplinary terms
 Figurative expressions and
multiple meanings
 Content vocabulary
 Affixes, roots, and
transformations.
O’Hara, Zwiers, Pritchard 2013
 Figure out the meaning of
new words and terms
 Use and clarify new words
to build ideas or create
products
 Choose and use the best
words and phrases to
communicate
O’Hara, Zwiers, Pritchard 2013
“Sometimes words are not enough.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish
2. Sentence Dimension
This dimension involves putting words and phrases together in
sentences. Academic texts include compound and complex sentences
with multiple ideas. Readers can be challenged to find the primary idea of
a sentence and notice how it is supported by other phrases and clauses.
 Sentence structure
(compound/complex) and
length
 Transitions and
connectives
 Complex verb tenses and
passive voice
 Pronouns and references
O’Hara, Zwiers, Pritchard 2013
 Craft sentences to be clear
and correct
 Use a variety of sentence
types, to clarify a message,
condense information
 Combine ideas, phrases
and clauses.
O’Hara, Zwiers, Pritchard 2013
3. Discourse (message) Level
Academic discourse is putting words and sentences (the other two
dimensions) together to clearly communicate complex ideas.
 Clarity and coherence
 Register for participants
and purposes
 Density of ideas and their
relationships
 Message organization and
structure (visuals,
paragraphs)
 Organization of sentences
O’Hara, Zwiers, Pritchard 2013
 Create a logical flow of and
connection between ideas,
knowing how ideas develop and
need to develop.
 Match language with purpose of
message (Clear, complete,
focused, logical, and appropriate
to the discipline).
 Create, clarify, fortify, and
negotiate ideas.
O’Hara, Zwiers, Pritchard 2013
Instructional conversations work only if the
conversations really are conversations.
L. Wong-Fillmore
Goals for Productive Discussion
 Goal One: Help individual students share, expand,
and clarify their own thoughts.
 Goal Two: Help students listen carefully to each
other.
 Goal Three: Help students deepen their reasoning.
 Goal Four: Help students engage with others’
reasoning.
S. Michaels and C. O’Connor
How-to’s
 Sentence Frames
 Modeling
 Fishbowl
 Group work
 Opinion Formation Cards (Zwiers, O’Hara, &
Pritchard, 2014)
Writing and Academic
Language
Writing is a part of the Discourse Level.
Follow close reading, juicy sentences, and
conversations with a culminating task.
Encourage students to use academic words and
phrases in their writing.
Use sentence starters.
Writing should be text based.
How to Choose “Juicy” Complex
Excerpts and Sentences
Choose sentences that:
 are tied closely to the Essential Question being explored
 are layered with academic Tier 2 vocabulary
 are long and embedded with main and dangling clauses, parts, and
phrases
 are filled with figurative language that merits attention
 have content specific language functions
Lily Wong Fillmore and Maryann Cucchiara 2012
There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor
did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear
the Rabbit say to itself, 'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be
late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it
occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at
this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but
when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its
waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried
on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her
mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with
either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of
it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field
after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop
down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.
What’s next?
What do I do with my juicy sentence?
 Read the sentence aloud (teacher or class)
 Copy the sentence
 Deconstruct (chunk the sentence into parts)
 Discuss the meaning of the chunks
 Reconstruct
What does this look like?
 Instructional conversations
should be real conversations.
 They should focus on various
aspects of a sentence or two
chosen from a rich complex
text.
 They should be a part of a
bigger unit.
 The sentences selected should
deserve attention and
discussion.
Juicy Sentence Directions
 (Read the sentence aloud) (teacher or class)
 Copy the sentence (at the top of the paper)
 Deconstruct (chunk the sentence into parts)
 Discuss the meaning of the chunks
 Reconstruct
Integrating
Academic Language
into Close Reading
Instruction
 Ask text dependent
questions to clarify and
build ideas in preparation
for a conversation.
 Do repeated readings to
discover alternative ways to
interpret text.
 Establish a systematic
coding system to use while
close reading.
 Try wide-angle reading that
emphasizes the broader
discourse and messageorganization level of
reading.
O’Hara, Pritchard, Zwiers
Where is Academic Language
supported in the Standards?
Resources for Academic Language
Academic Language Infographic
ELA Listserve
http://elaccss.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/listjoin
Contact Information
Julie Joslin, Ed.D.
Section Chief
English Language Arts
919-807-3935
Julie.Joslin@dpi.nc.gov
Anna Lea Frost, M.Ed.
6-8 English Language Arts
Consultant
919-807-3952
Anna.Frost@dpi.nc.gov
Lisa McIntosh, MSA
K-5 English Language Arts
Consultant
919-807-3895
Lisa.Llewellyn@dpi.nc.gov
Kristi Day, M.Ed.
K-5 English Language Arts
Consultant
919-807-3928
Kristi.Day@dpi.nc.gov
Angie Stephenson
9-12 English Language Arts
Consultant
919-807-3833
Angela.Stephenson@dpi.nc.gov