Common Core State Standards
Professional Learning Series
English Language Arts:
Informational Text — Reading
Unit 3: Supporting Student
Comprehension
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
September 2012
Unit 3 Objectives
Define and understand close reading of
text
 Understand how to use text-dependent
questions to closely read text through
lesson exemplars
 Identify structures of informational text

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What is Close Reading?
Close reading requires students to be
actively involved in the text that they read,
drawing understanding, inferences, and
meaning directly from the text.
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How to do a Close Reading
Video: “How to do a Close Reading”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla
yer_embedded&v=adXdTXEzmzE
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How to do a Close Reading?
(Cont.)
Video: Douglas Fisher Interview, Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w9v6zUg3Y
Video: Douglas Fisher Interview Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhGI5zdj
pvc
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Close Reading and the
Common Core State
Standards
CCR Anchor Standard 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."
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Close Reading and the
Common Core State
Standards (Cont.)
Standard 2
"Determine central ideas or themes of a
text and analyze their development;
summarize the key supporting details and
ideas."
Standard 8
"Delineate and evaluate the argument and
specific claims in a text, including the validity of
the reasoning as well as the relevance and
sufficiency of the evidence."
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Model of a Close Reading
Conducting close reading of a text in a
classroom requires preparation. The
teacher must be familiar with the text and
prepare text-dependent questions in
Advance.
Video: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
http://engageny.org/resource/middle-schoolela-curriculum-video-close-reading-of-a-textmlk-letter-from-birmingham-jail
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Commonalities
in Close Reading
The focus is on text meaning
 Background preparation/explanation is
minimized
 Students must do the
reading/interpretation
 Teacher’s major role is to ask textdependent questions
 Multi-day commitments to texts
 Purposeful rereading Short reads

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Close Reading Strategies
Video: “Close Reading Strategies with
Informational Text”
http://engageny.org/resource/close-readingstrategies-with-informational-text-byexpeditionary-learning
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Close Reading
for English Learners
In your packet, let’s read the article,
“Understanding Language: What does Text
Complexity Mean for English Learners and
Language Minority Students” by Fillmore
and Fillmore.
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Table Discussion
Turn to a table partner and discuss these
two questions:
 What types of attention to language do
Fillmore and Fillmore recommend when
supporting English learners in their
reading of the Letter?
 How can you begin to implement this
type of language support?
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Text-Dependent Questions
“Text-dependent questions specifically ask
questions that can only be answered by
explicitly referring back to the text being
read.”
Source: Achieve the Core, “A Guide to Creating Text Dependent Questions for Close
Analytic Reading
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Text-Dependent Questions
(Cont.)
Effective text-dependent questions probe
into a text in order to guide students to
pluck out key meanings or ideas found in
the text.
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Text-Dependent Questions
(Cont.)
The following questions from “Achieve the Core” can
help generate a core series of questions to support the
close reading of any text:
1. Identify the Core Understandings and Key Ideas of
the Text
2. Start Small To Build Confidence
3. Target Vocabulary and Text Structure
4. Tackle Tough Sections Head-on
5. Create Coherent Sequences of Text-Dependent
Questions
6. Identify the Standards That Are Being Taught
7. Create the Culminating Assessment
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Lessons Featuring
Text-Dependent Questions
Achieve the Core has developed several exemplars
that feature the following:
 Reading tasks in which students are asked to read
and reread passages and respond to a series of
text dependent questions
 Vocabulary and syntax tasks which linger over
noteworthy or challenging words and phrases
 Discussion tasks in which students are prompted
to use text evidence and refine their thinking
 Writing tasks that assess student understanding
of the text
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Lessons Featuring
Text-Dependent Questions
(Cont.)
Review one of the following lessons
featuring text-dependent questions
developed by Achieve the Core that model
how teachers can support students as they
read.
 Grade 3: “Because of Winn-Dixie”
 Grade 6: “The Making of a Scientist”
 Grade 8: “The Long Night of the Little
Boats”
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Lessons Featuring
Text-Dependent Questions
(Cont.)
The CCSS for ELA/Literacy Appendix B
includes text exemplars and performance
tasks to guide educators in both selecting
text at the appropriate complexity band
and to ensure the tasks they assign
students promote the standards and close
reading of texts.
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Informational Text Structures
Informational text structures provide the
framework for an author to share
information with a reader for a particular
purpose: a job application, a recipe, a map, a
direction sheet for assembling a toy, a
speech, or a research paper have different
structures because the purpose of each
text is different.
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Informational Text Structures
(Cont.)
Find your grade level for Standard 5 in
California's CCSS for ELA/Literacy
Reading for Informational Text
Elementary pages 3-4
 Secondary pages 21-22

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Informational Text Structures
(Cont.)
Explicit teaching of text structures
supports students in accessing text to
understand its purpose.
 Generally, informational text contains
signal words and phrases that cue the
reader to the text’s structure and
purpose.

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Info. Text Structures (Cont.)
Description
Describes a particular topic.
Signal words: for example, in
particular, for instance, to
illustrate, such as, most
important, another
Problem and Solution
Identifies a problem, provides
possible solutions with possible
results, and finally, the actual
solution selected.
Signal words: the problem is, the
difficulty is, it is possible to, if-then,
one challenge is, therefore
List and Enumeration
Lists connected information,
outlines a series of steps, or
orders ideas in a hierarchy.
Signal words: first, second, third, last,
then, at that time, during, immediately,
next, until, while, soon, after, now
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Info. Text Structures (Cont.)
Cause and Effect
Can include several reasons why
an event occurred or several
effects that resulted from a cause
or multiple causes.
Signal words: therefore, as a
result, lead(s) to, because of, in
order to, for these reasons, thus,
if-then, may be due to
Problem and Solution
Identifies a problem, provides
possible solutions with possible
results, and finally, the actual
solution selected.
Signal words: the problem is, the
difficulty is, it is possible to, if-then,
one challenge is, therefore
List and Enumeration
Lists connected information,
outlines a series of steps, or
orders ideas in a hierarchy.
Signal words: first, second, third, last,
then, at that time, during, immediately,
next, until, while, soon, after, now
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Strategically Teaching
Informational Text
Video: "Comic Book Templates: An Entry
Point into Nonfiction."
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/tea
ching-nonfiction-entry-points
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Text Exemplars
and Performance Tasks,
Appendix B
Elementary: Grades K–1 and 2–3 exemplars include
informational text and read-aloud informational text.
For grades 4–5, the exemplars are informational text,
including performance tasks for each one.
 Middle School: The grades 6–8 exemplars are
divided into content areas: English Language Arts,
History/Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and
Technical Subjects, with performance tasks for each
exemplar.
 High School: Exemplars for grades 9–12 are also
divided into content areas: English Language Arts,
History/Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and
Technical Subjects, with performance tasks for each
exemplar.

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Text Exemplars
and Performance Tasks,
Appendix B (Cont.)

Grades 4-5: Students identify the overall
structure of ideas, concepts, and information in
Seymour Simon’s Horses (based on factors such
as their speed and color) and compare and
contrast that scheme to the one employed by
Patricia Lauber in her book Hurricanes: Earth’s
Mightiest Storms. [RI.5.5]

Grades 9-10: Students evaluate the argument
and specific claims about the “spirit of liberty” in
Learned Hand’s “I Am an American Day Address,”
assessing the relevance and sufficiency of the
evidence and the validity of his reasoning. [RI.9–
10.8]
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Module Summary
This module has prepared you to:
 Identify the informational text standards
associated with your grade-level
classroom.
 Select the tools you need to identify
students’ reading skills and increase their
ability to read more complex text.
 Implement strategies in your classroom
that support students in reading more
complex text.
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Post-Assessment
Let’s take a few moments to take the
module’s post-assessment found in your
participant packet.
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Conclusion of Module
You have successfully completed English
Language Arts: Informational Text-Reading
professional learning module.
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