Close Reading
OUTCOMES/AGENDA:
•Gain an understanding of the steps to Close
Reading
•Determine which standard addresses Reading
Closely and how other standards can be taught
through this instruction
•Gain and understanding of annotating text
•Recognize the use of scaffolding during Close
Reading
•Gain an understanding of where text dependent
questions fit into Close Reading
•Participate in walking through the steps of a Close
Reading lesson (using Charlotte’s Webb) familiarize
ourselves with the three steps
Close Reading
“Close Reading – an intensive
analysis of a text in order to
come to terms with what it
says, how it says it, and what it
means.”
Tim Shanahan
Close Reading
“Focused, sustained reading and
rereading of a text for the
purpose of understanding key
points, gathering evidence,
and building knowledge.
Pearson, page 48
How To Do A Close Read
 Read with a pencil in hand – annotate the text
 Look for patterns in the things you’ve noticed about
the text – repetitions, contradictions, similarities
 This is whatever you, the teacher, want the students to
look for: key ideas & details, central message or theme,
character traits, etc
 Ask questions about the patterns you’ve noticed –
especially how and why
Where does Close Reading
appear in the College and
Career Ready Standards?
Anchor Standards for Reading
R.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.
Anchor Standard 9
Anchor Standard 7
Anchor Standard 6
Anchor Standard 5
Anchor Standard 4
Anchor Standard 3
Anchor Standard 2
Anchor Standard 10
Anchor Standard 1
Anchor Standard 8
Close Reading of
Charlotte’s Web
Read Charlotte’s Web Chapter 1
to get the flow and general
understanding of the story.
 Read with a pencil to annotate
the text
Close Reading of
Charlotte’s Web
Turn to your “elbow partner” and
recount what has taken place in
the story so far? Be sure to
use/cite specific textual evidence
in your answer.
Literal
This is a story about a little girl who lives
on a farm with her mother, father, and
brother. Her name is Fern. The story
begins with Fern’s father, Mr. Arable,
setting out with an ax, and Fern asking:
(Where’s papa going with that ax?) The
story goes on to show that Fern is terribly
upset that her father is going to kill a
piglet because it is a runt and, as he says,
“A weakling makes trouble.” Fern calls this
event a terrible injustice and persuades her
father to give her the piglet instead.
Close Reading of
Charlotte’s Web
Reread
 Look for key details that might help
you determine a central message or
theme beginning to emerge.
Ask and/or answer questions about
 the details you’ve noticed
 how and why are these important to
the overall text?
Close Reading of
Charlotte’s Web
Turn to your “elbow partner” and
answer the following questions:
1. What’s the story beginning to
be about?
2. Be sure to include details from
the story.
Did your conversation
look like this?
The story is starting to be about a
struggle for justice. Fern says “It’s
unfair” a couple of times. She also
says it’s the most terrible case of
injustice she’s ever heard of. Fern
tries to wrestle the ax from her
father’s hand.
Close Reading of
Charlotte’s Web
How did Fern react to her father getting
ready to kill the pig? What were Fern’s
characteristics and/or feelings?
What in the story makes you say that?
Fern reacted to her father
getting ready to kill the pig by
becoming extremely upset. She
is yelling and sobbing. Fern
calls it, “A matter of life and
death.” She even compares
killing the piglet to her parents
killing her if she had been born
very small.
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.“
CCR Anchor Standard 2
“Determine central ideas or themes of a text and
analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
CCR Anchor Standard 3
"Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas
develop and interact over the course of a text.“
A final thought….
“If young readers do the
work of the first three anchor
standards well— comprehending,
inferring, synthesizing —then they’ll
move rapidly up levels to the kinds of
stories where paying attention to craft,
structure, and language will become
an essential part of their
everyday reading work.”
-Calkins, Ehrenworth, & Lehman, 2012