Common Core
Institute
Instructional Shifts in Literacy: Close
Reading
Activity
What comes to mind when I
say the words
_____________?
CCSS Literacy Key
Terms
1.
Anchor Standards
2.
Strands
3.
Clusters
4.
College and Career
Readiness
5.
Depth of Knowledge
6.
Literacy Shifts
Thinking Notes
Read pages 1-3 of the Common Core Primer. Use the above marks t
annotate your thinking.
Close Reading Primer
Share
Close Reading
Video
•
After viewing the video,
discuss your impressions
with your team.
•
Discuss which attributes
from the article were
present in the video.
Common Core Primer
Jigsaw
Read your section of the Common Core Primer. Use the above marks
to annotate your thinking. Prepare to share your key findings.
Review
What comes to mind when I say
Close Reading?
Reflection Form – Close Reading
Common Core Institute – Day 1

How might your experience as a learner in this lesson inform your own
teaching?

What connections can you make to the Balanced Literacy Approaches?

What shifts in practice are essential for implementing Close Reading next
year?
1984 Close Reading
Lesson
Learning Objective: Analyze how
author George Orwell uses descriptive
details to reveal the setting and main
character in the opening pages of the
novel 1984.
Guiding Question: What can we
understand about Winston Smith and the
society he lives in based on the
descriptive details George Orwell
includes in the first few pages of 1984 ?
Individual Reading of
Text
Directions: Read the text independently,
annotating the text by circling unknown
words, underlining key words or phrases
that help you visualize the character or
setting, and using double question marks
to indicate places in the text you find
confusing.
Checking for
Understanding
In five sentences or less, what is your
initial impression of Winston Smith and
the society he lives in? (Please use the
space at the top of the front page.)
Think Aloud
Please follow along in the text during the
rereading. Continue to notice the
descriptive details that are revealing
Winston's character and the society he
lives in.
Text-Dependent
Questions
• What is the connotation of a society that
has something called Hate Week?
•
What do Winston's "varicose ulcer" and his
need to rest on his way upstairs suggest
about his character?
• What else seems significant in this
paragraph?
Second Reading
Directions: Read the remaining
paragraphs aloud as a group (choose a
reader). Continue to work through the
remaining paragraphs, underlining at
least one descriptive detail in each
paragraph.
Discuss: What mood do the posters of
Big Brother create? Why are the posters
up everywhere?
Writing About the
Text
Prompt: Choose one word or phrase that
you feel best describes the character of
Winston Smith or the society he lives in.
Write a paragraph explaining your
rationale, using at least two descriptive
details from the text to support your
choice.
(Please use the space at the bottom of the text.)