Presentation to the International Reading Association
Erin Guarino, Reading Consultant
Anna Harris, Curriculum and Instruction Coach
Tom Poland, English Teacher
Joanne Shulman, Reading Consultant
Ellen Stoltz, Chief Academic Officer
E
Provide Conceptual Background on
Three Reading Comprehension
Impediments

PURPOSE:

PROCESS:

PAY-OFF:
Informational Power Point
You will conceptualize elements to
analyze comprehension struggles with
YOUR students

Setting the Scene for Learning


I know the Three Big Ideas in Reading
Comprehension instruction.
Yes
No
Not Certain
I know the basic reasons why my students
struggle with reading comprehension and
what I can do to help.
Yes
No
Not Certain

Activate Prior Knowledge, Personalize Learning
 “The
process of
simultaneously extracting and
constructing meaning through
interaction and involvement
with written language.”

Present Big Idea
 “Attending
to ideas and
content by locating and
recalling information, by
making inferences, decoding,
and understanding vocabulary
all at once.”

Present Big Idea
Identify with a partner the key
words in the definitions.
1. Instructional Context
2. Student Learning Characteristics
3. Text Factors
1. Inadequate Instruction
2. Insufficient Exposure and Practice
1. Inadequate Comprehension
Monitoring
2. Undeveloped Attention Strategies
3. Language Difficulties
4. Undeveloped Word Recognition and
Memory
1.
2.
3.
4.
Structure and Organization
Length and Task Demands
Genre
Abstract Concepts

Connect objective
INSTRUCTIONAL FACTORS:
1. Build in sufficient practice (5-25 different
exposures!)
2. Vary the type of presentation, i.e. written
text, Power Point, video clips
3. Vary the type of response, i.e. highlighting,
partner reading, writing one sentence or a
full paragraph


1.
LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS:
Analyze through observing and
questioning…
Do your students reengage with text after
distractions?
Can your students define vocabulary to
know if they truly understand what the
words mean?
Are they truly paying attention to the text?
 TEXT
FACTORS:
Do you need to teach
students of any age how to
navigate the text, what
features to pay attention to
and what to ignore?


I know the Three Big Ideas in Reading
Comprehension instruction.
Yes
No
Not Certain
I know the basic reasons why my students
struggle with reading comprehension and
what I can do to help.
Yes
No
Not Certain

Solidify New Knowledge, Personalize Learning
Presentation to the International Reading Association
Erin Guarino, Reading Consultant
Anna Harris, Curriculum and Instruction Coach
Tom Poland, English Teacher
Joanne Shulman, Reading Consultant
E




PURPOSE: Model strategies to increase reading
comprehension for close reading for ALL students
PROCESS: Co-teaching, modeling Effective Teaching
Strategies (Peery, A. 2011), hands-on guided and
independent practice; DOK Levels 1-3
PAY-OFF: You will learn strategies to use purposefully with
YOUR students; Link to College and Career Readiness for
CCSS under Craft and Structure
PAT PAVELKA, NANCY BOYLES: Close Reading Strategies

Setting the Scene for Learning


When I read closely, I understand 100% of
what I read.
Yes
No
Not Certain
When my students read text the first time,
they understand 100% of what they read.
Yes
No
Not Certain

Activate Prior Knowledge, Personalize Learning


I believe I learn more by discussing a favorite
book with friends and learn from their
thinking.
Yes
No
Not Certain
I know how and when to implement specific
comprehension strategies to personalize
instruction for ALL students.
Yes
No
Not Certain

Activate Prior Knowledge, Personalize Learning
 “Strategies
are a means to
deepen the reading experience
and give students a language
to discuss the process of
constructing meaning.”
~Keene, E. & Zimmerman, S. (2007).
Mosaic of Thought

Present Big Idea
We want Pre-K-Grade 12 students to comprehend in
literal, critical, and evaluative ways
to master State Standards
measured
by summative assessments
THEN…
How do we teach close reading to ALL students to
ensure deep understanding?

Purpose for Learning and Expected Outcomes
Strategy
Instruction Can
Be Personalized
Strategy
Instruction can
be Diagnosed
Thinking About
Text Begins at an
Early Age
Conversation
Increases Meaning
and Associations
Reading
Comprehension
is COMPLEX
 Use Non-Linguistic Representations for Visual Learners

Good Teachers teach Close Reading
strategies to improve students' overall
comprehension
What is Close Reading?
 Close Reading is rereading with different
lenses



Close Reading will be required for ALL
students
Teachers will need to expand their repertoire
of deep reading comprehension strategies
Assessment results will place students in a
wider range of skill and knowledge

Connect objective
 Short
texts
 Chunk text
 Re-read
 Underline and circle important
words – with a purpose!
 Use stickies or the margin to
write what the author is saying
(the gist)
Lightning Bolt!!!
Semantic Feature
Analysis or Degrees of
Reading Power (DRP)
 Key Words
 Signal Words
 Similarities
 Differences
 Pronoun Referents
Metacognitive Strategies
PROCESS of READING to
Understand Author’s Message
PRODUCT of READING to Read
Closely






Visualizing
Predicting
Making Connections
Summarizing
Questioning
Clarifying



Teach Key
Words/Phrases-
Read/skim to
look for Main Idea

Reread to Connect
 Teach
Signal
 Teach
Patterns
Ideas
Determine Author's
Craft and Structure
Close Reading Steps
Words
How I teach this
Key Words are important in helping determine
the main idea.
 This first read is for the purpose of getting the
general idea or “gist" of the text/passage.
 It will help the student activate prior knowledge
on the topic - making comprehension easier
 If the student has no prior knowledge, this first
read will help create a mindset or schema of the
topic.
TO DO: Students list key words while they read to
help them find the main idea.






Signal Words help the reader link ideas
together.
They tell them something is coming
They are a "signal" to look for something
important in the reading.
Signal Words give clues to Author’s Craft
There are four types of signal words:
sequence, cause, continuing, change
main
1,2,3
idea.
1. Lila chased AJ. AJ chased Lila.
 Lila chased AJ then AJ chased Lila.
 AJ chased Lila after Lila chased AJ.
2. Maggie gave Emily a pencil. Emily was
happy.
 Emily was happy because Maggie gave her a
pencil.
3. Maggie, Lauren, Wiley and Donald are
holding hands with each other.
4. There is no school on April 29th, however
teachers have to be there.


Diagnose areas of concern
Example: Student does not understand
author’s use of signal words, i.e. then,
however, consequently; Student does not
understand how sentences or ideas connect

Instruct deeply at the semantic level
Example: Teach categories of signal words
that connote author’s meaning: sequence,
cause, continuing, change


SEQUENCE 1,2,3
FIRST
LAST
CONTINUING
DURING
PROCESS of READING to
Understand Author’s Craft and
Structure


CAUSE
IF, THEN, AS SOON AS
CHANGE
DESPITE
PROCESS of READING to
Understand Author’s Craft and
Structure…LET’s TRY IT!
What does the author want the reader
to understand from this passage?
 Look for important words and their
patterns –categorize words to help
determine author’s intent, craft, and
word choice
 What are these important words
telling the reader? R.CCR.4

As good teachers we must ask
ourselves this…
 In order to teach it and model it, we
need to make sure we do it.
 Keep in mind in your classroom - you
might not teach all strategies in one
sitting 



Turn and talk
Think of a read aloud or a piece of text article
– something that you do in your classroom –
that you can enhance by teaching Close
Reading with it
Make it meaningful –teach strategies using
text your students can connect to their
learning, regardless of subject


When I read closely, I understand 100% of
what I read.
Yes
No
Not Certain
When my students read text the first time,
they understand 100% of what they read.
Yes
No
Not Certain

Activate Prior Knowledge, Personalize Learning


I believe I learn more by discussing a favorite
book with friends and learn from their
thinking.
Yes
No
Not Certain
I know how and when to implement specific
comprehension strategies to personalize
instruction for ALL students.
Yes
No
Not Certain

Activate Prior Knowledge, Personalize Learning
1. As a result of participating in this workshop, I
now know
that__________________________________________
______________________________________________
.
2. As a result of participating in this workshop, I
will be able to
__________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
◦ Checking for Understanding and Meaningful Feedback