What Close Reading Actually Means by Grant Wiggins*
*from his most excellent blog, http://www.teachthought.com
Key Ideas and Details
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. (p. 10 CCSS)
Here is how Nancy Boyles in an excellent Educational Leadership article defines it:
“Essentially, close reading means reading to uncover layers of meaning that lead to deep
comprehension.”
Thus, what “close reading” really means in practice is disciplined re-reading of inherently
complex and worthy texts. As Tim Shanahan puts it in his helpful blog entry, “Because
challenging texts do not give up their meanings easily, it is essential that readers re-read
such texts,” while noting that “not all texts are worth close reading.”
The close = re-read + worthy assumption here is critical: we assume that a rich text simply
cannot be understood and appreciated by a single read, no matter how skilled and motivated
the reader.
The next five ELA anchor standards (CCSS) make this clearer: we could not possibly analyze
these varied aspects of the text simultaneously:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize
the key supporting details and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course
of a text.
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical,
connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape
meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger
portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and
the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
College readiness and close reading. Since a key rationale for the Common Core
Standards is college readiness, let’s have a look at how college professors define it. Here is
what Penn State professor Sophia McClennen says at the start of her extremely helpful
resource with tips on close reading:
“Reading closely” means developing a deep understanding and a precise interpretation of a
literary passage that is based first and foremost on the words themselves. But a close
reading does not stop there; rather, it embraces larger themes and ideas evoked and/or
implied by the passage itself.
Here is how the Harvard Writing Center defines it:
When you close read, you observe facts and details about the text. You may focus on a
particular passage, or on the text as a whole. Your aim may be to notice all striking features
of the text, including rhetorical features, structural elements, cultural references; or, your aim
may be to notice only selected features of the text—for instance, oppositions and
correspondences, or particular historical references. Either way, making these observations
constitutes the first step in the process of close reading.
The second step is interpreting your observations. What we’re basically talking about here is
inductive reasoning: moving from the observation of particular facts and details to a
conclusion, or interpretation, based on those observations. And, as with inductive reasoning,
close reading requires careful gathering of data (your observations) and careful thinking
about what these data add up to.
A University of Washington handout for students summarizes the aim of close reading as
follows:
The goal of any close reading is the following:
• an ability to understand the general content of a text even when you don’t understand every
word or concept in it.
• an ability to spot techniques that writers use to get their ideas and feelings across and to
explain how they work.
• an ability to judge whether techniques the writer has used succeed or fail and an ability to
compare and contrast the successes and failures of different writers’ techniques.
Remember—when doing a close reading, the goal is to closely analyze the material and
explain why details are significant. Therefore, close reading does not simply try to summarize
the author’s main points, rather, it focuses on “picking apart” and closely looking at the what
the author makes his/her argument, why is it interesting, etc.
Q: Re-Read this page & pull out 3-5 critical distinctions (literally & inferentially) between
Close Reading and casual or every-day reading…
Identify 3-4 critical Teaching implications?