MMSD Gr. 6 Social Studies Close Reading Example Lesson
Incorporating AVID Strategies and the Gradual Release of Responsibility model
NOTE: Close Reading is complex and varied, and there are many ways to design a close reading lesson using AVID strategies (integrated
throughout) and the Gradual Release of Responsibility model (chart on final page). This Social Studies Example Lesson provides one example of
how a teacher might choose to set up a close reading lesson, which will vary according to the teacher’s objectives and student needs.
This Social Studies Close Reading Example Lesson adapts elements from Wisconsin DPI’s Close Reading chart at
http://dpi.wi.gov/files/cal/pdf/close-reading.pdf and the Aspen Institute’s/Lee Kappes’ Attributes of Close Reading Lessons chart (p. 3) at
http://www.aspendrl.org/portal/browse/DocumentDetail?documentId=1396&download. See also DPI’s Secondary Reading resources at
http://www.wirticenter.com/strategiesbank/reading.php#tab-bb. AVID Critical Reading references are from the AVID text Critical Reading: Deep
Reading Strategies for Expository Text. AVID Collaborative references are from the AVID text The Write Path II: History/Social Science.
CCSS Reading Anchor Standards
 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.
 R 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.
 R 9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to
compare the approaches the authors take.
 R 10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
CCSS Writing Anchor Standards
 W 1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
 W 4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
 W 9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
 W 10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
MMSD Social Studies Standards
 History 2. Identify contributions from ancient civilizations to the present.
 Behavioral Sciences 3. Recognize that most issues encountered in social studies are complex and lack
simple solutions.
 Behavioral Sciences 4. Form and express opinions and be willing to revise an opinion based on
additional information.
MMSD Gr. 6 Social Studies Close Reading Example Lesson
Components
Select a brief, high-quality,
complex text that warrants
further investigation and
understanding.
Component Details
Lesson-Specific Strategies and Materials
Diverse Social Studies texts, considering both primary and
secondary sources:
 Primary sources: speeches, letters, political cartoons,
newspaper articles, maps, diaries, photographs, etc.
 Articles and informational texts
 Excerpts from novels, books, graphic novels
 Charts, graphs, maps
 Art, music, lyrics, poetry, audio/visual
For more on Text Types, see Wisconsin DPI’s
http://standards.dpi.wi.gov/files/cal/pdf/text-types.pdf
For more on Text Complexity, see Wisconsin DPI’s
http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/files/pld/pdf/text-complexity.pdf
 Consider Quantitative, Qualitative, and Reader to Task
measures.
Paired Text: Primary source excerpts from two
archaeologists, Mary Leakey and son Richard Leakey.
Sources:
A) Leakey, Richard. The Making of Mankind. New
York: Dutton, 1981.
Quantitative Measure: 1140 Lexile
Qualitative Measure:
 Moderate complexity of Meaning/Purpose,
Structure, Language Conventionality and Clarity,
Knowledge Demands; No Visual Supports
Reader and Task Measure: builds off of earlier study
of archaeology/early humans in TCI’s Unit 1 Early
Humans and the Rise of Civilization; major
vocabulary will be review from TCI’s Unit 1
AVID Critical Reading Resources to consider:
 ‘Selecting Texts for Instructional Purposes’ (p. 2)
B) Holloway, Marguerite. "Mary Leakey: Unearthing
History." Scientific American Oct. 1994: n. pag.
Scientific American. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=
mary-leakey-unearthing-hi&print=true>.
Quantitative Measure: 910 Lexile
Qualitative Measure:
 Moderate/simple complexity of Meaning/
Purpose, Structure, Language Conventionality and
Clarity, Knowledge Demands; No Visual Supports
Reader and Task Measure: builds off of earlier study
of archaeology/early humans in TCI’s Unit 1
Components
Consider Prior Learning
A Close Reading lesson fits within a
unit of study, not as a stand-alone.
Teacher introduces the text,
and sets the purpose for
reading.
Component Details
 Key vocabulary and ideas
 Consider context (through an article, timeline, direct
teacher presentation, connection to prior lesson, etc.)
 Textbook reading, books, web resources, photographs,
audio, video
 Provide essential/guiding question(s) & focus for
lesson inquiry
Possible purposes to consider:
 Analysis
 Argument (claim/evidence)
 Author’s purpose
 Cause/effect
 Change over time
 Content acquisition
 Evaluate validity
 Language
 Objective summary
 Structure of text
 Theme
AVID Critical Reading Strategies to consider:
 Strategy 1: Planning for the Reading (p. 1-7)
Lesson-Specific Strategies and Materials
Intended Course & Unit: Gr. 6 Ancient World, TCI’s
Unit 1 Early Humans and the Rise of Civilization OR
Review/refresher for later in the year
Background Textbook Reading:
 TCI History Alive! The Ancient World
Unit 1 Early Humans and the Rise of Civilization
(p. 2-65); Key definitions p. 6
 Mary & Louis Leakey p. 16-17
Background Key Vocabulary and Ideas:
 Archaeology
 Archaeologist
 Artifact
 Excavation
Purpose for reading/guiding questions:
 What is the appropriate role of an archaeologist?
 Is there an inappropriate role for an
archaeologist?
Components
Students read the text with
appropriate scaffolds.
Note: Close reading requires
multiple reads of the same text.
Students mark the text, i.e.,
“read with a pencil.”
Component Details
Lesson-Specific Strategies and Materials
Reading options to consider, within Gradual Release of
Responsibility model:
 Students read individually
 Teacher reads text/portion of text out loud as students
follow along (modeling)
 Group read aloud, for student engagement and to
reinforce the primacy of the text
First Read: Students read individually, keeping in
mind the guiding questions: What is the appropriate
role of an archaeologist? Is there an inappropriate
role for an archaeologist?
Vocabulary that may challenge students:
Richard Leakey:
 *archaeology
 textiles
 *bygone
 eras
 ancestors
 archaeologists
 excavations
 *painstakingly
Mary Leakey:
 interpretation
AVID Critical Reading Strategies to consider:
 Strategy 2: Prereading (p. 11-30)
o esp. ‘Studying Historical Contexts’ (p. 24)
 Strategy 3: Learning Academic Vocabulary (p. 33-42)
 Strategy 4: Rereading the Text (p. 45-53)
AVID Strategy 3: Learning Academic Vocabulary
 Explicitly teach/review the 3 starred words above
(*), using AVID Handout 3.2 ‘Keeping Track of
New Vocabulary (p. 40)
 Writing in the margins
 Student questions (text interrogation, consider what’s
left out, guide later inquiry/research)
 Making thinking and learning visible
Second Read: Students read and annotate according
to the model that they have learned and used
previously, or AVID Strategy 5: Marking the Text,
below.
Components
Students respond to textdependent questions that focus
on discrete elements of the
text.
Individual or with a partner
Note: This may overlap with the
step below, depending on lesson.
Component Details
Lesson-Specific Strategies and Materials
AVID Critical Reading Strategies to consider:
 Strategy 5: Marking the Text (p. 55-67)
 Strategy 6: Pausing to Connect Ideas Within a Text (p.
69-75)
 Strategy 7: Writing in the Margins (p. 77-95)
 Strategy 8: Charting the Text (p. 97-113)
AVID Strategy 5: Marking The Text (p. 58)
Students should:
1. Number the paragraphs.
2. Circle key terms, cited authors, and other
essential words or numbers.
3. Underline the author’s claims and other
information relevant to the reading purpose.
Text-dependent questions:
 Questions align with text
 Questions align with the purpose for reading
 Questions provide a variety of layers and focus: (a)
general understanding, (b) key details, (c) vocabulary
and text structure, (d) author’s purpose, (e) inferences,
(f) opinions, arguments, and intertextual connections.
See DPI Handout:
http://www.wirticenter.com/strategiesbank/documen
ts/Reading%20Informational%20Texts%20612/RI.RRTC%20Text%20Dependent%20Questions.pdf
 Social Studies: consider source, context, corroboration
(See SHEG’s Reading Like a Historian
http://sheg.stanford.edu/intro-materials for additional
resources); also bias and point of view
Students answer text-dependent questions with a
partner, discussing their answers as they go through
the questions.
See Student Handout for Text-Dependent Questions,
Discussion Prompts, and Writing Prompts.
AVID Critical Reading Strategies to consider:
 Strategy 8: Charting the Text (p. 97-113)
- Partner
Students talk through their
understanding of the text with
a partner.
Note: This may overlap with the
steps above and below, depending
on lesson.
 Students share thinking with a partner.
 Share annotations and responses to text-dependent
questions (see previous steps).
 Clarify misunderstandings or confusions.
 Generate additional questions posed by the student.
AVID Collaborative Strategies to consider:
 Think-Pair-Share (from AVID Write Path II:
History/Social Science book)
See above – partner discussion integrated with textdependent questions.
See Student Handout for Text-Dependent Questions,
Discussion Prompts, and Writing Prompts.
Components
- Group
Whole or Small group
discussion among students.
Note: This may overlap with the
step above, depending on lesson.
Component Details
● Students debate, argue, discuss text as a whole or
small group.
● The text remains the focus as the reader explores and
evaluates the author’s choices.
● Structure discussion around student responses to textdependent questions while also preparing them to
write about the text (see next step).
Lesson-Specific Strategies and Materials
Whole class discussion using stated Discussion
Prompts.
See Student Handout for Text-Dependent Questions,
Discussion Prompts, and Writing Prompts.
AVID Collaborative Strategies to consider:
 Socratic Seminar, Four Corner Discussion, Debate
(from AVID Write Path II: History/Social Science book)
Students record and extend
their thinking through writing
about the text.
While students will be writing
throughout the Close Reading
lesson, this component offers a
chance for students to complete
formal writings.
Students reflect on the knowledge gained through Close
Reading in short or long written passages:
● Diverse formats, media, lengths, considering RAFT
(Role, Audience, Format, Topic)
● Students write argumentatively
● Students write to a framed paragraph
● Students write an objective summary
● Students write a thematic analysis
● Students write a characterization analysis
See Student Handout for Text-Dependent Questions,
Discussion Prompts, and Writing Prompts.
AVID Critical Reading Strategies to consider:
 Strategy 9: Responding to a Writing Task (p. 115-125)
 Strategy 10: Summarizing the Text (p. 127-157)
 Strategy 11: Utilizing Sentence Starters and Templates
(p. 159-178)
 Strategy 12: Investigating Writers’ Choices (p. 181-198)
For grading rubric, use your own, or the Adapted
‘AVID Essay Writing Scoring Guide’ from AVID The
Write Path II: History/Social Science Teacher Guide
(p. 92). [attached at end of Student Handout]
The Student Handout includes a Writing Prompt that
would be appropriate to use either:
 For summative assessment as part of TCI’s Unit 1
Early Humans and the Rise of Civilization (or as
formative assessment with a modified writing
prompt)
 Later in the course, as a reminder to students
about how to derive information and ideas from
artifacts (See Extend step below for additional
ideas.)
Components
Extend: Students extend their
thinking and learning beyond
the Close Reading Lesson.
Component Details
 Connect Close Reading learning to other lessons and
types of learning in the unit.
 Conduct research based on Close Reading learning.
 Pair Close Reading text with other text(s) for analysis.
Consider: same topic, different author; same author,
different text; text that responds to the original text.
 Connect learning to prior or future content.
Lesson-Specific Strategies and Materials
 Provide students with artifacts that connect with
Richard Leakey’s clues (“as to how our early
ancestors behaved, how they ran their economy,
what they believed in and what was important to
them”). Ex: coin, photo, The Bill of Rights, yearly
calendar with holidays written in. Ask students to
connect these artifacts to both Richard Leakey’s
and Mary Leakey’s perspectives. How should
archaeologists use and interpret these artifacts?
 Provide students with examples of an
interpretation that was once accepted and is now
controversial or disproved. Ex: People thought
the world was flat; Pluto (9th planet v. dwarf);
Bering Land Bridge; carbon dating; ‘Discovery’ of
the New World. Ask students to analyze what
changed to challenge the existing interpretations.
 Use Richard Leakey’s criteria to analyze artifacts
from Sumer, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India (including
Mohenjodaro), China, Greece, and/or Rome.
 Read full Scientific American article about Mary
Leakey. Consider writing prompt: What themes
emerged in Leakey’s work as an archaeologist?
 Research/read about other archaeologists,
including Leonard Woolley (Ur in Mesopotamia;
Reading Further, textbook p. 40-43), Howard
Carter (King Tut; Reading Further, textbook p. 8689), and Vinzenz Brinkmann and Ulrike KockBrinkmann (Classical Greek Sculpture; Reading
Further, textbook p. 328-331); Pompeii Forum
Project Scholars (Pompeii, Italy; Reading Further,
textbook p. 406-409). Consider what motivated
these individuals.
MMSD Secondary Social Studies Close Reading Planning Tool
Gradual Release of Responsibility Model Connections
The Secondary Social Studies Close Reading Planning Tool helps to support implementation of Fisher and Frey’s Gradual Release of Responsibility
model of instruction.
“The responsibility of the learning needs to be gradually released from what the teacher does to what the students are able to know and do.”
(MMSD Common Core State Standards 3 Year Plan, August 2013).
Phases of Gradual Release of
Responsibility Model
Related Close Reading
Components (above)
Focus Lesson
Sets the purpose through modeling or inquiry so
students are provided with information about the
ways in which a skilled reader, writer or thinker
processes information.
Introduce
Read
Guided Learning
Cues, prompts, and questions are carefully planned
by teachers to guide students.
Read
Annotate
Question
Collaborative Learning
Students consolidate their thinking with peers by
negotiating, discussing ideas and information or
engaging in inquiry with others about what they
have learned during the focus lesson and guided
instruction.
Question
Discuss - Partner
Discuss - Group
Independent Learning Tasks
Students independently apply information, ideas,
content, skills, and strategies in unique situations.
Write
Extend