Creating Text-Dependent Questions for Close Analytic Reading
Selection: Black Cowboy Wild Horses by Julius Lester Grade: 5 Unit 2
Initial Planning
Identify the Core Understandings and Key Ideas of the Text
As in any good backward mapping process, teachers should start by identifying the key insights they want students to
understand from the text. Keeping the major points to be made in mind is crucial for crafting an overarching set of successful
questions. This step is also critical for creating a means to check for student understanding.
Identify Lesson Focus: (Review Qualitative Measures)
Meaning/ Purpose: (Briefly explain the levels of meaning (Literary Text) or purpose (Informational text)
Very complex – There are several layers of meaning.
Bob is so in tune with the mustangs and nature that he is like a horse himself (pg. 183). Freedom - Bob waits for that one
day when he can be free also (pg. 195).
Natural world hierarchy - Bob and Warrior need to defeat the mustang leader to be in charge of the herd.
Other themes that come out are respect for nature (pg. 193) and the value of non-traditional talents (pg. 181).
There are also historical references such as slavery, the colonial period and the American West as well as the roles of
African-Americans during these times (pg. 183).
Text Structure: (Briefly describe the structure, organization, and other features of the text) Very complex. There is a time shift
as he references slavery (pg. 183).
At the end he hopes for a future where they can both be free (pg 195).
Students may not connect to the idea of bonding to a horse and that the horse is personified as his soul mate. The horse
is a symbol of freedom. Bob can also relate to the horse as an animal that is trapped. These are very complex
connections for students to make.
Knowledge Demands: (Briefly describe the knowledge demands the text requires of students.)
Very Complex -Some students may connect to the rural life on a ranch but many will not. There are some cultural themes
like the life of a cowboy and/or Wild West culture. Students need to understand the concept of survival, regional
differences such as east vs. west. Students will also need to know man and animal relationships. The text says
something about the role of women in these times by their absence in the story. Also necessary is an understanding of
the role of African-Americans in colonial time to the present to understand Bob’s perspective.
CCSS Focus Standards:
RL5.1, RL5.2, RL5.4, RL5.10
Use shorter text or excerpts of longer texts
Supporting Student Needs
Considerations for Reader and Task
To really understand a complex text, the reader will have to read it more than once, to make sense of what the author is saying
and to glean the details at both the explicit and implicit levels. First and foremost, close reading demands a willingness to
return to the text to read part or even all of it more than once, ultimately instilling habits of mind in approaching text. Planning
for multiple reads as well as multiple purposes for reads is essential in order to support all student needs.
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Potential Challenges this Text Poses:
Meaning: (Conceptual Understanding Examples, pg. #)
There are many themes in the text. Some of the explicit and
implied themes are:
Cowboy/wild West culture
Historical roles of African-Americans, including slavery
Man and Animal Relationships—animal as soul mate
Historical role of women in the 1800s
Natural world dominance/hierarchy
Strategies/Lessons to access complex text: Pre teach
CCSS Focus Standards: RL 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.3
Language: (Syntax, Vocabulary Examples, pg. #)
Figurative language is used throughout the text.
This text contains a lot of similes. Class would need to discuss
similes and how important the relationship is between the
two things you compare to the image you are creating.
Pg. 184 – Near dusk, clouds appeared, piled atop each other
like mountains made of fear.
Pg. 187 – The rain came as hard and stinging as remorse.
Pg. 187 -….moon appeared as what as grief
Students need to connect with the feeling of remorse and
understand what it is to appreciate this image.
Pre teach
Activity/Lesson
Using evidence from text to draw inferences about a
character’s traits. Teacher will refresh student’s memory of
how they used character’s actions, things they say, thoughts
and feeling to infer traits about the character.
Class created chart about character and a conclusion
about the character’s traits. During the first read, after
students have time to turn and talk to partners to
summarize portions of the text, teacher will work with
the class to make inferences about Warrior from text
clues. Afterwards, students will be able to work in
groups to infer about Bob’s character. This may take
place after the second read. Could also be extended to
infer about nature as the vastness of the plains almost
become a character in the story.
Pre-teach vocabulary used in the similes that a key to clearly
creating the visual image.
Review certain emotions such as grief, fear, remorse.
Use visual images to discuss these feelings and well as
list times when one might feel this way. This will help
ELs and SELs clearly connect to the images being drawn in
the text.
Social studies concepts of exploring the west and how it feels
to be in a strange new land.
Home school connections by asking parents who may be
immigrants about how it felt to come to a new country.
Small group discussions about how it would feel to be
relocated to a different classroom or how it felt when
students moved to a new place.
First Read: Read through the text in two days. Pgs. 181-187 and 189-195. For the first read, students will summarize at the
end of selected paragraphs and/or pages. Teacher will refresh students on the class created chart for summarizing narrative
texts to include these elements: Somebody, Wanted, Because, But, Then, So. An extension would be to discuss if you were this
character what would you do.
Close Reads
Create Coherent Sequence of Text-Dependent Questions
Create Coherent Sequences of Text-Dependent Questions – Start Small to Build Confidence
The opening questions should help orient students to the text, and be specific enough to answer so students gain confidence.
The sequence of questions should not be random but should build toward more coherent understanding and analysis to ensure
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that students learn to stay focused on the text to bring them to a gradual understanding of its meaning.
Think of ways to maximize student engagement.
Close Read I
Learning Focus: Vocabulary and Figurative Language
Focus CCSS: Reading and Language (RL 5.4, L 5.5, L 5.6)
Text-Dependent Questions
Evidence-Based Answers/Pg. #
Pg. 181
What conclusions can you draw about the
environment surrounding Bob and Warrior on
page 181 from the language the author uses?
Plains … reach forever.
Land stretched as wide as love
Far, far away at what looked to be the edge of
the world…
This is a very big place - VASTNESS
Pg. 181
Love is all around us and love is good. If the
How does the author feel about the natural
land is as wide as love, it must be good to
environment based on the language he uses to have all around us
describe it? What images do his words create
in your mind/what do you visualize from his
Land kissed sky – more imagery of love and
words?
harmony
Warrior was eager to run across the plains.
He felt the love for nature the imagery
suggests. Since Bob smiled at his reaction, he
must have appreciated that feeling too.
Pg. 187 – What can you say about the storm
described on page 187 from the language the
author uses?
I can picture being on top of the mountain
and looking at the land seeming to touch the
sky. I can also picture turning in every
direction and seeing land and sky all around
me for miles and miles.
The animals are uneasy in the storm.
“Warrior reared his front hooves pawing as if
trying to knock the white streaks of fire from
the night sky.”
“Bob thought he saw the mustang stallion rise
in response as the earth shuddered from the
sound of thunder”
The rain was powerful and painful – “stinging
as remorse.”
There is no fighting nature. The storm must
pass in its own time. “The storm would pass
soon. Or it wouldn’t. There was nothing to
do but wait.”
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Close Read II.
Learning Focus: Read to analyze in detail a theme of a story
Focus CCSS: RL 5.2
Text-Dependent Questions
Look through the text and find examples of
what the author meant when he said, “ the
mustangs thought Bob was a horse and Bob
thought he was one too?”
Pg. 191
Using evidence from the text on page 191,
explain how Bob feels about nature.
What makes Bob unique and especially
equipped to bring in mustangs?
Evidence-Based Answers/Pg. #
Pg. 184- Bob would get close to the horses.
He would not use a fire in the night or do
anything to make his smell stand out from the
natural environment. He tried to live like a
horse and be like a horse so he could get
really close to them without scaring them. “If
the stallion smelled anything new, the herd
would be gone…” “.. He did not even blink his
eyes, afraid the stallion would hear the
sound.”- Pg. 188
“Bob let his breath out slowly. He had been
accepted.” “He moved Warrior slowly,
without sound, without dust.” “All day Bob
watched the herd, moving only when it
moved…”- Pg. 188
(Bob respected the horses almost as if they
were people. In return they horses gave him
respect, thinking that he was one of them.)
He saw the dangerous rattle snake as
beautiful- “as beautiful as a necklace.” He
didn’t blame the snake for biting the colt.
“Everything in nature had a right to protect
itself, especially when it was afraid.” Bob
respects nature. – Pg. 191
Pg. 183 – Bob could make the mustangs think
he was a horse.
Pg. 191 – Bob had a very close relationship to
Warrior which helped him in his job. “Bob lay
flat across Warrior’s Back. If anyone had been
watching, they would not have noticed a man
among the horses.”
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Close Read III.
Learning Focus: Quote accurately from text Focus CCSS RL 5.1
Text-Dependent Questions
Evidence-Based Answers/Pg. #
Reread the third paragraph on page 183,
“Some people learned from books….” What
did Bob learn to read and how?
Bob never learned to read from a book, but he
could read footprints.—Pg. 183 Bob had been
a slave and never learned to read, but he could
look at the ground and read what animals
walked on it.
What makes Bob unique and especially
equipped to bring in mustangs?
Pg. 183 – Bob could make the mustangs think
he was a horse.
Pg. 191 – Bob had a very close relationship to
Warrior which helped him in his job. “Bob lay
flat across Warrior’s Back. If anyone had been
watching, they would not have noticed a man
among the horses.”
Bob had gained leadership of the mustangs by
being in tune with them so he could get close
to them. He was so in tuned that they
considered him one of them. Bob respected
nature and enjoyed being a part of it. He spent
the day riding with the mustangs and being
one with nature. This was freedom for Bob.
Perhaps he enjoyed this so much because of
his time spent as a slave and because of the
current positions of African-Americans in Bob’s
time. – Pg. 193
Pg. 193 – The author writes, “For Bob there
was only the bulging of the horses’ dark eyes,
the quivering of their flesh, the rippling of
muscles and the bending of bodies. He was
now sky, plains and grass and river and
horse.” Explain what this means.
Checking for Understanding
How will you know that learning has occurred? Planning for a means to check student understanding is crucial. Refer back to the
Lesson Focus to plan intentionally to check for student understanding.
Describe how you will check for student understanding: Group discussion/chart creation comparing Bob’s life with that of AfricanAmerican males today? How did Bob feel? Would you want to live in same time period?
Group discussion/chart of how the figurative language in the story describes the geography of the land.
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STUDENTS FIGURE OUT
THE MEANING
sufficient context clues
are provided in the text
TEACHER PROVIDES
DEFINITION
not enough contextual
clues provided in the text
Vocabulary
KEY WORDS ESSENTIAL TO
UNDERSTANDING
Words addressed with a question or task
WORDS WORTH KNOWING
General teaching suggestions are provided in
the Introduction
Pg. 187 – remorse, grief
Pg. 181 – suspended
Pg. 183 – enthusiasm
Pg. 184 – horizon, distinct
Pg. 187 – ravine
Pg. 184 – vaulted
Pg. 181 – vastness
Pg. 187 & 188 – presence
Pg. 195 - swerved
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