1. Narrative Text:
Evidence
Types of lenses
Possible
Questions/Noticings:
What does the author
want me to understand?
What role does the
character(s) play in the
text?
In narratives…
What characters/people:
 say/think/do
 Characters' expressions, gestures, and
appearance
 Relationships
 Setting
 Time period
 Recurring objects
Why did the character act
that way?
Types of patterns
Types of understanding
 Which details fit together?
 How they fit together?
Character’s/people’s:
 Feelings
 Traits
 Relationships
 Motivations
 Comparisons to other
Whole text:
 Issues
 Symbols/metaphors/motifs
 Themes
 Lessons (central message; lessons
learned)
2. Narrative Text:
Word Choice
Types of lenses
In narratives…
Choose words that seem particularly
selected by the author such as:
 Words that evoke:
Possible
 strong emotions
Questions/Noticings:
 strong images
Are there any hard or
 a clear idea
important words?
 Words that reveal style:
 informal tone
Why did the author use
 formal tone
that particular word?
 a clear voice
 Particular kinds of words:
What words jump out
 nouns
right away?
 verbs
 adjectives
 adverbs
Types of patterns
 Which details fit together
 How they fit together
Types of
An author’s
understanding
 Tone
 Purpose
 Relationship/theme
Text’s:
 Central ideas
 Issues and Lessons
 Symbols/metaphors/motifs
 Themes
Planning Support for
Close Reading
2.Narrative Text:
Word Choice
Anchor Standards
Standard 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.
Standard 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.
Adapted from Falling in Love with Close Reading,
Lehman & Roberts, 2014
Planning Support
for Close Reading
1. Narrative Text:
Evidence
Anchor Standards for Reading
Standard 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.
Standard 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.
Standard 6: Assess how point of view or purpose
shapes the content and style of a text.
Adapted from Falling in Love with Close Reading,
Lehman & Roberts, 2014
3.Narrative Text: Structure
In narratives…
Types of lenses
Lens #1: Describe the organization of the text:
Genre as structure chosen for a purpose:
 Fantasy, to explore good and evil
 Historical fiction, to reflect on current ideas in a
historical context
Location of parts within the whole:
 Plot mountain:
-Exposition: introducing character, setting , and
backstory
-Rising Action: pressures and obstacles
-Climax: dramatic point, characters or problems come
together
-Falling Action: characters or communities change,
lessons learned
-Resolution: ending, some things wrap up, others
might not
Techniques the author uses:
 Descriptions
 Dialogue between characters
 Action
 Setting
 Inner thinking
 Scene endings and beginning
 Flashbacks
 Definitions of a term
 Comparisons
Lens #2: Purpose of that organization:
 To set the stage
 To reveal
 To create suspense
 To foreshadow
 How are the parts similar?
 How are the parts different?
 What purpose do the parts serve?
Character:
 Development
 Changes
 Critical movements
Whole text:
 Themes
 Central ideas
 Issues and Lessons
 Symbols/ metaphors/ motifs
 Author’s purpose
Possible questions/Noticings:
Why might this memory be important
(for flashbacks)
What is being compared? (comparisons)
Why does this keep happening again &
again?
Where is the narrator talking?
Where are the parts of the story where
the characters are talking?
Types of patterns
Types of understanding
4.Narrative Text: Point of View
and Argument
Types of lenses
Possible questions/Noticings:
What stands out in the text?
How does the dialogue reflect
the character’s/author’s
perspective or thinking?
In narratives…
Lens #1: What is the author’s and/or
character’s point of view here?
 What are they thinking
 What they believe
 What they feel or want
Lens #2: What makes the author and/or
character’s point of view persuasive?
 Text evidence
Why does this character/author
 Word choice
have this point of view?
 Structure
 What characters say/think/do
 Character expressions, gestures, and
appearance
 Relationships
 Setting descriptions
 Time period
 Recurring objects
Types of patterns
 Which points of view/ideas are repeated
 What technique does the author use to
make his or her point of view/argument
 What sticks out as different unusual in the
text?
Types of understanding
What is the purpose or effect of these points of
view?
 What is revealed about a theme?
 The author’s purpose?
 The effect on the reader?
 Which point of view is rewarded in the
text?
 Comparison of pints of view
Planning Support
for
Close Reading
4.Narrative Text:
Point of View and
Argument
Anchor Standards
Standard 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.
Standard 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.
Standard 6: Assess how point of view or purpose
shapes the content and style of a text.
Adapted from Falling in Love with Close Reading,
Lehman & Roberts, 2014
Planning Support for
Close Reading
3.Narrative Text: Structure
Anchor Standards
Standard 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.
Standard 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.
Adapted from Falling in Love with Close Reading, Lehman &
Roberts, 2014
5.Narrative Texts: Reading
Across Texts
Types of lenses
Possible Questions/Noticings:
What similarities do you notice in
these texts? Do they share a point of
view, theme, or idea?
Are there similarities in the
characters?
How does that help me form my own
understanding?
Types of patterns
Types of understanding
In narratives…
Lens #1: Choose a comparison:
 Characters or subjects
 Themes or central ideas
 Settings
 Authors (texts by the same author or different
author)
 Genres
 Styles
 Other ways (awards won, time period, social
issues, etc.)
Lens #2: Then choose your texts:
 What other text fits with this chosen
comparison?
- Some students may find it helpful to flip these
steps.
Decide how to compare:
 Text evidence
 Word choice
 Structure
 Point of view
Have new ideas about:
 The lens you looked through
 The authors’ choices
 The messages these texts send
 See characters or subjects as more complex
 Analyze kinds of relationships between
characters or ideas in texts
 Theme or central idea
When considering author’s purpose:
 Analyze each author’s point of view
 Understand more of an author’s style
 See how genre choices affect story, topic, or
readers
 Examine what it takes to be an “award-winning”
book
 Analyze what texts from a time period show us
about that period in history
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Planning Support for Close Reading
5.Narrative Text: Reading Across
Texts
Anchor Standards
Standard 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.
Standard 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.
Adapted from Falling in Love with Close Reading,
Lehman & Roberts, 2014