Planning Support for Close Reading:
Possible Lenses, Patterns, Understandings
Text Evidence
In narratives
Types of lenses
Types of
patterns
Types of
understandings
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What characters/people: say/think/do
Characters’ expressions, gestures, and
appearance
Relationships
Setting descriptions
Time period
Recurring objects
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Which details fit together?
How do they fit together?
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Character’s/people’s:
 Feelings
 Traits
 Relationships
 Motivations
 Comparisons to others
Whole text:
 Issues
 Symbols/metaphors/motifs
 Themes
 Lessons
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In informational texts
A subject’s:
 Facts
 Phrases
 Descriptions
Photos or graphics
Quotes from experts
Author’s stated opinions
Comparisons
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Definitions of unknown
concepts or terms
Main idea of a section
Central idea of an entire
text
Author’s bias or point of
view
Comparisons
Adapted from: Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts – and Life, by
Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Planning Support for Close Reading:
Possible Lenses, Patterns, Understandings
Word Choice
In narratives and informational texts
Types of lenses
Choose words that seem particularly selected by the author, such as:
 Words that evoke:
 Strong emotions
 Strong images
 A clear idea
 Words that reveal style:
 Informal tone
 Formal tone
 A clear voice
 Particular kinds of words:
 Nouns
 Verbs
 Adjectives
 Adverbs
Types of patterns
Types of
understandings
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Which words fit together?
How do they fit together?
An author’s:
 Tone
 Purpose
 Relationship to the subject/theme
Text’s:
 Central ideas
 Issues
 Lessons
 Symbols/metaphors/motifs
 Themes
Adapted from: Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts – and
Life, by Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Planning Support for Close Reading:
Possible Lenses, Patterns, Understandings
Structure
In narratives
Types of lenses
In informational texts
Lens #1: Describe the organization of the text:
Lens #1: Describe the organization of the text:
Genre as structure chosen for a purpose:
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Fantasy, to explore good and evil
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Historical fiction, to reflect on current ideas in
a historical context
Genre as structure chosen for a purpose:
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Editorial, to convince or persuade
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Article, to inform and educate
Location of parts within the whole:
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Plot mountain:
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Exposition: introducing character,
setting, and backstory
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Rising Action: pressures and
obstacles
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Climax: dramatic point, characters
or problems come together
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Falling Action: characters or
communities change, lessons
learned
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Resolution: ending, some things
wrap up, others might not
Technique the author uses:
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Descriptions
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Dialogue between characters
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Action
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Setting
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Inner thinking
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Scene endings and beginning
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Flashbacks
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Definition of a term
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Comparisons
Location of parts within the whole:
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Sections
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Text features
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Order of techniques (see below)
Techniques the author uses:
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Definition of a term
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Comparisons
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Cause or effect
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Description
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Anecdote
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Claim
Lens#2: Purpose of that organization:
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To present a cause for an effect
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To make a complex idea more concrete
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To provide context
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To clear up misconceptions
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To develop a reader’s expertise
Lens #2: Purpose of that organization:
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To set the stage
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To reveal
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To create suspense
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To foreshadow
Types of patterns
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Types of
understandings
How are the parts similar?
How are the parts different?
What purpose do the parts serve?
Character:
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Development
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Changes
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Critical moments
Whole Text:
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Themes
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Central Ideas
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Issues
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Lessons
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Symbols/metaphors/motifs
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Author’s purpose
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Definitions
Main idea of a section
Central idea of an entire text
Author’s bias or point of view
Purpose behind the author’s choices
Adapted from: Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts – and
Life, by Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Planning Support for Close Reading:
Possible Lenses, Patterns, Understandings
Point of View and Argument
In narratives
Types of lenses
Lens #1: What is the author’s and/or character’s
point of view here?
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What they are thinking
What they believe
What they feel or want
Lens #2: What makes the author and/or
character’s point of view persuasive?
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Text evidence
Word choice
Structure
What characters: say/think/do
Character expressions, gestures, and
appearance
Relationships
Setting descriptions
Time period
Recurring objects
In informational texts
Lens #1: What is the point of view/argument?
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Lens#2: What makes the point of
view/argument persuasive?
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Types of patterns
Types of
understandings
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Text evidence
Word choice
Structure
Emotional appeals (personal stories
or anecdotes)
Engaging voice (humor, passion, or
outrage)
Sense of audience (angled evidence,
or tone)
Nods to commonly held beliefs or
even stereotypes
Cacophony, or “ranting”
Rhetorical devices (metaphors,
alliteration, or irony)
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 or unusual in the text?
What is the purpose or effect of these points of
view?
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Ideas or claims
Reasons the claim is right
Evidence supporting the reasons
Counterargument
Logic
Validity
Relevance
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 points of view
Validity and strength of the argument:
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Central idea or claim
Most/least persuasive parts
How similar or different from the
reader’s point of view
How well-supported
Effective or ineffective parts
The strength of counterargument
Author’s style:
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Most commonly used craft or
persuasion techniques
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Balance of style and argument
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Effective or ineffective persuasive
techniques
Adapted from: Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts – and
Life, by Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Planning Support for Close Reading:
Possible Lenses, Patterns, Understandings
Reading Across Texts
Types of lenses
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.
Types of patterns
Decide how to compare:
 Text evidence
 Word choice
 Structure
 Point of view
Types of
understandings
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
Adapted from: Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts – and
Life, by Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.