Hansen School District
Fall 2013
Teaching Strategies for The
Common Core
Close Reading & Socratic
Seminar
Pat Hubert
ESA2
Goals
 Introduce participants to the Socratic
Circle/Seminar strategy to help teach
CCSS
 Close Reading
 Socratic Circles/Seminars
 Learn about it, see it, try it
Close Reading
In order to participate in a Socratic Seminar…you gotta be
able to really read a complex text……
Essential Questions
 What is close reading?
 Why is close reading important?
 What strategies are used with close
reading?
Anchor Standards…
1. Reading 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.
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and
informational texts independently and proficiently
So….what is Close Reading?
Close reading of a text involves an investigation of a
short piece of text.
Through text-based questions and discussion,
students are guided to deeply analyze and appreciate
various aspects of the text, such as
- Key vocabulary
- Attention to form, tone, imagery or rhetorical
devices
- Word choice or syntax
- Different levels of meaning through multiple
readings
Pearson & Gallagher, 1983 as cited in Brown and Kappes, 2012
Teacher Goal…
 To gradually release responsibility to students
 Moving from teacher modeling strategies
 To students independently using strategies as they
read on their own
Pearson & Gallagher, 1983 as cited in Brown & Kappes, 2012
Additional Considerations
 It can be an effective strategy for deepening content knowledge
and learning to read like an expert in all academic disciplines
 It demands teachers have substantive knowledge and
understanding of text complexity and text-dependent questions –
what they are and how they are used in teaching Close Reading
 It is used judiciously and employed for specific learning outcomes
 It builds skill and motivation in the reader
Pearson & Gallagher, 1983 as cited in Brown & Kappes, 2012
 Close reading is as much a way of
thinking and processing text that is
emphasized through the Common
Core as it is about a way of reading
a singular piece of text.
 Close reading can not be reserved
for students who are already strong
readers; it should be a vehicle
through which all students grapple
with advanced concepts and
participate in engaging discussions
regardless of their independent
reading skills. It builds skill and
motivation in the reader
Annotating A Text
Marking the Text
Read your text and annotate it as you go.
Keeping in mind
CURISOITY
Vocabulary
Authors intent
other….
Before the Seminar….
• “Text Dependent Questions” can only be
answered by referring explicitly back to the
text in front of them
• 80 to 90 percent of the Reading Standards in
each grade require text dependent analysis
• Aligned curriculum materials should have a
similar percentage of text dependent questions
Achievethecore.org
Close Reading Resources
Engage New York Website
http://engageny.org/resource/close-reading-strategieswith-informational-text-by-expeditionary-learning
Fisher and Frey channel on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZIQcwbHRKY
7 Close Reading Strategies
1. Number the paragraphs
To help with citing and referencing the text ask students to
number each paragraph, section or stanza in the left hand
margin. When students refer to the text, ask them to state the #
to avoid confusion
2. Chunk the text.
To avoid being overwhelmed as students to “chunk”
Students do this by drawing a horizontal line between
paragraphs to divide the page into smaller sections.
Number paragraphs and teach them how to group/organize
them…Let them begin to group on their own
7 Close Reading Strategies
3. Underline any questions to ask.
Telling students to simply underline “the important stuff” is too
vague. Direct students to underline and circle very specific things.
Think about what information you want students to take
4. Left margin: What is the author SAYING?
It isn’t enough to ask students to “write in the margins”. We must be
very specific and give students a game plan for what they will write.
This is where the chunking comes into play.
In the left margin, you could ask students to summarize each
chunk. (specify what you mean by “summaries” i.e. “write
summaries in 10-words or less”. The chunking allows the students
to look at the text in smaller segments, and summarize what the
author is saying in just that small, specific chunk.
7 Close Reading Strategies
5. Right margin: Dig deeper into the text
In the right-hand margin, direct students to complete a specific task for each
chunk. This may include:
·Use a power verb to describe what the author is DOING. (For example:
Describing, illustrating, arguing, etc..) Note: It isn’t enough for students to
write “Comparing” and be done. What is the author comparing? A better
answer might be: “Comparing the character of Montag to Captain Beatty”.
6. Represent the information with a picture.
This is a good way for students to be creative to visually represent the chunk
with a drawing.
7. Develop questions.
This may be a struggle for many students, as they often say they don’t have
questions
Others…
 SOAPS
 T3’s
 SCOUT
 SOAPSTONE
Socratic Seminar also requires a
good sequence of text dependent
questions
General Understandings
 Overall view
 Sequence of information
 Story arc
 Main claim and evidence
 Gist of passage
Key Details
 Search for nuances in meaning
 Determine the importance of ideas
 Find supporting details that support main ideas
 Answers who, what, when, where, why, how much, or
how many
Author’s Purpose
 Genre: Entertain? Explain? Inform? Persuade?
 Point of View: First-person, third-person, limited,
omniscient, unreliable narrator
 Critical Literacy: Who’s story is not represented?
Inferences…
 Probe each argument in persuasive text,
idea in informational text, each
key detail in literary text, and observe
how these build to a whole.
each
Opinions, Arguments and
Intertextual Connections
 Author’s opinion and reasoning (K-5)
 Claims
 Evidence
 Counterclaims
 Ethos, Pathos, Logos
 Rhetoric
 Links to other texts throughout the grades
“Every text has a skeleton
hidden between its covers.
You job as an analytic reader
is to find it.”
~ Adler and Van Doren, 1940/1972
Often, textbook writers have frontloaded all necessary
information to spoil any chance for intellectual discovery
on the part of the students. The CCSS wants students to
have the opportunities to grapple with difficult text.
~ David Coleman
Socratic Seminar on the
Socratic
Seminars
article
Overview
 Speaking & Listening Standard 1
 Language Standard 6
 Connections to :
 ELA Shift 4
 Danielson Domain 2 & 3
 Getting started: video
 http://www.hightechhigh.org/projects/?name=Socratic%20
Seminars&uid=5c9a17a9492748fe0ee9d78650371828#
Why Is Talk Important In
Classrooms?
 Because participation in well-orchestrated discussions
improves text comprehension:
 Helps students read critically and interpretively,
 Prepares students to write about texts,
 Supports vocabulary acquisition,
 Develops students’ abilities to build text-based
arguments and
 Explicate (explain in a detailed and formal way) their
reasoning.
Speaking & Listening Anchor
Standard 1
 Comprehension and Collaboration (K-8)
 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of
conversations and collaborations with diverse partners,
 Building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly
and persuasively.
Pre-K Speaking and Listening Standard
1 Comprehension and Collaboration
1. With guidance and support, participate in collaborative
conversations with diverse partners about prekindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in
small and large groups.
A. Engage in agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g.,
listening to others and taking turns speaking about the
topics and texts under discussion).
B. Engage in extended conversations.
C. Communicate with individuals from different cultural
backgrounds
Language Anchor Standard 6
 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use (K-8)
 Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic
and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient
 For reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the
college and career readiness level; demonstrate
○ independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when
encountering an unknown term important to
○ comprehension or expression
Pre-K Language Standard 6
 With prompting and support, use words and phrases
acquired through conversations, reading and being
read to, and responding to texts.
Too Much Teacher Talk?
In one study of 1,151 classroom discussions
occurring
in over 200 eighth and ninth grade
classrooms:
 93.31% (1074 discussions) were completely
monologic (teacher-centered) in nature
 Of the 6.69% (77) that included “dialogic episodes”
(moments when students directed the conversation),
those episodes lasted for an average of 15 seconds
(Nystrand et al., 2003)
Why Talk is Important In
Classrooms….
The opportunity to access a
conversation, serves to scaffold
the understanding
Vygotsky, 1978; Edwards & Mercer, 1987; Edwards & Westgate, 1994;
Mercer, 1995; Nystrand, 1997; McNaughton, 2002
Video Clip
 http://www.hightechhigh.org/projects/?name=Socratic%
20Seminars&uid=5c9a17a9492748fe0ee9d786503718
28#
High 5 – 3 Musketeers
 After watching the video….
 A’s - Summarize the teachers role
 B’s - Summarize the student role
 C’s - What will be challenges with each?

talk
Teacher Standards To Be
Addressed
Domain 2: The Classroom
Environment
Domain 3:Instruction
 Creating an environment of
Communicating with Students
Respect and Rapport
 Establishing a Culture for
Learning
 Managing Classroom
Procedures
 Managing Student Behavior
 Organizing Physical Space
Using Questioning and Discussion
Techniques
Engaging Students in Learning
Using Assessment in Instruction
Demonstrating Flexibility and
Responsiveness
How do we prepare for a Socratic
Seminar?
 Prior to the seminar
give a Socratic
Seminar prep sheet.
Walk thru steps 1 – 4
for homework
assignment.
 Reading the text
and preparation
with important
questions and
quotations is
critical.
What type of questions should I ask
during the seminar?
There are three
levels of
questions.
You should
come up with a
minimum of 1
question per
level.
Level 1 (Knowledge Questions):
Knowledge means being able to
show understanding by talking, writing,
signing, drawing.
Please use the following stems in
creating your Knowledge Questions:
 Can you state, in your own
words?
 Can you describe?
 Can you defend your position?
 Can you summarize the
information?
Level II (Application Questions):
Application means supporting
your ideas with evidence.
Please use the following stems in
creating your Application
Questions:
 Explain how …
 Explain why …
 Interpret the reasons …
 Compare and contrast …
 Connect and explain …
Level III (Synthesis Questions):
Synthesis means
combining or connecting
two different elements.
In terms of the Socratic
Seminar you will be
connecting two texts with
each other OR
connecting a text to the
outside world.
What will the seminar look like?
Full Seminar:
Concentric circles
Micro seminar
Serialized questioning
What’s the deal with partners?
If I am in Seminar B, I will be sitting in
the outside circle taking notes for my
partner who is in the inner circle
participating in the Seminar A.
Then we will switch. I will participate in
the seminar and my partner will take
notes for me.
We will be switching notes at the end of
each seminar to be used for Step 5 of
the Socratic Seminar Prep Sheet.
How does the discussion work in a
seminar?
 The seminar is to
serve as a discussion,
not a lecture. Just like
in a casual
conversation, no one
begins the
conversation, a
conversation begins
naturally.
Seminar Guidelines
 Please listen and look at each other when you
speak.
 One person speaks at a time.
 Each person will have a chance to ask a
question.
 Respond to the person who asks the question.
 Use evidence from the text to support yourself.
 Always treat each other with mutual respect.
Micro Seminars
 Elementary
 MS/HS ELA
 MS/HS Math
Video Seminar –
Concentric Circles
 Number off 1-2
 1’s outside
 2’s inside
 All watch, take notes,
consider:
 Questions
 Content
 Big idea
 Supporting details
 Use your handout 1’s to
assess/coach
Resource Check….
Work time!
Think about … how will you plan
to use this….
How will you assess?
Next Time…
 Credit
 Lesson planning
 Coaching
 Practicing
Thanks!
phubert@edec.org
pathubert.wikispaces.com