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Read Like a Detective!
I had the opportunity to attend a reading conference this past week. Douglas Fisher, author of Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading, was a keynote speaker. He spoke about the practice of close reading. With the adoption of the Common Core Standards, many teachers have turned their attention to close reading.
What is close reading? It is the instructional practice of having students critically examine a text in order to gain a deeper understanding of its meaning. Rereading and interacting with the text are key elements. Students learn to become detectives as the read, looking for clues as they uncover the meaning of the text.
Things to consider:
- Use short passages that are more complex.
- Build in opportunities for rereading to develop a depth of understanding.
- Provide a new purpose for each reading.
- Ask students to read with a pencil and leave thinking tracks as they read.
- Encourage students to note new words, important ideas, questions, and text connections.
- Provide opportunities for students to interact with peers in discussion to gain a deeper meaning of the text.
First Reading
Focus: What does the text say?
In the primary grades, the first reading may be a shared reading by the teacher, while in the intermediate grades, the student reads the passage independently.
Students read the passage to figure out what the text is about, or get the gist. They answer literal questions:
- What is the main idea?
- What are the key details?
- What is the sequence of events?
- Who, what when, where?
Be careful not to do too much front loading before the first reading. Instead, provide the scaffolding between readings. Allow students to get uncomfortable and struggle through the first reading. It’s healthy for them to problem solve and work through a difficult text.
Second Reading
Focus: How does the text work?
Students read with a pencil so that they can interact with the text. They look closer at vocabulary and figure out how the text works.
Questions for digging deeper:
- How did the author organize the text?
- How do the words influence the book's meaning?
- What is the author’s purpose?
Later Readings
Focus: What does the text mean?
Students dig even deeper into the meaning of the text, forming opinions and arguments about the text:
- What inferences can I make?
- What was the author’s point? Do I agree or disagree?
- How does this text compare or connect to other texts?
A Reading Detective Lap Book
This little detective activity is great for exploring the practice of close reading with your students. Students construct a *case file* with information from a fiction book of your choice.
Pick and choose from twelve different tasks that give students a purpose rereading and digging deeper into the text. Attach the sheets to a file folder to make a lap book or bind the pages together as a mini-book.
Students can use the "Thinking Tracks" bookmark as they 'read with a pencil'.
Are you ready for my clue? On your form, you can record the letter...
Thanks for visiting today! I hope you'll enjoy using my activity with your students. If you'd like to keep informed of future posts and group events, please click the Bloglovin' link below to follow my blog.
I appreciate your interest in reading instruction and wish you a wonderful school year. Now, on to the...
A special thanks to I'm Lovin' Lit, Melonheadz, and Scrappin' Doodles for the graphics used in this post. :)
