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Close reading is an instructional routine which enhances students to think critically about a text. Close reading practice creates students to think deeper about the text. Students look deeper at the concepts, vocabulary, and structure within in a text. Close reading also invites students to use their schema, text to self connections, text to world connections, and text to text connections to develop a better understanding of their reading. Teachers are guiding text discussions by asking students to point of key details, inferencing, vocabulary and any text connections they might have.
For early childhood classrooms, like kindergarten, I would use close reading as whole group instruction. Kindergartners are at the developing level of reading. Before I begin reading a story to the class, I would encourage students to develop their schema about the title of the book. Next, I would use different strategies during reading to focus on the key details in the text. Overall, I would encourage students to think critically about each story I read to the WHOLE class.

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Close reading is an instructional routine in which students critically examine a text. It helps students work with the structure of a text. Close reading helps develop students schema and knowledge and build necessary habits of a good reader. The components of close reading are short passages, complex texts, limited front loading, repeated readings, text-dependent questions, and annotations. It is a requirement by the Common Core State Standards so close reading needs to be integrated into the classroom.
For elementary level classrooms we could have the entire class do a read aloud and then split them into groups based on their skill level to work on the different components of close reading. We could model the skills that are important for them to use when they work independently. This relates to balanced literacy because it focuses on different literacy skills and helps strengthen them.

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Close Reading is asking the students to recognize the patterns or new information by critically examining a text, whether through read alouds, small group readings, or independent reading. During the video, the teacher was able to engage the students on a new level. In the beginning, they were not as interested. Towards the end with turn and talks, the students were more apt to share their ideas. There are five features of close reading in elementary school: short passages, complex texts, limited front loading, repeated readings, and text-dependent questions with annotations. I like how the teacher was able to have students think about where the gorillas would live, what they would look like, and how they would label the gorillas as opposed to a human. I like how she stopped around every page because the students were able to take a second and ponder what the teacher said she was thinking about. The students would think about what they already know and what they would like to know. Close reading is very important in giving students their own way to understand their learning and be able to be excited about a new topic. But it also helps their comprehension because they are encouraged to stop and make sure that they understood what was just read. Close reading will be especially important in my classroom because I want to teach second or third grade. I need to practice more as talking for close reading like asking questions and explains my thinking, and then asking the students to do the same with a partner. Close reading is a part of balanced literacy because you are giving some of the responsibility to the students for their learning as well as teaching them explicitly. It is a true balance of explicit teaching and the students own independent learning.

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Close reading is an instructional routine in which students critically examine a text, typically through repeated reading to extract multiple levels of meaning. It gives students the opportunity to combine new textual information with their existing background knowledge and prior experiences, this expands their schema. Close reading also helps to build reading stamina and persistence when reading complex texts. In a first grade classroom, by having our students practice close reading they can focus on central ideas, key supporting details, development of ideas and reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences in the text. Close reading can be implemented as the the teacher can start out by reading a book to the class and model how the students examine the text. Then, the students can split into groups and read the story again using the techniques that the teacher has modeled. The teacher can also create text dependent questions so students can use evidence from the book to back up their answers. Close reading fits in with balanced literacy as it falls under reading. They are reading and following the "I do, We do, You do" model. By doing supplementary activities like text dependent questions it can fall under the writing part of balanced literacy. Through the reflection of the meaning of individual words and sentences, students are also practicing word work in balanced literacy.

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Close reading is about the students making connections and analyzing a specific text. Close reading focuses on one specific text for an extended amount of time. The goal of close reading is to help the students relate their prior knowledge to the new knowledge that they have gained through the text. Here, the students are broadening their understanding of the information given. Common Core standards are for close reading as part of a regular practice in the classroom. The teacher ask various questions about the text to the students during close reading. I hope to teach either second or third grade, close reading needs to be taught during this age level because the students will be able to build their schema with tons of information. I, as the teacher, will model efficient reading strategies by asking questions during read alouds and talking about my thought process. I would hope that the students take these skills back to their independent reading. Close reading can also help the students that I teach by encouraging them to pick books that ignite excitement about certain topics.

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Emily Pace, Daria Howard, Kerrie Janvrin, Julie Champigny

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Emily Pace, Daria Howard, Kerrie Janvrin, Julie Champigny

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Closed reading is an instructional routine that invites students to examine the deep structures of a piece of text through repeated readings. The goal with close reading is to provide students with the opportunity to take in new textual information with their prior experiences and background knowledge to expand their schema. Close reading also builds on the necessary habits of readers when they are engaged with a piece of text.

The components of closed reading in elementary school are short passages, complex text, repeated readings, limited frontloading, text-dependent questions, and annotation. When selecting close reading texts, it should be at least at grade level, if not above grade level. It should also be short and include a wide range of genres and types. In kindergarten and first grade, most often the teacher does the reading. Teachers need to read the text and consider what makes it complex before trying to teach it. One of the most important things that teachers need to know about closed reading is the text itself.

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Close reading is an instructional routine in which students critically examine a text, especially though repeated readings. The primary objective of close reading is to afford students with the opportunity to assimilate new textual information with their existing background knowledge and prior experiences to expand their schema. The Common Core State Standards say that close reading is a key requirement, so incorporating close reading in the classroom is essential. The key features of close reading are short passages, complex texts, limited front loading, repeated readings, text-dependent questions and annotations.
I hope to teach third grade in the future, which guided reading can be incorporated into. As the teacher I would pick a book for the whole class to read and organize groups in a certain way. I would give the students background information on the book, let them get into groups and has them do activities along with their reading. For example, one group could be doing text-dependent questions, another could be with me looking at the bigger ideas and themes, and another group could be drawing and writing the major plot points in the story.
Balanced literacy applies to this because at some points they will be looking at the big picture like with the themes and major plot points, but then in another instance they will be doing text-dependent questions which is specific and little parts.

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Close reading is an instructional method in which the teacher introduces a text that will be deeply analyzed by students to further comprehend it. As the teacher reads the text, she/he asks the students questions to prompt their thinking, collaborate and make connections. Most importantly, the teacher models what the students should be doing in order to read critically. Close readings are necessary when students cannot comprehend a text independently and require additional support; however, it prepares them and equips them with strategies for reading similar texts in the future. We can all implement this in our own classrooms by digging deeper into short, complex passages. We can also create many different types of text dependent questions. This ensures the students will use evidence to back up their answers and continue to work with the text. Close reading will frequently be used in the younger elementary grades in order to promote a strong literacy foundation. Once students have a strong foundation, close reading can be used in older grades to comprehend more advanced and content specific texts. Close reading aligns with the balanced literacy method because it includes both explicit teacher instruction and allows students to demonstrate what they have learned on their own.

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Close reading is an instructional routine in which students critically examine a text, especially through repeated readings. It is described as a way of taking an “x-ray” of the book and analyzing the deeper text structures. When students are told to close read, they are responsible for considering the author’s purpose, how the ideas connect to other texts, and form opinions using their background knowledge. With elementary level instruction, interactive read-alouds and shared readings, teacher modeling and think-alouds, guided reading with leveled texts, collaborative reading and discussion, and independent reading and writing are typically included as well.

Through watching the video we observed the teacher using close reading components. The teacher opens with an engagement question, What is the author trying to teach us? This is to get the students involved and ready to think deeper. She tells the students that they may need to use the references to make deeper connections. The students engage with the map to connect where the gorillas live and how their bodies adapt. The teacher reads with great expression, talks slowly, and uses body movement. This is a slow process but it ensures the students understand the deeper meaning to why the Gorillas are the way they are.

In college close reading is really applicable to textbooks. I find myself having to connect my knowledge and resources from other classes to understand readings. Currently I am in a social change class which has extremely high level reading that I find myself having to annotate and use other resources to make sure I am doing a close reading.

In our internship classroom of second grade we see the teachers doing exactly like the video. The students engage and respond to the teacher's questions during a read aloud. We specifically see the students doing turn and talks often.

This close reading exercise connects to balanced literacy because it is a read aloud to the class but it also is guided reading through engaging the students in practicing making connections to better understand the text.

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Close reading is when the students analyze and engage in a text that might not be simple for them. In order to do close reading, there are a series of steps that the students must take. The first time that the student reads the text, they should be using their background knowledge as the read to get a sense of what is going on. The second time that they read they discuss parts of what they are reading with their peers. The third time the read is when they start to analyze what they are reading, and write down what they are thinking. My goal is to teach first or second grade. Close reading can be incorporated in those ages in a few ways. One way is a read aloud. During this, the teacher stops to discuss and analyze noted parts of the story as the read,  that they believe are important for the student to understand. Through this they are able to focus on specific events and are able to gain a better understanding of the text. After the read aloud, the students could go back and read the story again, and discuss in small groups what they are able to get from the story. The way that close reading is shown in the video is similar the how I would use it in my own classroom.

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Close reading is when students examine a passage of text, often stopping to make connections and think through the information. One component of close reading is the activation, or build up, of background knowledge. Students need to have background knowledge in order to make connections within the text. Another component of close reading is frequent stopping. Close reading requires readers to stop often and rethink what they have read. These frequent pauses allow readers to consider the new information and look for deeper meaning. A third component of close reading is discussion. The students in the video often stopped to talk in small groups about the new information they read. These discussions allow students to think through their thoughts with others and make connections.

As an early childhood teacher, I believe close reading would be very useful in my grade level. Since all of my students would be emergent readers, it is very important that I model how to effectively read passages. One aspect of effective reading, is reading passages closely. I would model close reading during readers workshop in order to show students how they should engage with the text while reading.

The goal of balanced literacy is to strengthen students’ skills in all areas of literacy: reading, writing, word study, listening, and speaking. Close reading strengthens students’ skills in reading. Close reading allows students to carefully read a text for information. It allows forces students to interact with the text and make connections- which makes them stronger readers.

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The components and steps of close reading are meant to provide a deep understanding of a text. The first reading of the text should be without building background; students should be integrating their background knowledge with the text as they read. Focus on the key ideas and details in the text, making sure that readers know the main idea, story elements, or key details that the author includes. The second time reading the text, a small portion of it should be selected that is complex and be reread then discussed as a group or with partners. The third read should require students to analyze and synthesize the information from the text then record their ideas and findings. Close reading could be incorporated in a second grade classroom by using maps, pictures, and other texts with background information regarding the chosen text that is the main focus of the lesson. The lessson in the video we observed read a text about gorillas and their characyersitics. To provide a deeper understanding of gorillas, the teacher uses the map of Africa to have the students decide where they think gorillas habitat is, based on their traits described in the text. I would incorporate close reading in the classroom just as the teacher in this video did.

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Close reading is a technique that teaches students to actively engage and analyze a text that is not necessarily an "easy read." Close reading is noted in the Common Core State Standards as a key aspect of English Language Arts. The components of close reading consist of: short passages, complex texts, limited front-loading, repeated readings, text dependent questions, and annotations. With these features in place, students are set up for success. Both of us hope to teach around the second or third grade level which makes close reading extremely important! At this age, students are unlikely to choose books at their reading level on their own. However, with a just right book, or one hovering right above their reading level, students can apply close reading to better understand the text. Close reading fits into balanced literacy by using a combination of both the phonics and whole language approach. Students should also be encouraged to activate their schema before reading the text to enhance their ability to make connections when reading. Close reading also sparks intellectual curiosity which is especially important at young ages because it inspires students to read when there may not be a huge interest or passion for it.

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Close reading is the critical analysis of a text that is focused on key details or patterns in order to promote the development of a meaningful understanding of the text. Close reading is a key requirement noted in the Common Core State Standards and is therefore a key component that needs to be incorporated into the classroom. The method of close reading in the classroom also falls under the “we do” area of balanced literacy, which combines two models of literacy instruction, as students are interactively reading with the support of the teacher interacting with the teacher, peers, and the text. Close reading could be incorporated at my grade level, of first grade, by completing an interactive reading lesson. Students would be introduced to a short passage, first with small pre-teaching methods which might include background knowledge or key vocabulary introduction, followed by a read aloud give by the teacher completed with student-teacher, student-peer, and student-text interaction prompted by text dependent questions.

Close reading includes a series of key components to promote students meaningful understanding of the given text. For an elementary school classroom these features include: the choosing of short passages/texts, grade level complex text, pre teaching of text without removing the incentive to read, repeated reading of text, insertion of text dependent questions (general understanding, key detail, vocabulary/text structure, author's purpose, inferences, Opinions/ arguments/ intertextual connections), and grade appropriate annotation of text.

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Since we both want to teach second grade, close reading is an important element of modeling balanced literacy. Close reading is when students are able to analyze the text thoughtfully and focus on significant events and main ideas to gain a deeper level of understanding. Teachers can model close reading through read alouds, or reading a text with a small group of students. Within balanced literacy, students will be able to apply their phonics knowledge in order to comprehend what they are reading. We could use balanced literacy in second grade by ensuring there is a balance between whole language and phonics in the classroom. In addition, the teacher modeling good reading habits and routines to their students supports their reading development!