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I have seen my students make a transformation from quiet and passive readers to rather spirited and keyed up readers! How? Close Reading! I began investigating this hot topic last year after I felt like the students needed more comprehension practice. I turned to close reading and thought that it could possibly be the answer to taking my student's reading comprehension to the next level!

Close reading gives the students an opportunity to dissect complex text. My goal as a 5th grade teacher is to have my students leave me able to read complex text at the higher end of their lexile level (see grade level lexile levels here) independently with fluency, prosody, and with understanding! That is a bit of pressure (for ME and the students!) Here is a doc I made to show my parents the different lexile levels. (Information received from the Lexile Framework for Reading)

Close reading gives students the tools that they need to attack these complex texts ALONE so that if they were stranded on a desert island (just like when taking a test) they would have a toolkit of strategies at their fingertips to use in order to comprehend and respond to what they are reading.

During a test, the teacher isn't there to front load information, give vocabulary help, or introduce any information SO students need practice with cold reads. Here is a poster I have posted in my classroom so that students have a visual reminder of what close reading is.

The next poster outlines how I incorporate close reading into my classroom and what the students are doing after each read.

After the first read, the students use annotation marks to signify that they had a reaction to the text. They use annotation marks to identify the main idea, supporting details, information they found surprising, information that raised a question in their mind, new vocabulary, information they agree and disagree with, and connections they see. After the 2nd read, students EXPLAIN their annotation marks. I have the students staple the following annotation charts to the passage they are reading so that they have a quick visual reference to use. Click on the picture below to be taken to the free download.

The following picture shows a sample of how I model Close Reading with the kids. I use passages from my Close Reading Units that can be found by clicking on the links below.

How have you used close reading in your classroom? Please share in the comments below.

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I have seen my students make a transformation from quiet and passive readers to rather spirited and keyed up readers! How? Close Reading! I began investigating this hot topic last year after I felt like the students needed more comprehension practice.

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Well, my school year has barely ended, and call me crazy, because I am already planning and creating for next year!! I have a list a mile long of new ideas that I can't wait to try out for next year. My first one?!?! Close Reading Toolboxes!!

Close Reading has become a huge reading practice in my classroom, and has helped my students to get through those challenging informational texts. Since it has become such an important part of my reading routine, and I wanted something to spice it up and make it more engaging for students. I keep coming across Close Reading Toolkits on Pinterest, and have been really wanting to make something for my students to use when they sit down with an informational text.

While cleaning out my cupboards recently, I came across these photo cases that I never ended up using for anything. Instead of adding them to the pile of staff room giveaways, I decided to use them to create Close Reading Toolboxes!!!

These photo boxes come in a larger plastic box, which holds six individual photo boxes. These are perfect for a set of Close Reading Toolboxes to be used at a Literacy Center or in Small Groups.

I created two labels for the outside of the larger plastic box, just to keep it fancy. 😉 Then I created a label to put on each of the individual plastic boxes...

On the inside cover of each box, I created a reference sheet for the different tools that each box contains.

What Goes in Each Box?!?!

HIGHLIGHTERS to highlight important words or phrases.

PENCILS for text-marking.

MAGNIFYING GLASSES to search for text evidence. I found these at my local party store, but they can also be found on Amazon. CLICK HERE to find them!!

STICKY NOTES to record important ideas.

TEXT MARKING SYMBOLS FOR CLOSE READING

Putting it All Together!!

The idea started with this plastic box of individual photo boxes. Click the pic to find them at Amazon!!

{CLICK PIC FOR MORE INFO}

I printed each of the individual pieces and laminated them. Then I used double-sided tape to attach each of the labels.

Finally, I filled each photo box with a highlighter, a pencil, a magnifying glass, sticky notes, and a list of Text Marking Symbols for Close Reading.

Click the pic below to download the labels for these Close Reading Toolboxes!! This will make such a fun summer project for getting ready for next school year!!

Looking for my ideas for Teaching Non-Fiction?!?! Follow my Pinterest board!!

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Rebecca Rojas of CreateTeachShare is currently a 5th grade teacher in Southern California. Since she started teaching almost 12 years ago, she has always created her own curriculum for her own classroom. Now in her free time, she now enjoys creating fun and engaging lessons and resources that she shares on her blog and in her TpT store. She also loves to share fun ideas and resources on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Close Reading Toolbox Freebie! | The TpT Blog

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Well, my school year has barely ended, and call me crazy, because I am already planning and creating for next year!! I have a list a mile long of new ideas that I can't wait to try out for next year. My first one?!?! Close Reading Toolboxes!!

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http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/close-reading-literary-texts-31012.html

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http://www.davestuartjr.com/purposeful-annotation-close-reading/

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https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/how-do-close-reading