Close Reading in Elementary School: Bringing Readers and Texts Together: Bringing Readers and Texts Together

by Diana Sisson, Betsy Sisson

The Common Core State Standards encourage teachers to use close reading as a means to help students access complex text. Many literacy experts believe close reading has the power to create strong, independent readers. But what does that really mean, and how does it work in the classroom?This book is your must-have guide to getting started! It provides step-by-step strategies and scaffolds for teaching close reading and improving students' comprehension of complex texts. You will learn how to teach close reading based on text type, how to transition students through increasingly challenging texts, and how to use close reading as a springboard for close writes and close talks.Special An easy-to-use framework for creating a close reading lessonClose reading strategies for a variety of literary and informational subgenresIdeas for teaching close reading to meet specific comprehension objectives based on the Common Core, including analyzing text structure and evaluating argumentSuggestions for helping students read with increased levels of rigorA clear explanation of what text complexity really means and how it varies by studentScaffolds to help students at all ability levels do a close readingGuidelines and procedures for close talks-purposeful, focused discussions about textProcedures for close writes that vary based on genre and student ability levelIn addition, each chapter includes study guide questions to help you apply the ideas in the book to your own classroom. With this practical book, you will have all the tools you need to make close reading a reality!"

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Savannah Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

After having finished Notice and Note, I wanted to get my hands on all the books I could about close reading. I was particularly excited about this books k-5 focus.

I have to say, though, that I was completely disappointed. This book lives solely in the theoretical world. It has lots of history, background, and frameworks, but I get the very real sense that none of this was tried in a classroom before the book was written. While there was a ton of talk about choosing the right text, there were no specific examples of the framework with a specific text.

I was honestly bored and unmotivated. I don't need to learn about Bloom's taxonomy, especially when it has been revised and there was no mention of the revised one.