Close Reading and Native American Regions

What is Close Reading?

A close reading is a careful and purposeful reading. Well actually, it's rereading. It's a careful and purposeful rereading of a text. It's an encounter with the text where students really focus on what the author had to say, what the author's purpose was, what the words mean, and what the structure of the text tells us. Close reading requires that students actually think and understand what they are reading. - Dr. Douglas Fisher

We are well into our study of Native American Regions, and we have been using the strategy of Close Reading to help us gather and understand the information.  I am so impressed with how well the students have been using this strategy!  The Close Reading strategy can have variations depending on the purpose, the level of students, and the text.  

This is the chart with the steps that we are using right now with the strategy:

     So, we read one paragraph or section at a time.  They think about what it is mostly about, and then talk with a partner.  We use this to create a heading for the section.  Then they read it a second time and underline key words, which should relate back to the heading.  The students check with their partner to see if they agree on the key words.  During the third reading, students highlight "tricky" words, and we discuss the meaning of the words based on the context.  We finish the process by answering the questions, using the text to support our answers.

      The first time we did this, it was slightly painful, but they have made great progress!  :) This will help them when they take the state test in the spring.  We won't use Close Reading with everything we read, but it's a very good strategy when examining smaller texts and learning how to read deeply.