Close Reading Isn't Rocket Surgery

As we approached the move to Common Core, I heard many teachers worrying over the buzz words "close reading."  Even experts in the field of reading have argued over the push for students to engage in text that some say would be too hard for them to read and comprehend.  So the confusion and anxiety over incorporating this into our reading routine is understandable though unnecessary.  

Close reading isn't a foreign language, and it isn't rocket surgery, lol.  In its most basic form, close reading is like an overgrown "lap read" with groups of children instead of just one one.  It is an opportunity for true teaching rather than scripted lessons.   It can be whole group or small group.  You read and talk your way through a book or passage sharing insights, asking questions, and guiding connections the in the same way you would do with your own child during bedtime or lap time reads.  You certainly don't follow a script then, but I bet you take every opportunity to teach and ask and connect all along the way.  

Close reading in the classroom, unlike your one on one spur of the moment lap read, involves some preparing ahead of time.  You have to read the text you want to teach and then read it again...and maybe again.  Each read allows you think about the text from different angles of understanding.  You look for teachable moments ahead of time rather than finding them by happy accident along the way.  You need to have a good idea ahead of time of what you want the students to gain from the text.  In other words, what do you want to point out to the children, where do you want to stop and demonstrate thinking and connecting, what vocabulary do you want to teach, and why is this text worth reading.  In a close read you can't wing it or go in blind because you run the risk of bird walking all around the important stuff and losing meaning in all the minutia.  

Close reading is fun and engaging.  It can be done with traditional and non-traditional text materials and the children enjoy it!  There are some fabulous resources on the web to help get you going and make close reading a part of your daily reading class routine. 


Check out the Close Reading Linky Party for great ideas and insights on getting close reading up and running in your classroom.  Just click HERE for your first stop.