So, you know that I love close reads, but what about the kids? Well, do kids love to learn new things? Yuuup. Do kids like to explore new topics? Yuuup. Do kids love to learn new and quirky facts? Yuuppp. Do kids love to explore? Yuuuup. Do kids love for you to tell them how smart they are for using that week’s BIG words? Yuuuup. Well, close reads provide all of that and more!
I prepare for the new close reads on Fridays after school. When the kids enter the room on Monday they immediately scourer the room to see what the new close read topic is. I hear the buzz circling around the room….”Look! We are learning about frogs this week….frogs are so cool!”
To answer my own first thought from that particular meeting…will the kids stand to listen to the same book more than once? Yes! I’ve never had one kid mention that they are upset we are reading the same book again! I’ll explain in more detail later, but I state the purpose for our lesson each day and the kids know that they have a “job” for each day.
Close reads have also allowed me to fall even in more love with children’s literature! There is no understanding of a book, until you have prepped it for a close read! I feel that I’ve learned just as much as my students since starting close reads! Close reads have also allowed me to learn alongside the kids in a way that has shown me HOW they process their thoughts about unknown words, reactions to the story, and how they connect to the story. Before when I would read a book once and put it away….there was no way for me to connect with each of students and the book.
close reads hard? Well, I wouldn’t say
anything in education comes easy! HA! In all seriousness though…I do not
think that close reads are “hard.” They
might require a little more prep, but I feel that the benefits outweigh that
tremendously!
hit home the concepts, I like to add in some kind of “hands-on” craft or
exploration. Each week I really insist
on providing the kids a meaningful way to remember the material and the new
information we’ve learned!
have done this in a variety of ways. I
would say that this part of the close read is the only part I stress over a
bit. FYI – – you do NOT have to bring in
an extravagant connection piece each week for the close read to be
successful. The “close read” is
completely literacy based. However, if
you do choose to…here are a few things we’ve done that are simple… crafts,
linked writing project, experiments, guest speakers, and if you’re feeling
adventurous – – a field trip!
need to collect the book, print vocabulary cards, create your bubble chart, and
print the close read plans…that’s it! EASY PEASY! If you choose to use my close read plans…then I’ve done all of the work for you and all that’s left is to grab the book and hit “print.”
My close read lesson varies between 20-30 minutes. Could I make it go longer? Yes. Could I add in some kind of “task” everyday? Yes. However, I think the best thing about close reads is their natural flow of learning. I don’t believe that there needs to be a paper/pencil task in everything we do…I have been exploring with some paper/pencil tasks for days one and two of the close read lessons, but I am not dead-set on those…we do them when it feels right and if we skip over them one week- -it’s no big deal!
I then call for their attention and I chart their ideas onto the bubble chart. I will then do a “cold read” of the book. Cold read meaning that I read it without front-loading any information about the story, vocabulary, etc. I stop very little to none at all throughout the book. After this first read we will discuss how this book related to our topic. I will then have students turn to their partners and have them discuss the book. On a nonfiction close read week students will discuss new facts they learned from the book. I will then chart these!
I like to wrap up day one with a review of our bubble chart and I will also state the week’s essential question posted on the board.
In our close read a few weeks ago I also added a new concept to get the kids really thinking about how they can tackle unknown words. I presented the students will three “attack” strategies for unknown words; use the words within the text, use the picture clues, or use our smart brains and infer. As we would come to our unknown words…we would decide how we got to the definition! Did we use the words? Did we use the picture? Did we have to infer the meaning? We have continued to work on this concept and I see them getting quicker each week! I think it’s making them more aware of how to tackle unknown words when they are reading on their own as well!
Click below to grab these cards for your classroom!
Here is a rundown of how day two looks:
*State the essential question for the week
*Start by rereading the entire text {you can also choose to flag the pages the words are found on}
*Annotate the unknown words {circling, underlining, etc}
*State the definition
*Display the matching vocabulary picture
*Add in a matching action for each word
*Read through the entire book {if you choose}
*Review all words again
*Call on students to give word in a sentence {statement or question}
*Call on students to give a story about each word
See below an example of our vocabulary wall…
After I ask the question we teach our partners our answers. I say TEACH! and students say OKAY! The first student will continue talking until I say UH-OH SWITCH! The students then switch and the second partner has a turn to answer. I love using turn-to-your-partner here so that ALL students get an opportunity to answer the questions! I then call on students to share out their answers. We’ve started something new and when I call on them to answer… the student stands up to share! They feel oh-so-important when doing these! If you’re not the one standing..then you are to turn and face the student talking!
Here is an example of text-dependent questions! These are from my freebie close read, Duck and Goose!
•Reread
page 6. How does the author relay to the
reader that Duck and Goose are so upset at one another? {The author uses
capitalized words…..showing that they were yelling at one another}.
page 8, the author writes, “that’s quite a beauty.” Explain what this means.
10-11. How does the author indicate that
Goose and Duck are still upset with one another? {Pointing
out the labels on each sign}
do Duck and Goose feel when the bird tells them it is a ball instead of an
egg. How did you know that? {Point out
their facial expressions on page 30}.
show you that Duck and Goose are now friends?
know it was a ball? State specific evidence from the text.
You can see from the questions above the kind of thinking that goes into these!
Day three overview:
*Review the essential question
*Read the paired text
*Compare/contrast the characters and/or events within the linked texts {using discussion or charts}
Below is an interactive way we reviewed the essential question for this week….What does it mean to be kind?
Now for some of the memories kids make during close reads….
* *Veteran’s Day Close read* *
* * Seed to Plant Close Read * *
* *The Moon Close Read * *
* *Horses Close Read* *
If you would like to see how I have integrated shared reading, content, and writing all into my clsoe read week…you can view my frog’s close read week by clicking below!
Tara,
Thank you for your close read post. I have been trying to add this into my classroom because it looks fabulous for reading comprehension. I really appreciate your explanation of how you do this in your kindergarten classroom.
Jen
kindergartencoffeetalk.blogspot.com
Thank you for taking the time to post your daily activities for a close read. You have provided some valuable insight into what it means to take a class through a close read!
Thanks again!
Thank you for sharing all that you do with close reads. After looking at your freebies, I've been trying to ask some of the questions during our story time. In looking at your packets on TPT, it says that they are for 20-25 weeks. Do you get to all of them during the school year?
No I don't get them all! We do 36 weeks I believe!
Tara
Thank you so much for this! This is, by far, the clearest explanation of close reading I've come across! I'm looking forward to implementing some of your ideas! 🙂
Tara – This is a great post!! I know I have often thought the same thing about using the same text for multiple days and if the kids will like it, but they always do!!! I feel like they really enjoy hearing the same book because it becomes familiar to them and they are really able to understand it better. They feel like little reading experts with the book! I love how you organize each day with your close reads. Thanks so much for sharing your great ideas!!
recipeforteaching
I would love to know where you get the beautiful photos for your vocab cards?
Hey there! They are in my close read packets! For my packets…I have a subscription to istock!
Tara
Thanks so much! I love your vocab cards and break down of instruction! I will include these elements as we begin building out our reading after-school program.
-Bri @ Knowledge Mobile
Sounds like our Reading Street curriculum. We do have a poem and a song provided each week as well.
Tara I LOVE your Kindergarten Close Reads and I was looking at your First Grade ones…are they similar? I noticed most of the books are the same.
Hi Tara! Thank you for ALL your hard work for educators! We are blessed to have great leaders like you to support us we move students to deeper level of thinking. Close Reading enables all students (even K!) to think deeply and problem solve as they read. This is what reading instruction is all about. Your work is the BEST!
Thank you Donna! 🙂 🙂
Hi Tara! I absolutely LOVE this post! I've always had a difficult time visualizing what close reading should look like in a K classroom. NOT ANYMORE! Your post has my head spinning with the endless ways close reading can be implemented in my classroom.
On Wednesdays, when you have the students "dig deep", do you provide multiple copies of the text for students to work with in pairs or small groups? Or do you project the text using a doc cam and work on the questions as a whole group?
Hey there Liz! So glad that I could help you understand close reads a little better! 🙂 Yes, on Wednesdays I display the text on the smartboard. That day I also ask the students several text-dependent questions. Those are located in my close read packets! 🙂
Tara
Thanks so much!
I love this!! Our Reading Street is similar, but as much fun. Where do you come up with your question of the week and vocabulary words? Thanx for sharing
Billi- I have just taken the time {a lot of it lol} to come up with the essential questions. Each time though I end up tweaking them a bit. I like making the essential question "life based" and always open-ended! I also just searched through the books looking for the vocab that would increase knowledge in my kiddos! 🙂
Tara
This is such a wonderful explanation of close reading for younger students! I can't wait to try this in my classroom next year. Thank you for sharing your time, ideas, and expertise! 🙂
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