
Below I will share our day to day close read routines. Remember that we “got and heavy” with close reads a little later this year. Next, year our routines will start off a little different and evolve into something even greater! So let’s get to it…

Monday is all about getting PUMPED up for our week’s close read! I will actually “leak” the following week’s close read the Friday before so they have an idea before Monday. This past week’s book was one of my favorites, Mr. Peabody’s Apples by Madonna!

Our reader’s workshop is at the beginning of the day directly after calendar & restroom! When we return from the restroom and meet at the carpet I have the students decode and read the week’s essential question. This week was a little tricky, but they got it. I don’t really talk a lot about it at this point…I really just want them to know of it!

Day two always starts out with the students restating the week’s essential question. Our main focus for day two is VOCAB! I will go ahead and state our purpose for reading, “Today our purpose for reading is to listen for unknown or tricky words. Please raise your hand if you hear a word that you are unsure of. I will also have some words that we will stop and discuss {vocab chart}.”

If I would have to choose a favorite day for the close read week day three is my FAVORITE! I love seeing the kids turn and talk to answer the text-dependent questions. I get so tickled to hear them reference “evidence from the book” and “the author said.” As the kids share out their answer {after our turn and talk} I will make a big deal about a student “getting really deep” in their answer! Day three is the day I feel will evolve so much next year. I have faith that if you start the year out explaining these concepts they will have it down by spring! There is just so much that goes into a turn/talk, sharing out, feeling comfortable with your partner, and the language expected when sharing with a partner.

{explicit day three text-dependent questions are included in my packets}

Day four starts with sharing our ideas for the essential question I then explain the goal for today’s collaborative groups! We talk a lot about the question itself and the expectations of groups. After the groups have been dismissed I circulate the room and check in with groups. I noticed that they have GREAT ideas with my teacher leads, but they don’t always feel confident in sharing out without me there leading the group discussion. This is something we have worked on and it has greatly improved! I have to remember they are five and six and devising a plan on how to save the world with other five and six year olds may not always be the easiest task! 😉

Day five is all about wrapping up the close read! We do our final talk..and then it’s time for the week’s cumulative activity which usually consists of a writing! After our writings I will ask the students what they thought of that week’s close read and get them all excited for next week’s close read. Honest as all get out…I ask them every week if they enjoyed reading the book all week and they always shout, YES! Which is something I really doubted when first getting started in close reads!
Tara,
Thank you for sharing your close read plan. I have a question. When you teach vocabulary, how do you define the words. Do you (as a class) look them up in the dictionary or do you define them using clues from the text?
Thanks,
adri
You are absolutely amazing!! Just like close reading, every time I read another one of your posts, it helps me understand it even more! I am looking forward to the book study this summer!!
This was an amazing post! I think I was talking to myself out loud as I was reading it! I kept saying how awesome…my husband kept asking what I was reading! I am so excited to try this next year! I did one close read this year and I loved it! I am going to participate in the book study this summer also! Thanks Again!
Thank you so much for this! I bought the bundle a few months ago and was surprised at how my students were excited about the story the whole week. I have a question about the vocabulary. When do you have your kinders write the vocabulary words? Do you print out picture cards to support your vocabulary?
Yes I have picture cards that I print out…it's a little easier for the nonfiction words! 🙂
Tara
Your blog has been so helpful in learning about close reads. Thank you! I bought your non-fiction bundle but have been caught up in my previous plans that I haven't gotten around to using the plans yet, but have high hopes for next year. Just a quick question for you. Do you incorporate other literature that fits with your theme into another part of the day?
I have been avoiding the entire close read anything and this HELPED so much. It's one of those unknown things that scare you and hearing everyone discuss it, I've wanted to learn more, but never understood how it would work in kindergarten. Thanks SO much for posting about it. It makes me feel like it is possible to have. THANKS!
What reading series do you use? I don't quite understand how you have time to do your reading series AND close reading?
Kris- we no longer use our reading series for reader's workshop! The books were not rigorous enough and it only had you reading a text 2 out of five days!
Tara
Tara, I'm excited to be a part of the book study in a couple of weeks! I can't wait to try Close Reading with my kinders next year. I have a question, have you ever looked at Kim Adsit's Readers Workshop units? I've been using them and they are good. Would Close Reading take it's place or could it be used during a seperate read aloud time? Thanks for your wonderful post!
KeAndra,
I am not familiar with her lessons, but I'm sure you could do both. If hers are just mini lessons you could start with that. I just do close reads, but you could also do both if they were separate times of the day!
Tara
Hi Tara, Is the book Close Reading in Elementary School suitable for K teachers? I just read on Amazon that it's for higher elementary… Just trying to decide if this is the best close reading book for K teachers, and I trust your judgement. Thanks Tara,
Stacey,
The book is a little above K, so you could for sure just follow along with us if you aren't sure about purchasing! It does talk a lot about setting up a framework..which if you have my packets I have already done a lot of that! 🙂
Tara
Hi Tara! I think I have seen you mention somewhere that you use Houghtin Mifflin Journeys curriculum? If I'm correct do you use these close reads in conjunction with that curriculum?
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