“Close reading is difficult, and we need to build habits with our students. We're getting better and better and better in helping students access complex text.” –Dr. Doug Fisher
We want to make sure the text is worthy of a close reading—that it doesn’t give up its meaning after that first read.
This Day 9 session revisits text selection and purpose-setting for close reading using a new piece of complex text. Dr. Fisher emphasizes reviewing the qualitative factors of text complexity a second time to help students develop close reading techniques at a deeper level.
Select a new piece of complex text. Analyze it to ensure that the text is in your grade-level Lexile® band, focusing on quantitative text complexity.
Then, use the Qualitative Measures of Text Complexity Rubric to identify the factors of qualitative text complexity in the text. Be sure to focus on all four factors as you analyze the text to help identify the areas of the text that need instruction.
As you analyze the text a second time, reflect on the process you used and add your notes to your Learning Log.
This chart can be used to analyze a class set of annotations and identify trends and instructional needs.
Use the Lexile Framework for Reading by MetaMetrics® to measure the quantitative value of text. Lexile measures can be used to find reading materials to meet and challenge individual student reading abilities. All Achieve3000 articles are tailored for 12 different Lexile levels in English and 8 in Spanish.
Use this rubric designed by Dr. Fisher to assess the qualitative factors of text complexity to ensure a reader-text match and to identify areas of text that need instruction.
This log can be used to capture new learnings as you develop close reading techniques.
