Strategy Based Mini-Lesson
S—skills or strategiesM—Management L—Literary Analysis
Type of Mini-Lesson:
Explicit Lesson Focus: Close Reading Day 2
Student Learner Expectations:Students will use close reading strategies to gather evidence from the text.
Materials: Classworks Passage: A New Kind of Building, chart paper, SmartBoard, sticky notes
Direct Explanation: Boys and girls today we will be using a strategy called close reading to help us better understand the text we read. It is a method for comprehending what we read. When we use close reading, we will read same text multiple times. According to the theory behind close reading, truemeaning exists in atext and in order to uncover it, readers must read slowly, closely, and analytically.Through the process of close reading,the text's meaning willbe uniform between readers.This strategy will help you throughout your life. You will use this strategy when reading independently for pleasure, for an assignment, or when taking a test. Over the next few days you are going to learn how to slow down and analyze what we read.
Review the Close Reading chart started yesterday.
Model or Demonstrate: Yesterday we read a passage called A New Kind of Building. It is a short passage, but we are going to spend several days reading it. I want to show you how close reading can help you better understand the text. Today we are just going to dig a little deeper into the text.
Add “Second Read: Dig a Little Deeper” to the chart.
When we are reading to dig deeper into the text, we are reading to find out information. We are reading the text again to look for new information. Ask yourself: Did you see anything you didn’t notice the first time? What is the author trying to say? Any other comments about the language or the author’s purpose for writing this?
Add “Read the text again. Ask yourself: Did you see anything you didn’t notice the first time? What is the author trying to say? Any other comments about the language or the author’s purpose for writing this?” to the chart.
Today we are going to use close reading to dig deeper into the text and answer questions. That means we need to know what we are looking for in the text. Let’s read the questions and think about what they are asking. I want you to read to yourself and listen as I model digging a little deeper into the text. This time I am going to be thinking while I read looking for clues to answer questions related to the text. I am just going to read the questions first because I want to know what to look for while I am reading.
Model reading the first paragraph and thinking aloud identifying an answer to a question. Highlight the answer to the questions as you identify them.
Guided Practice:Give students highlighters or have them use a pencil. Guide them through the process of identifying answers from the second paragraph. Make sure to allow students opportunities for conversation. Discussions among students is important in learning to close read.
Apply the Process: Have students to finish reading the rest of the passage and underline or highlight answer to questions 1—5.
Share: Provide students opportunities to share the answers they underlined. They can share with a buddy, but allow a few to share whole group.