Sunday, September 29, 2013

Middle School Common Core Close Reading Teaching Tips



K-2 Click Here              3rd - 5th Click Here        Middle School Click Here

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In This Issue:

  • Common Core Close Reading Tips
  • Making Stronger Text Comparisons
  • Teaching Resources


Middle School Teaching Ideas
One of the greatest goals of the new Common Core Standards is to get students to deeply read text.  This is different from traditional highlighting where students highlight information that is important. With close reading, students highlight important information and write annotations to explain why this information is relevant. There are different ways that students can do a close reading.  The most helpful for me is to give students information to focus on while reading.  

When we read about characters, I ask students to pay close attention to figurative language, what characters do, say, think, and how they interact with other.  This is extremely helpful for less adept students.  These students often struggle with the idea of what they should pay attention to as they read.  For Close Reading Passages Click Here




Making Deeper Text Comparisons


Students should make deeper level comparisons in which they compare by stating how two texts have the same theme, characters with similar traits, teach the same ideas, etc. As students state these deeper comparisons, they should provide textual evidence to defend their thinking (Standards RL.1 and RI.1).  Including this balance of comparisons and textual evidence is vital.



Taking Care of You
In the hustle and bustle of being an educator, friend, and life, it is important to take time for yourself.  One way to do this is by taking time with a hobby.

Windowsill Container Garden


With the changing seasons, this may be difficult to do, but starting a windowsill container garden is always an option. Container gardens take up little space.  This is one of my container gardens.  It contains green leaf lettuce.  No matter what the hobby is, the most important idea is taking time to do something that you enjoy.

Have a great week!


2 comments:

  1. Could you please add my to your collaborative board "Teaching Ideas/Teaching Resources" as well as any others you may have for the primary grades. Thank you!
    http://www.pinterest.com/sherryclements/boards/

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  2. These are great tips for close reading! Many thanks for posting them here!

    You might also like to know about another close reading tool---the Reading Focus Card, a unique and customizable solution for challenged readers (or those needing help with focusing). To learn more, consider visiting www.FocusandRead.com.

    Thank you again for your article with great close reading strategies! I enjoy your blog on a regular basis and will look forward to more of your good educational resources in future articles!

    Happy Reading!
    Joan Brennan

    ReplyDelete