Closed Reading

          I know many of you have heard or used Closed Reading as a tool in your arsenal, but I am going to ask you to look at Closed Reading again.  There are many different ways to teach reading and we all have our favorites. How often do we give our students background information on an article or text, because we thing it is important? How often do we ask questions that could have been answered without reading the text? Think about what would happen if you did not give students the background information we felt they needed. What would happen? Would they not be able to answer the questions at the end of the text?
      What is closed reading? Closed Reading is when students read a high level text on their own, annotating while they read; during this time the teacher monitors. When the students are finished reading the teacher then reads the whole article or a particularly difficult section to the students annotating as she/he goes. (Modeling the strategy after the students have attempted it.)
       Recently I was able to sit in a training to teach elementary teachers this strategy. I was very curious as to how this would work at the elementary level, how open my teachers would be about this strategy, and what concerns the teachers would have about it.
       I was just as excited as the teachers I was sitting with! While we read an article explaining the theory of Closed Reading, what Closed Reading is and giving examples of Closed Reading in practice, teachers wanted to try it immediately. When you are told the purpose of Closed Reading is for students to gain the skills to be able to comprehend at a deeper level on their own, it is easy to get excited. Being able to read example of closed reading in an elementary setting made it easier for the teachers to "buy into" the strategy.
      The conversation I heard was teachers talking about why they were teaching "cold  readings" the way they did. One teacher was really questioning why she gave the background information. (Her conclusion was that it was to make her feel like everyone had a little knowledge about the content. Was I asking questions that required background knowledge? If so, why?  and  How was that helping them become independent learners?) I was proud to sit with these teachers who were excited to learn something new that will teach their students to be more independent.
     The only concern I heard was teachers were curious as to where to find their articles and text. I was able to direct them to a few resources that they have at their disposal- our librarian, Gale virtual library, and their ELA district coordinator.

      Closed Reading is not a new concept, but it is always good to look at current practices and see how others execute the practices.

Resources pertaining to this post ( There are many out there, these are just a few that I read.):

Boyles, Nancy. "Closing in on Close Reading." Educational Leadership. 70.4 (2012): 36-41. Web. 30 Dec. 2013. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec12/vol70/num04/Closing-in-on-Close-Reading.asp&xgt;.

Fisher, Douglas. "Close Reading in Elementary School." Reading Teacher. Novemeber 2012: n. page. Web. 30 Dec. 2013.

Shanahan, Timothy. "What is Close Reading?." Shanahan on Literacy. N.p., 06 18 2012. Web. 30 Dec. 2013. <http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/2012/06/what-is-close-reading.html>.

Back at it!

I fell out of habit of writing... LOTS of things have happened since I last posted. I am at a different school, where I am the principal, and I am expecting a new little boy in May (I was pretty sick for a while). I hate how easy it was to fall out of habit, but you all know life happens....

 

Now that I have gotten things under control and I feel like I have a better grasp on life, I am giving myself time to write again. My first entry will be about what I have experienced so far in my new position.

 

1. Elementary and Middle School are as different curriculum-wise as I previously expected.

      Best practices are Best practices; it doesn't matter what age level of kids you are teaching.(note: I do acknowledge that there are better practices for each grade, but I feel that falls into knowing your kids category.) I have tried to spend as much of my time in the classrooms to get to know the kids, teachers, and curriculum as I can, but as I always say- "You never have enough time to get into classrooms."

      I walking into a classroom and a student asking to show/read/tell me about what they are doing. I was amazed by what my Kindergarteners are able to accomplish! They are able to read books to me, to which they expect me to ask them questions about it when they are done, they love to read their writing to me (And I must admit, this is my favorite thing they do!), and they are enthusiastic to explain their math to me. Yes, teaching reading in K-2 is different than I am used to. I have also learned that teaching reading 3-5 is very similar to 6-12. Our teachers are amazing and I am learning so much about what they do and how they do it. Love transparency. :) 

 

2. There is a HUGE difference in Elementary and Middle School discipline.

     This is not something I want to focus on, but we all know that this is apart of everyday live in a school. When I was at the middle school, I had a lot of options from a variant of detentions, ISS, OSS, DAEP. However, in the Elementary I do not have as many options, I pretty much have time out and it is in my office. I have channeled my inner counselor and with the help of my counselor and CIT have not had any situations that we were able to find a solution to.

 

3. Kids are Kids

      Kids are honest, opinionated, and fun. They tell you what they think, what they want, and what you should do.  When I left my previous school, many of my kids called me a trader and were mad. I thought it was sweet, they cared that I was leaving. :) They have since gotten over the mad and I get hugs now when I see them.

     Whenever I would cover a class at the middle school I never had a student ask me what qualifications I had, they knew I had taught before. My elementary students are a little more cautious: 

      I have gotten the opportunity to cover a few teachers' classes in the past few weeks, which I loved. In one class I was able to have writing conferences with the students over a history DBQ (document Based Question), one student asked me if I knew what I was doing; in another class we looked for text evidence to support our conclusion and a student stated, " You can teach?" I responded with, "Why, yes I can."   

   I came in three months after school started, they didn't know who I was. Most knew I came from the middle school, because they had a sibling there. So, to give me "street cred" I have started asking them more "teacher" questions when I am in their classes. I still ask my "administrator" questions, but I want to make sure my kids know I can help them as well. (ie. "Teacher" question- How does your wording here affect the tone of your writing? "Administrator" question- How are you using your rubric while you are writing?)