1

CLOSE READING
PRACTICES FOR
MIDDLE SCHOOL:

How to Help Students Master

Complex Text

Developed and presented by:

DR. NANCY BOYLES
Professor Emerita
Southern Connecticut State University
nancyboyles@comcast.net
@DrNancyBoyles

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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DEFINING CLOSE READING

Close, analytic reading stresses examining meaning thoroughly and methodically,

encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on
the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key
supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual
words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of
ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an
understanding of the text as a whole.

INSTRUCTIONAL SHIFTS FOR CLOSE READING

PRE-CCSS CCSS
ALL comprehension instruction was very The first reading is intended to be more
focused: reading to find evidence for general; how much meaning can you
theme, summary, etc. make from the text?

Big pre-reading component Major changes to pre-reading

Not as much second or third reading to Rereading to dig deeper—with focus and
dig deeper gradual release

Lots of personal connections EVERYTHING is text-based—less focus

on personal connections

Assessment of discrete objectives Assessment of synthesis and application

of knowledge

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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TEXT COMPLEXITY

Text Complexity Lexile Ranges

Grade Old Lexile Ranges Aligned to CCR
Band in the expectations
Standards
K-1 N/A N/A

2-3 450–725 420–820

4-5 645–845 740–1010

6-8 860–1010 925–1185

9-10 960–1115 1050–1335

11-CCR 1070–1220 1185–1385

UPDATED SBAC ALIGNMENT

GRADE WORD COUNT LEXILE RANGE
2 200-300 350-500
3 300-650 480-700
4 450-750 620-820
5 450-750 760-910
6 650-950 870-1000
7 650-950 940-1070
8 650-950 1010-1100
9 800-1,100 1070-1120
10 800-1,100 1120-1200

PARCC ALIGNMENT
GRADE MINIMUM/MAXIMUM PASSAGE
BAND LENGTH
3-5 200-800 words
6-8 400-1,000 words
9-11 500-1,500 words

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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IS THIS TEXT COMPLEX?

Title of text: ___________________________________ Author: ______________________

QUANTITATIVE TEXT FEATURES

Lexile level: (www.scholastic.com/bookwizard ) __________

QUALITATIVE TEXT FEATURES

Very Somewhat Not
Criteria complex complex complex Comments
3 2 1
Knowledge demands
Connection to a student’s life experiences,
culture, literary or subject area knowledge, etc.
Few allusions to other texts vs. many allusions
(intertextuality)
Meaning
Single theme vs. multiple themes

Simple theme vs. complex theme

Perspective like one’s own vs. unlike/opposite

perspective
Single perspective vs. multiple perspectives

Many inferences required vs. mostly literal level

thinking
Language
Sophisticated language vs. straight-forward
language (imagery, figurative language, etc.)
Many new/unknown words vs. familiar words

Long, complicated sentences vs. short, simple

sentences
Text structure
Complex non-linear structure vs. simple
sequential structure
No helpful graphics or text features vs.
supporting illustrations, subheadings, etc.

TASK FEATURES AND CONTEXT

Students will demonstrate their understanding of this text by: _______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________

These students probably do /do not have the necessary background knowledge for this text.
RATING
As an overall assessment for these students, I would rate this text:
___very complex ___somewhat complex ___not complex
Because: __________________________________________________________________________

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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SELECTING NOVEL PASSAGES TO READ CLOSELY

Consider these critical moments in a novel for close reading:

*Especially appropriate for low language students or English learners

#Especially appropriate for advanced students

 The first chapter (if it is short) or a portion of the first chapter where the author establishes
the context of the story*

 Paragraphs where a problem is revealed

 Paragraphs that reveal a character’s motivations or important traits

 Paragraphs where significant details are identified or may be inferred—leading to the theme
or an outcome later on*

 Paragraphs where characters’ values are revealed

 Paragraphs that answer a question raised previously*

 A quote from a character that reveals a wise thought#

 Sentences that are especially long, or contain important words that are difficult or words that
reveal tone

 Paragraph that supports a text-to-text or text-to-world connection#

 Paragraphs that foreshadows an upcoming problem or event#

 Paragraphs that are confusing

 Paragraphs where comprehension can be enhanced through visualization

 Paragraphs where students can make a prediction based on what they know from earlier in
the book

 Paragraphs or sentences from the end of a novel that leave the reader with unanswered
questions#

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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MAKING CAREFUL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT AN INFORMATIONAL TEXT:

WHAT TO NOTICE IN A CLOSE READING

Key details Central Ideas

Component parts/events/steps Important words

Text structure and organization Author’s purpose

Graphics—including text features Places where more information is needed

Places to use metacognitive strategies Parts that are particularly complex

(like visualizing, questioning, etc.)

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS STANDARDS FOR READING

Key Ideas and Details

Read and closely determine what the text says explicitly and to make
logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or
1 speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their

2 development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas

Analyze in detail where, when, why, and how events, ideas, and
3 characters develop and interact over the course of a text.

Craft and Structure

Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and explain
4 how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences,

5 paragraphs, and larger portions of the text relate to each other and the
whole.

Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a
6 text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Synthesize and apply information presented in diverse ways (e.g.,
7 through words, images, graphs, and video) in print and digital sources in
order to answer questions, solve problems, or compare modes of
presentation

Delineate and evaluate the reasoning and rhetoric within a text, including
8 assessing whether the evidence provided is relevant and sufficient to
support the text’s claims. (nonfiction)

Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order
9 to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. (C1:
text-to-text)

Range and Level of Text Complexity

Read complex texts independently, proficiently, and fluently, sustaining
10 concentration, monitoring comprehension, and when useful, rereading.

©Nancy Boyles 2016


CLOSE READING QUESTIONS ALIGNED TO
COMMON CORE COLLEGE & CAREER READING STANDARDS
Standard Possible questions to ask for
literary text
 What kind of clues to meaning do
you find on the cover (illustration,
title, author) that prepares you to
read this story?
 Who is the narrator?
 What does the author mean by__?
 Identify the: characters, setting,
problem, outcome
 What do you think are the most
1. Finding evidence important details in this part of
the text? Why?
 What do you know about the
character(s)/ problem / setting
from this part of the text?
 What do you know about the
character(s)/ problem / setting
that you didn’t know before?
 Why do you think the author
included these details?
 What is the first thing that jumps
out at you? Why?
 What is the next thing that jumps
out at you? Why?
 Explain what is happening here in
your own words (paraphrase).
 What is this story starting to be
2. Theme, main about?
idea, summary  What is the author’s message?
 What is the big idea?
 What lesson does ___ learn?
 What is the author’s message and
how does the author show this
throughout the story?
 How does the setting (time and
place) make a difference to the
story?
 How does [character] change
3. Story parts, facts throughout the story?
 What character trait/feeling is
present here?
 Why does the author choose these
particular details to include?
©Nancy Boyles 2016
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Possible questions to ask for
informational text
 What kind of clues to meaning do
you find on the cover (illustration,
title, author) that prepares you to
read this text?
 What does the author mean by__?
 Who is providing this
information?
 Identify the: topic, main points
 What facts/details really stand out
to you? Why?
 What do you know about this
person/ situation / place / etc.
from this part of the text?
 What do you know about this
person/ situation / place / etc. that
you didn’t know before?
 Why do you think the author
included this information?
 What is the first thing that jumps
out at you? Why?
 What is the next thing that jumps
out at you? Why?
 Explain what the author is saying
in your own words (paraphrase).
 What is this [article] starting to be
about?
 What did you learn in this part of
the text?
 What is the main idea?
 What is the main idea and how
does the author show this in the
text?
 How does [person] contribute to
this situation/problem (or the
solution of the problem)?
 How does one event/step lead to
the next (cause/effect)?
 What are the most important
facts/details?
 Why does the author choose these
particular details to include?

 Why did the author choose this
word?
 What words show a feeling of
___?
 What tone or mood does the
author create? What words
4. Vocabulary contribute to that tone?
(words)  What does this word mean based
on other words in the sentence?
 What is the meaning of this
simile/personification/idiom/
metaphor, and why did the author
choose it?
 What are the most important
words to talk about this text?
 What words paint a picture in
your mind?
 [for duplicated copies] How does
this text “look” on the page
(stanzas, illustration, etc.)? How
will this support your reading?
 Where does the author want us to
use different thinking strategies
(picturing, wondering, etc.)?
5. Structure, genre,  What is the structure of this story
syntax (or part of the story)?
 What is the genre? What genre
characteristics do you find?
 Are the sentences easy or hard to
understand? Why?
 Why do you think the author
chose this genre or format (like
picture book, poem, etc.)?
 How does this passage/paragraph
fit into the next
passage/paragraph or into the text
as a whole?
 How did the author begin/end the
story to get your attention?
 Who is speaking in this passage?
 Who does the narrator seem to be
speaking to?
 What is the narrator’s/ character’s
point of view (what does he/she
6. Point of view think about ___)?
 What does the narrator/character
care about?
©Nancy Boyles 2016
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 Why did the author choose this
word?
 What words show a feeling of
___?
 What tone or mood does the
author create? What words
contribute to that tone?
 What does this word mean based
on other words in the sentence?
 What is the meaning of this
simile/personification/idiom/
metaphor, and why did the author
choose it?
 What are the most important
words to talk about this text?
 What words paint a picture in
your mind?
 [for duplicated copies] How does
this text “look” on the page
(columns, numbered paragraphs,
etc.)? How will this support your
reading?
 Where does the author want us to
use different thinking strategies
(picturing, wondering, etc.)?
 What is the structure of this text
(or part of the text)?
 What is the genre? What genre
characteristics do you find?
 Are the sentences easy or hard to
understand? Why?
 Why do you think the author
chose this genre or format (like
picture book, poem, etc.)?
 How does this passage/paragraph
fit into the next
passage/paragraph or into the text
as a whole?
 How did the author begin/end the
article/text to get your attention?
 Who is the author of this
article/book?
 Who does the author seem to be
speaking to?
 What is the author’s point of view
about ___?
 What does the author care about?
 Why did the author write this?

 Do different characters have
different points of view about__?
 How do the illustrations add to
the meaning?
 How is the [live version, video,
7. Different kinds etc.] the same or different from
of texts the print version?
8. Critiquing text This standard is not applied to literary 
text
 How is [character 1] the same or
different from [character 2]?
 How is [one story] different from
[second story]?
 How is the message/theme of
9. Text-to-text [story 1] the same or different
from the message/theme of [story
2]?
 Does this story remind you of
anything else you have read (or
viewed)? Explain.
©Nancy Boyles 2016
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 Do you think the author is openly
trying to convince you of
something? What makes you say
this?
 Does this information change
your point of view about __?
 How do the graphics [charts,
maps, photographs, etc.] add to or
clarify the message?
 What information did you get
from the video/photo/etc. that
contradicted what you learned
from [your other text]?
 How does the video, interview,
etc. add to or change your
understanding of this subject?
 How do you read this like a
scientist/historian?
 Did the author provide sufficient
evidence on the subject to support
his/her claim?
 Did the author present the subject
fairly, explaining all sides of the
situation without bias?
Did the author leave out
information that should have been
included?
 Is the author knowledgeable on
the subject with current
information?
 Is there anything the author could
have explained more thoroughly
for greater clarification? What?
 Does the information from [text
1] express the same or different
point of view from [text 2]?
 What new information did you
get from [text 2] that was not
included in [text 1]?
 Does this text remind you of
anything else you have read (or
viewed)? Explain.
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BOOKMARKS FOR CLOSE INDEPENDENT READING

• What is the • What is the

author telling author telling
me? me?
Question Question
1 1
• Are there any • Are there any
words that are words that are
hard, or seem hard, or seem
Question important? Question important?

2 2
• What does the • What does the
author want author want
me to me to
Question understand? Question understand?

3 • How does the 3 • How does the

author play author play
with language with language
Question to add to Question to add to
meaning? meaning?
4 4

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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What is the author telling me?

Any hard or important words?

What does the author want me

to understand?
How does the author play with
language to add to meaning?
©Nancy Boyles 2016
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GOOD READER CUE CARDS

Use these cue cards in your small group to help students become independent close readers

What are the hard or important What is the author telling me?
words?

What does the author want me to How does the author play with
understand? language to add to meaning?

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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The Virtually Indestructible Water Bear

By Allegra Staples
Retrieved from: http://www.dogonews.com/2014/4/5/the-virtually-indestructible-water-bear Grades: 3-
8 Word Search

1. Want to be a superhero? Then you may want to pick up some skills from the
segmented microscopic Tardigrades (slow steppers). Popularly known as water
bears or moss piglets because of their slow gait, these tiny creatures can survive
anything - From boiling to sub-zero temperatures, radiation, and even the
vacuum of outer space. It is no wonder that this virtually indestructible animal
has had the scientific community buzzing with excitement, for years.

2. The 1,150 known species of the micro-animals

that measure between 0.5mm to t1.2 mm long, can
be found almost anywhere, from mountaintops to the
bottom of the deep sea, from tropical rainforests to
the Antarctic. However, their favorite habitat seems to
be in ordinary places like the film of water
on lichens and mosses, deep inside sand dunes or
soil and even, leaf litter - Any place they can find
plentiful plant and animal cells and be cool enough to
avoid sun desiccation.

3. Though they were first discovered in 1773 by

Italian scientist, Lazarro Sapallanzani, the barrel-
shaped animals that sport four pairs of stubby legs, are
ancient creatures that have been inhabiting earth for
at least 530 million years! This is not surprising given
that the animals which have been subjected to all
kind of tests on earth and space, are very hard to kill. Turns out, that it is
because they possess a 'super power' like none other that has ever been
encountered.

4. When subjected to any kind of extreme conditions, water bears have the ability
to suspend themselves in a state called cryptobiosis - this brings their basic
metabolic functions to almost a halt and reduces their body water content to
between 1-3% of normal. This means that the animals are in a suspended state
- neither completely alive nor dead. While in cryptobiosis, water bears can
survive some of the most extreme conditions imaginable. Scientist have exposed
them to temperatures ranging from 1° Kelvin or -458° F, something that can only
be achieved in a laboratory to dousing them in 300° F water. In each case, they
emerged unscathed.

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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5. And if that is not enough to impress you, how

about this? They can withstand hundreds of times
the levels of radiation that would kill humans,
survive pressure six- times that of the deepest
ocean and live through ten days in the
airless vacuum of space. Oh, and after being
boiled, frozen, irradiated, or sent
to space, the water bear might still have a lifespan of 200 years or more. What's
even more astonishing is that they can survive in this suspended state for a
century and come back to life when the environment turns favorable again. So
what can kill the water bears? So far, it appears to be only old age, which for
them means at least two centuries.

6. The questions that have confounded most scientists is how and why these
creatures have evolved to be so resilient, especially given the fact that their
preferred habitat seems to be in normal environments like backyards or sandy
beaches.

7. Bob Goldstein, a biology professor at the University of North Carolina who has
been studying these amazing creatures since 1999, has still not found an answer
to the 'why'. He does however have a theory on the 'how'. He thinks that water
bears are able to survive in cryptobiosis because of their ability to produce a
sugar-based substitute for water, called trehalose. This he believes, prevents
some of the damage that is caused by desiccation. But again, not all species of
water bears have this ability, so these crafty animals obviously have another trick
up their sleeve, that they have not revealed yet.

8. One of the biggest challenges scientists have had

in studying these animals is that they are very
difficult to raise in a laboratory. However, they
finally seemed to have cracked the code and
are using them in lieu of the fruit fly as test
subjects in a range of experiments that will help solve everyday issues like
keeping vaccines stable at room temperatures. In case you are curious to see
what these superheroes look like, they are readily available in any garden moss
and can be viewed using the simplest of microscopes. So be sure to check them
out!
Resources: wired.com, wikipedia.org, serc.carelton.edu, space.com

Listen to the Article:

Youtube video of The water bear (tardigrade), the most extreme animal on our planet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUC0_HjNFBs

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall (1914-2000)

"Mother dear, may I go downtown

Instead of out to play,
And march the streets of Birmingham
In a Freedom March today?"

"No, baby, no, you may not go,

For the dogs are fierce and wild,
And clubs and hoses, guns and jails
Aren't good for a little child."

1. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"But, mother, I won't be alone.
Other children will go with me,
And march the streets of Birmingham
To make our country free."

"No, baby, no, you may not go,

For I fear those guns will fire.
But you may go to church instead
And sing in the children's choir."

2. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,

And bathed rose petal sweet,
And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
And white shoes on her feet.

3. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mother smiled to know that her child

Was in the sacred place,
But that smile was the last smile
To come upon her face.

4. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For when she heard the explosion,
Her eyes grew wet and wild.
She raced through the streets of Birmingham
Calling for her child.

She clawed through bits of glass and brick,

Then lifted out a shoe.
"O, here's the shoe my baby wore,
But, baby, where are you?"

©Nancy Boyles 2016

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DAY 1: CLOSE READING LESSON

Text: Ballad of Birmingham (poem) Author: Dudley Randall
Purpose: Standard 1: Close reading for deep understanding of the text
Before Reading
Clues based on page layout (columns, stanzas, bolded words, etc.)
 Notice stanzas and short lines—probably a poem
Clues based on title, author
 Notice important words: ballad, Birmingham (may not know meaning of ballad; return to this at
the end of the lesson; may be able to figure out that Birmingham is a place. Should point this out
on map)
Probable text type (Literary or informational); possible genre
 This is a poem, though it isn’t clear if it is fiction or nonfiction
Vocabulary that may need pre-teaching for ELLs or low language students
 Downtown, club, hose, fierce, (guns) fire, gloves, explosion,

Building background: Although providing background information is discouraged for close reading,
students would need some prior knowledge about the civil rights movement in south during the 1960s to
make sense of this poem. Build that background with another text such as Remember by Toni Morrison. I
show selected photographs from this book to give students a context for the poem. Choose 4-6 photos that
you think show important concepts. Elicit key vocabulary such as segregation, racism, violence, etc. End
with the picture at the end of the book of the four girls and the line that reads, “Remember why and please
remember us.” Ask students to keep that thought and image in their mind. Do not tell them the meaning.
Plan to come back to this photo and line at the end of the lesson.

During Reading
Questions students should ask themselves for each chunk of text
 What is the author telling me?
 Any hard or important words?
 What does the author want me to understand?
 How does the author play with language to add to meaning?
Follow-up Text-dependent Questions for the teacher to ask about each chunk of text
Stanzas 1 and 2
 Who is speaking in each of these stanzas?
 Do they have the same point of view or different points of view? What does each person care about?
 Explain the meaning of these words: Freedom March, Birmingham, clubs
 How did the author organize this part of the poem? (What do you call it when two characters are
talking back and forth?) (dialogue; argument)
Stanzas 3 and 4
 How do these 2 stanzas fit with the first two? (continue the argument)
 Is this realistic? Why or why not?
 What is the compromise? (go to church)
 Why does the mother suggest this?
 What do you think is the most important word here? (May have different opinions; good choice:
church)

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Stanza 5

Stanza 6
 What is the tone at the beginning of this stanza? What words show this?
 What is the tone at the end of this stanza? What words show this?
 Explain the word sacred
Stanzas 7-8
 In your own words, explain what happened here.
 What words stand out that help you make meaning in these stanzas and help you visualize?
 What is the irony here? (sent to church to be safe, but this is where the violence occurred)
 Did you get all of your questions answered here? What questions do you still have? How could you
get more information?

After Reading
(Complete on day #2 of the lesson sequence
Important words to talk about the text
 Ballad, violence, church, Freedom March, sacred
Theme/lesson/message (if appropriate)
 There was much senseless violence and death in the south during the civil rights movement in the
1960s.
Summary or gist statement
 This is a good poem to summarize because it is a ballad (tells a story)
Review of text type (literary/information) and genre
 This is a ballad (a sad story) about a real event. The characters/people have been fictionalized.
Collaborative oral task
 Complete this on Day 1 after reading the poem: Ask students to infer the meaning of the photo and
sentence at the end of the book Remember and how it connects to this book. (Students should figure
out that the author may have been writing about one of these girls in the poem.)

DIGGING DEEPER THROUGH REREADING*

Day Focus Standard Lesson content
Multiple standards Complete the After Reading tasks. Also discuss the meaning of the word
2 ballad.
Text-to-text Ask students to work in pairs or small groups to research additional
3 connections R9 information about the Birmingham church bombing in 1963.
Examine alternate View the musical rendition of The Ballad of Birmingham on YouTube.
4 text forms There are multiple sources for this. One possibility is
R7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Y92U1GxG0. How do these images
and music enhance your understanding of this church bombing?
Examine alternate Examine photographs that depict the violence in Birmingham related to the
5 text forms civil rights movement. How do these images contribute to your
R7 understanding of this time in history?

©Nancy Boyles 2016

 19

Birmingham, Alabama, and

the Civil Rights
Movement in 1963
The 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in
Birmingham was used as a meeting-place for
civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther
King, Ralph David Abernathy and Fred
Shutterworth. Tensions became high when
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) and the Congress on
Racial Equality (CORE) became involved in
a campaign to register African American to
vote in Birmingham.

On Sunday, 15th September, 1963, a white

man was seen getting out of a white and
turquoise Chevrolet car and placing a box
under the steps of the Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church. Soon afterwards, at 10.22 a.m., the bomb exploded killing Denise
McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14) and Cynthia Wesley
(14). The four girls had been attending Sunday school classes at the church. Twenty-
three other people were also hurt by the blast.

Civil rights activists blamed George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, for the
killings. Only a week before the bombing he had told the New York Times that to
stop integration Alabama needed a "few first-class funerals."

A witness identified Robert Chambliss, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, as the man
who placed the bomb under the steps of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. He was
arrested and charged with murder and possessing a box of 122 sticks of dynamite
without a permit. On 8th October, 1963, Chambliss was found not guilty of murder
and received a hundred-dollar fine and a six-month jail sentence for having the
dynamite.

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 20

The case was unsolved until Bill Baxley was elected attorney general of Alabama. He
requested the original Federal Bureau of Investigation files on the case and discovered
that the organization had accumulated a great deal of evidence against Chambliss that
had not been used in the original trial.

In November, 1977 Chambliss was tried once again for the Sixteenth Street Baptist
Church bombing. Now aged 73, Chambliss was found guilty and sentenced to life
imprisonment. Chambliss died in an Alabama prison on 29th October, 1985.

On 17th May, 2000, the FBI announced that the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
bombing had been carried out by the Ku Klux Klan splinter group, the Cahaba Boys.
It was claimed that four men, Robert Chambliss, Herman Cash, Thomas Blanton and
Bobby Cherry had been responsible for the crime. Cash was dead but Blanton and
Cherry were arrested and Blanton has since been tried and convicted.

©Nancy Boyles 2016