Close Reading of Text and Text-Dependent Questions

Close Reading of Text and

Text-Dependent Questions

Presented by CFN 609 at Summer Principals’ Institute

Wednesday July 25th, 2012

Based on what you know, how would you describe “close reading of text and text-dependent

questions?”

Activity #1: Quick Write

o Explain the meaning of “close reading” and “text-dependent questioning”

o Identify the characteristics of text-dependent questions that support close reading

o Sorting text-dependent questions

Session Outcomes:

Activity #2: How does the language of the CCLS demand close reading of text?

1. Read the Anchor Standards for Reading and “Selected Quotes”.

2. Highlight words, phrases and sentences that help us answer the following question: How does the language of the CCLS demand close reading of text?

3. Share with a partner at least one piece of information that added to your understanding, using the optional sentence frame (OSF) as needed: “Reading the phrase/sentence ____________ added to my understanding of close reading/text-dependent questions because ___________________.”

Activity #3: Close Reading of Text

After reading the handout, jot down any new learning and share it with a partner at the table.

Activity # 4: Synthesizing What Close Reading Is…

Read page 2 and jot down the stepsrequired to conduct a close reading…

Group Share-out

Activity #5 : Applying Close Reading

1. Read to get the gist.2. Reread to find significant moments.3. Read again to interpret the ideas in the

text.4. Read again differently to analyze the

author’s methods.

“Linger over specific phrases and sentences…”

Chicago in 1871 was a city ready to burn. The city boasted having 59,500 buildings, many of them—such as the Courthouse and the Tribune Building—large and ornately decorated. The trouble was that about two-thirds of all these structures were made entirely of wood. Many of the remaining buildings (even the ones proclaimed to be “fireproof”) looked solid, but were actually jerrybuilt affairs; the stone or brick exteriors hid wooden frames and floors, all topped with highly flammable tar or shingle roofs. It was also a common practice to disguise wood as another kind of building material. The fancy exterior decorations on just about every building were carved from wood, then painted to look like stone or marble. Most churches had steeples that appeared to be solid from the street, but a closer inspection would reveal a wooden framework covered with cleverly painted copper or tin.

Jim Murphy, The Great Fire

How to Begin Close Reading:

1. Read to get the gist.2. Reread to find significant moments.3. Read again to interpret the ideas in the

text.4. Read again differently to analyze the

author’s methods.

Why focus on Text-Dependent Questions?

The Common Core Learning Standards for reading strongly focus on students gathering evidence, knowledge, and insight from what they read. Indeed, eighty to ninety percent of the Reading Standards in each grade require text dependent analysis; accordingly, aligned curriculum materials should have a similar percentage of text dependent questions.

Student Achievement Partners

Good text-dependent questions linger over specific phrases and sentences to ensure careful comprehension of the text—they help students see something worthwhile that they would not have seen on a more cursory reading.

First, I will read the text while you listen for the rhythm and meaning of the language.

“Linger over specific phrases and sentences…”

Chicago in 1871 was a city ready to burn. The city boasted having 59,500 buildings, many of them—such as the Courthouse and the Tribune Building—large and ornately decorated. The trouble was that about two-thirds of all these structures were made entirely of wood. Many of the remaining buildings (even the ones proclaimed to be “fireproof”) looked solid, but were actually jerrybuilt affairs; the stone or brick exteriors hid wooden frames and floors, all topped with highly flammable tar or shingle roofs. It was also a common practice to disguise wood as another kind of building material. The fancy exterior decorations on just about every building were carved from wood, then painted to look like stone or marble. Most churches had steeples that appeared to be solid from the street, but a closer inspection would reveal a wooden framework covered with cleverly painted copper or tin.

Jim Murphy, The Great Fire

Independently write what you think the text is saying (vs. what is the text about?).

Activity # 6: Write your understanding

Sample Question

• The term “jerrybuilt” means cheaply or unsubstantially built (it comes either from the English dialectical word “jerry” which meant “bad or defective,” or from the nautical slang word “jury” which meant temporary); what specific words and phrases does the author include to support his use of the term “jerrybuilt”?

OSF: The line/phrase “____________________” supports the author’s use of the term “jerrybuilt” because ________________________.

The line/phrase “all topped with highly flammable tar or shingle roofs” supports the author’s use of the term “jerrybuilt” because structures made of flammable materials (capable of burning rapidly) would be considered unsubstantially built and easily destroyed.

1. What contrasting information does the author present in the two sentences that use the word “but”? OSF: In the sentence, “______________” the word “but” is used to reveal that there is a contrast between _____________________ and ________________________.

2. How do the descriptions of the structures/buildings in the city support the author’s statement that Chicago in 1871 was a “city ready to burn”? OSF: When the author writes, “_________” he is supporting his claim that Chicago was a “city ready to burn” because ______________.

3. Dashes and parentheses add information that isn’t essential to the sentence but develops or describes something from the first part of the sentence (usually right before the dash or parenthesis) in greater detail; what information does the author add with the language in between the dashes and in the parentheses? OSF: The language in the parentheses/in between the dashes tells the reader ___________________.

4. Why does the author use the word “structures” in the third sentence? How does the use of this word differ from how the buildings are referred to in the rest of the paragraph?

OSF: In the third sentence the author uses the word “structures”, whereas in the rest of the paragraph the author refers to the buildings as _________. The author uses the word “structures” because _________.

5. How does the detail used to explain the “trouble with buildings” help us make an inference about the building developers or perhaps the city officials?

OSF: To explain the “trouble with buildings” the author writes/says, _________. The lines, “__________” and “___________” help us infer that the building developers/city officials ________ because _________.

Scaffolding

• Strategically built and removed

• Enables performance (students still must construct responses)

• Allows for explicit instruction in grammatical features and functions that teach students to independently access texts, learn concepts, and engage in academic reading, writing, speaking and listening (question 3)

Supporting Text-Dependent Answers and Academic Language Development

The line/phrase __________ supports the author’s use of the term “jerrybuilt” because ________________________.

In the sentence, “____________________________” the word “but” is used to contrast ____________ and ____________.

When the author writes, “______________” he is supporting his claim that Chicago was a “city ready to burn” because _________.

Characteristics of Text-Dependent Questions

Cannot be answered without referring to the text.Must go back to specific portions of the text.Don’t require background knowledge.Ask students to connect to the text.How the author is intentional/deliberate in his/her choice of language.Help students discern meaning of words. Probe how word choice affects meaning.Words are not meaningful if not tied to the text.(a non-TBQ would be ‘what inferences are you making in this section’)Not led by a strategy, but by the content.Linger on a specific phrase, word or section of text. (Goes immediately into how the author uses a word that might be familiar.)Help students understand how the structures support meaning.

Activity # 8 : Question Sort: To be or not to be (a text-dependent question)?

1. Read through one question.

2. Using the characteristics for text-dependent questions, determine whether or not the question is text-dependent.

3. Explain your decision: “This is/is not a text-dependent question because _____________.”

4. Based on your decision, put the question to one or the other side of the table (one side for text-dependent questions, one side for non-text-dependent questions)

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for all questions.

*NOTE: Identify which questions are the most challenging to categorize; discuss what makes the categorization challenging.

Activity #9: Revisit Quick Write

Based on our work today, what would you add to your understanding of a close read and text-dependent questions?

Food for Thought…

How is the work around the close reading of a text and developing text dependent questions different from what occurs in many of our classrooms?