CLOSE READING AND TEXT DEPENDENT QUESTIONS Presented by: Kelly Philbeck

CLOSE READING AND TEXT DEPENDENT QUESTIONS

Presented by:

Kelly Philbeck

05/30/13

Instructional Shifts Required by the Common Core

Increasing rigor and relevance

Sharing responsibility of teaching reading and writing across content areas

Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational text

Reading, writing, speaking and listening grounded in evidence from texts

Practicing regularly with complex text and its academic vocabulary

Emphasizing 3 modes of academic writing

2

What is Close Reading?

Methodical investigation of a complex text through…

Answering text-dependent questions Unpacking the text’s meaning Directing students to:

examine and analyze text at a deep level of critical thinking

focus on word/sentence meaning focus on development of events and ideas extract evidence from the text make non-trivial inferences based on what

they have read

Close Reading and the CCSS

Anchor Standards for Reading Prioritize close reading skills of:

Extracting evidence (Standard 1) Making inferences (Standard 1) Reading complex text (Standard 10) Determining central idea/theme (Standard 2) Building knowledge by comparing two or more

texts (Standard 9) Citing evidence to support conclusions (1 & 10)

Close Reading

Dr. Douglas FisherClose Reading and the CCSS, Part

1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w9v6-zUg3Y&feature=relmfu



Close Reading

Dr. Douglas FisherClose Reading and the CCSS, Part

2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=JhGI5zdjpvc&feature=endscreen



Why Depth through “Close Reading” Matters

Close reading instruction:

Requires careful attention to how the text unfolds through asking text-dependent questions.

Focuses on building knowledge through the strategic use of text-dependent questions.

Can prepare students for the kinds of reading tasks they will encounter after graduation.

Despite its name, close reading has a lot more to do with writing than reading! (Fisher)

What Makes Text Complex?

Vocabulary: Knowledge of word meaning Sentence Structure: How the words

operate together Coherence: How particular words, ideas,

and sentences in text connect with one another

Organization: The patterns authors use to communicate complex information

Background Knowledge: The reader’s prior knowledge Educational Leadership, March 2012

The Challenge of Challenging TextTimothy Shanahan, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

Key Shift in CCSS from 4.1

AText

DependentApproach

Elements of Close Reading Instruction

Instruction should… Focus on words, sentences, paragraphs that

pose the biggest challenge to confidence, comprehension, and stamina

Ask text dependent questions that require students to closely examine the text

Ask students to make inferences based on evidence beyond what is explicitly stated

Pay close attention to a variety of text structures

Elements of Close Reading Instruction

A teacher should… Focus on a sequential/integrated line of inquiry Synthesize and organize evidence,

demonstrating understanding both orally and through writing

Become aware of nuances in word meaning AND

Acquire knowledge of general academic vocabulary to understand a range of complex texts

What are Text-Dependent Questions?Text-dependent questions:

Draw the reader back to the text to discover what it says.

Have concrete and explicit answers rooted in the text.

Frame inquiries in ways that do not rely on a mix of personal opinion, background information, and imaginative speculation.

© 2012 The Aspen Institute

Text Dependent Questions

Characteristics: Questions must originate from the text itself Questions focus on a word, sentence,

paragraph(s) Open, not leading questions Provide learning opportunity for students Require thought/discussion about the question

(no right answer immediately provided) Cause students to linger over portions of the

text, looking for specific answers, not just “getting the gist”

Which of these books would you rather read? Why?

Rigorous Text-Dependent Questions should not be…

Low-level, literal, or recall questions

“right there” questions

Focused on comprehension strategies

Just questions…

Text Dependent Questions…

Can be used to… Identify key ideas in complex text

Should cause students to think at higher levels by… Make logical inferences Draw conclusions Engage in arguments based on what the

text syas

Non-Examples and Examples

In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Describe a time when you failed at something.

In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair.

In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote?

What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous?

What can you infer from King’s letter about the letter that he received?

“The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year 1776. According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech?

Not Text-Dependent Text-Dependent

Close Reading of a Sample Text

What did you do as a “Close Reader” when you read the excerpt from ?

Reflect on this question then explain to an elbow partner how you could teach this skill

to your students.

Text-dependent Questioning(Another Specialized Piece of Equipment)

Requires students to return to the text to formulate responses

Moves from literal to

interpretive

Why Ask Text Dependent Questions

80 to 90% of the ELA Reading Standards in each grade level require text dependent analysis

One of the first and most important steps to implementing the ELA Common Core Standards is to focus on identifying, evaluating, and creating text-dependent questions

Deep Reading, the kind encouraged by the common core standards, asks students to “read like a detective”, looking closely for details

Rather than asking students questions about their prior knowledge or experiences, the standards expect students to struggle with text-dependent questions

www.achievethecore.org/steal-these-tools/text-dependent-questions

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80-90% of (CCSS) reading standards require text-dependent analysis yet

over 30% of questions in major textbooks do not.Sue Pimentel, Lead Author of Common Core State Standards

for ELA/Literacy

Inferences

Probe each argument in

persuasive text, each idea in

informational text, each key detail in literary text, and observe

how these build to a whole.

Non-Text Dependent Questions

Examples from Alice in Wonderland: Are books without pictures or

conversations useful? How would you react if you saw a talking

rabbit? Would Alice have followed the rabbit

down the hole if she had not seen it look at a watch?

What do you know about Lewis Carroll?


What kind of books does Alice find useful?

How did Alice react when she saw a talking rabbit?

Why did Alice follow the rabbit down the hole?

What does the reader know about the rabbit?

Differences in Depth:Text versus Non-Text-Dependent

QuestionsNon-Text-Dependent

QuestionsText-Dependent Questions

Are books without pictures or conversations useful?

What kind of books does Alice find useful?

How would you react if you saw a talking rabbit?

How did Alice react when she saw a talking rabbit?

Would Alice have followed the rabbit down the hole had she not seen it look at a watch?

Why did Alice follow the rabbit down the rabbit-hole?

What do you know about Lewis Carroll?

What does the reader know about the rabbit?


Do NOT rely on… Personal opinion Background information

Imaginative speculation

Text Dependent Questions…

Require students to engage with text at higher levels.

Discover answers by extracting evidence from the text.

Are CCSS aligned questions (mirror CCSS aligned assessments).


Level of Text Specificity

CCSS Anchor StandardClose Reading Skill

Text Dependent Question

Word/Phrase Analyze how specific word choices shape tone (Standard 4)

Why wasn’t Alice “burning with curiosity” when she initially saw the rabbit? What events led her to feeling this way?

SentenceAssess how point of view shapes content (Standard 6)

In the opening paragraph, Alice states “what is the use of a book…without pictures or conversation?” What does that sentence reveal about her?

ParagraphSummarize key supporting details (Standard 2)

Around which word or phrase does the meaning of the third paragraph pivot? Explain w/evidence.

Text Dependent Questions and CCSS

• Determine ideas or themes and analyze their development(Standard 2)

• Summarize key supporting details and ideas (Standard 2)• Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas

develop and interact (Standard 3)• Analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or

tone (Standard 4)• Interpret technical, connotative, and figurative meanings

of words and phrases (Standard 4)• Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or

topics (Standard 9)• Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content

and style (Standard 6)• Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse

media and formats (Standard 7)• Assess the validity of the reasoning (Standard 8)• Assess the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence

(Standard 8)

Bands

11-CCR

9-10

6-8

4-5

2-3

K-1 Incre

ased

Ab

ilit

y t

o U

se T

ext

Evid

en

ce

Standards Two through Nine

Bands

11-CCR

9-10

6-8

4-5

2-3

K-1

Standard One

Standard Ten

31

Incre

asin

g R

an

ge a

nd

C

om

ple

xit

y

Progression of Text-dependent Questions

Opinions, Arguments, Intertextual ConnectionsInferences

Author’s Purpose

Vocab & Text Structure

Key Details

General UnderstandingsPart

Sentence

Paragraph

Entire text

Across texts

Word

Whole

Segments

Framing Text Dependent Questions

Why did the author choose a particular word? Analyze the impact of syntax of a sentence Collect evidence Test comprehension of key ideas/arguments Analyze how portions of the text relate to

each other and the whole Look for pivot points in a paragraph Track down patterns in a text Notice what is missing or understood Investigate beginnings and endings of a text

Guidelines for Creating Text-Dependent Questions

Step One:

Identify the core understandings and key ideas of the text. (with standards/learning targets in mind)

Step Two:

Start small to build confidence.

Step Three:

Target vocabulary and text structure.

Step Four:

Tackle tough sections head-on.

Step Five:

Create coherent sequences of text-dependent questions.

Step Six:

Identify the standards that are being addressed.

Step Seven:

Create the culminating assessment.

“Close Reading” of a Stand-Alone Text



A systematic approach to creating text- dependent questions for complex texts while aligning them with the demands of the CCSS.

Tools for Creating Text-Dependent Questions:

Text-Dependent Question Worksheet


Activity

Read the opening of Brian Lies’ Bats at the Beach With a partner, write one Text-Dependent

Question for each stanza aligned to a CCSS anchor standard

Share your question with others at your table

Evaluate your TDQ based on the samples provided

From Martin Luther King’s author’s note “Letter from Birmingham

Jail”

Creating Text-Dependent Questions for Informational Text

What words gave you somemeaning to this text?

From Martin Luther King’s note to “Letter from Birmingham Jail”:

Begun on the margins of the newspaper in which the statement appeared while I was in jail, the letter was continued on scraps of writing paper supplied by a friendly Negro trusty, and concluded on a pad my attorneys were eventually permitted to leave me.








An effective text dependent question delves into a text to guide students in extracting the key meanings or ideas and events found there.

Text dependent questions begin by exploring specific words, details, explanations and arguments.

Teachers investigate the text through utilizing the Anchor and/or Grade-level Reading Standards to generate the question.

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” demonstrates that:

Text Dependent Question

Write your own Text-Dependent Question for the

MKL piece.

Writing Text Dependent Questions

Practice with your own texts.

Beware of Basals!!

Basal reading programs by the four major publishers comprise 80% of all the texts used in elementary and middle school

Most of these texts rely heavily on non-text based pre-reading activities that “digest and regurgitate” the primary text and eliminate the need for close reading…

Text-Dependent Questions and Basal Readers


Text-Dependent Questions and Basal Readers

… which wouldn’t be necessary anyway since most of these basal readers include a high proportion of non-text dependent questions (including the writing prompts for basal texts)…

… and required students to perform multiple tasks that are irrelevant to understanding the text being read (i.e. focus on using comprehension strategies as an end in themselves)

Because of Winn Dixie—Examples of Non-Text Dependent Questions

Was there ever a time where an

animal scared you? (Personal experience)

Can bears really eat people? (Imaginative speculation)

Will Opal and Amanda ever be friends? (Opinion)

Explain how reading this story made you feel about visiting a library? (Background knowledge and personal experience)

TDQ: Beware of Basals

As you read this story, what do you think about plants and animals in Florida?

How can an older woman make her library safe from unwanted visitors?

This author has won prizes for her books. Why? Find a part of this story you think could win a prize. –- This of course asks the student to have a grasp of the criteria that publishers use in awarding prizes

In Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal tells about her experiences after moving to a new town. Think about a time that you were a newcomer to a place or situation. Now use vivid words to write a memoir about that experience. --- In addition to having very little to do with the selection this question assumes that all 4th or 5th graders have had that experience. More insidiously and as with all these questions it privileges students who have discussed these types of questions with adults- usually children from more educated families.

A systematic approach to revising Basal reader questions to align them with the demands of the CCSS.

Tools for Creating Text-Dependent Questions:

Basal Reader Review Worksheet


Looking at Pictures and Graphics


What does “Fix-it-up” mean?

Based on the picture? What is BB Wolf planning to do?

Why was Stellaluna embarrassed?

Which of these books would you rather read? Why?

Based on the covers of the books, what is the mood/tone of each book?

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CLOSE READING AND TEXT DEPENDENT QUESTIONS Presented by: Kelly Philbeck