Close Reading Examples & Definition

For Elementary School Readers – Close Reading Strategy Example

For elementary school learners, using an acronym to signal promote pre-reading and preparing to engage with a text is important. At this age, learners are navigating basic reading skills and comprehension, so it can be valuable to engage them in a pre-reading process to help them think ahead about the content they’ll engage with. A popular strategy is contained in the acronym “THIEVES.” This stands for:

• Title
• Headings
• Introduction
• Every first sentence
• Visuals and vocabulary
• Summary

By having students think about these elements, they can determine a more accurate summary for what they read and prepare to engage in activities and lessons that propel their understanding of what they’ve read. 

For Middle School Reader – Close Reading Strategy Example

For middle school children, the readings they encounter may become more rigorous as time goes on. In addition, children at this age level often begin moving between classes, having to navigate different genres of texts. 

One protocol to help students use close reading strategies includes the “Three Reads Protocol.” The “Three Reads Protocol” is exactly what it sounds like. Readers engage with the text three times. 

1. During the first read, learners skim the text.This is a good opportunity for them to “read for gist,” and interact with the text in a way that helps them understand the basic content. 
2. The second read is informational; here, they can annotate and collect ideas of importance based on their purpose for reading. 
3. Finally, the third read promotes repeated engagement and therefore deepens their understanding. This is when readers understand the text on a more conceptual level. Learners consider how the text connects to other texts and real-world topics. This stage is also helpful for developing inference skills.

For High School Readers – Close Reading Strategy Example

Regardless of age and grade level, all readers need to employ strategies that enable them to understand what they read. This takes time and patience. 

To aid high school readers as they engage with texts in print and digital formats, consider implementing the following processes or steps. 

1. Have readers identify a goal or purpose. Why are they reading the text in front of them? This focus can help them anchor on their objective. 
2. Have students read the text once without taking any notes and avoiding all distractions. Remind readers that a 100% effort is required in this endeavor. 
3. Encourage students to read the text again, but this time with the aid of stopping to annotate (circle, star, underline, etc.) in order to help them achieve their objective. 
4. Use a graphic organizer or other document to help students through this process based on what you’d like for them to analyze. Some popular points of analysis include: summaries, author’s purpose, evidence the author uses to showcase or argue their purpose, and inferences the reader can make based on these details. 
5. The close reading process does not have to be exclusively independent. After reading the text and documenting findings on a close reading document, learners should have an opportunity to share their findings. Sharing their interpretations and the meaning they’ve created from what they’ve read can offer diversity of insight and help students understand peers’ multiple viewpoints. 

Instructional Strategy: Modeling

One of the best practices for helping students understand how to engage in close reading is to model this practice. Choose a short passage or article and walk them through how you read and skim, annotate, and make meaning of the text. 

Choose something engaging. Have students annotate alongside you. Encourage your learners to execute this themselves during independent practice.