TeachMe2Teach: December 2015

The B.E.S.T Conference turned out to be so much fun and well worth all the effort and time put into having a great presentation for our peers. I'm happy I decided to take on the task of creating an engaging and informative presentation to inform future teachers about close reading and text dependent questions. I even got to collaborate with my teaching bestie for this presentation!

Here are some pictures from the conference! Thanks Casey : ) (our photographer)

Below is a picture of Macey's blog, which had an outline of our presentation. We used our blogs as a way to present our information. Everyone who attended was encouraged to bring along their own technology to the presentation so they could follow along. It's the same information that is on my previous blog post about close reading.

During our presentation we used two anchor charts that were prepared before the conference. Both of these anchor charts could be used in an actual classroom with students. We wanted everyone who came to get ideas that they could take with them into their future classrooms. I do however, recommend making the anchor charts together as a class. It's a great way to keep the students engaged and they will feel some ownership in their learning.

One anchor chart was used with our close reading Oreo activity and the other was used to understand what the different readings involve/look like in close reading. Below I have where we found both the Oreo activity and the Dig Deeper with Close Reading anchor chart.

Close Reading Oreos

Dig Deeper anchor chart- from Comprehension Connections

Each group around the room had a packet and caddy on their table. In the packet were graphic organizers that they could use during the presentation, along with a few other supplements to help guide their understanding of close reading. I got the awesome little whiteboards with handles on them from the Dollar Tree and they worked perfect! After we explained and gave an example of what each question would look like on the different days, we had the group members work together to formulate their own questions. When they were finished they would hold these up and we would go around the room sharing their questions. It worked really well for checking their understanding.

The last picture shown above was the closing to our presentation. We used linoit to ask the class "What Stuck With You?"

All the presenters at the B.E.S.T Conference

I loved how I had the opportunity to share in depth information on close reading that I got as a reading minor. I can't wait to continue my learning! Hopefully another opportunity like this will come again : )

Close Reading with Text Dependent Questions

B.E.S.T Conference Presentation

By: Macey Lindberg and Meghan Fetting

What is Close Reading?

Close reading is an instructional method where students critically examine a text. Close reading of a text involves an investigation of a short piece of text with multiple readings, over multiple lessons through text based questions and discussion. During this time the students are guided to deeply analyze various aspects of the text. Having the students go back into the text multiple times will prepare them for the inevitable future of standardized tests and builds deeper comprehension. We dig deeper into the text by using text dependent questions that allows readers to think within the text, about the text, and beyond the text (Fisher and Frey, 2010).

What are the components to close reading?

There are five salient features that are necessary in order for students to be able learn to participate in close reading.

* Choose short and complex passages - Texts that are chosen for close reading should range from multiple paragraphs to multiple pages. The complexity of the text also needs to withstand multiple readings that will challenge the readers to think critically.

* Multiple Readings - Students reread a text for different purposes. This includes answering different text dependent questions, finding evidence for inferences and conclusions, or for discussion purposes. Allowing students to reread a text improves fluency and comprehension.

* Annotation – Annotating the text will look different depending upon the grade level. Students in grade K – 2, may or may not write directly on the text depending on the text difficulty. Students in grades 3 – 5, should write directly on the texts that they are reading. Sometimes readers number the paragraphs in a passage to indicate a sequence of points stated by the author. It’s also important to write in the margins to record questions and answers throughout the passage.

* Collaborative conversations regarding the text - Collaborative conversations should occur AFTER reading the text independently. Students need to be interacting with others that facilitates each others understanding of the text.

* Text Dependent Questions – Text dependent questions require students to provide evidence from the text as part of their responses. Text dependent questions serve as a scaffold for students and different levels of text dependent questions should be given depending on the day.

(Fisher and Frey, 2010)

Day 1 Questions

These questions should be from within the text. Day 1 questions should include general understanding, main idea, retelling, and overview questions.

Day 2 Questions:

These questions should be about the text. Day 2 questions should include vocabulary, text structure, and authors purpose.

Day 3 Questions:

These questions should be beyond the text. Day 3 questions should be inferential, and evaluative.

Apps to Support Close Reading with Technology

Apps	App Description
Paperport Notes	Paperport Notes allows the students to use various tools such asstickie notes, highlighting, add multiple pages from a book to annotate. Multiple note sets can also be saved at one time if only one iPad is in the classroom.
Skitch	Skitch is a perfect app to use for annotating a text. Skitch allows an image to be uploaded and then annotating marks can be added such as stars, arrows, exclamation points, and hearts.
GlowNote	GlowNote is another great app for annotating a text. Students can search for the key details, take a picture of the text, and then can write, underline, or circle their evidence. Finished products can be emailed to the teacher then as a form of assessment.
ThingLink	ThingLink is a wonderful app that is great to use with a nonfiction passage. Students can find videos, or photos online and link the images to the passage.
Sticky	Sticky can be used during close reading by taking a picture of a passage, Then, the image can be uploaded and then sticky notes can be added throughout the passage. This would be great for students to use to make inferences, predictions, and connections such as text to self, text to world, and text to text.