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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Reading Closely... What is that?


So one of the jobs I have  this year is modeling lessons in other classrooms. When I started prepping for this I was lucky enough to obtain this adorable clip art from Nikki at Melonheadz. She is a wonderful graphic artist who makes fabulous graphics for our students. If you don't know her stuff check out her store at Teachers Notebook here. Make her a favorite. She is certainly one of mine!

23 comments:

Ms. Lopez said...

OMG, I LOVE this!! This is one of my favorites. I wish you were a trainer at my district!!

It was great to see you on Saturday. We had so much fun! Can't wait till the next meet up.

Kathy


K is for Kinderrific said...

Glad to see a post on close reading. We have been told we will have to implement it this year with our Kinders....but we haven't really gotten much information about what it is, or how to do it. I guess with everything being so new....it's a learning process for everyone! :-)

Debbie
K is for Kinderrific

Unknown said...

Thanks for the info on what a close read looks like in kindergarten. I am one of our Common Core Trainers for our school and have had many questions about what a close read should look like in kindergarten. You just confirmed what I have been telling and modeling for them.

Thanks,
Ann

Miss Trayers said...

I had not heard of this skill (we Texans don't have the common core) but I really like it and would like to start using it with my kids. Thanks so much for sharing it! :)

NotJustChild'sPlay

Mathalicious said...

Are you going to have this for sale? I love, love, love it!

msdora162 said...

From the training I received over the summer, the big idea behind the close read is to read and re-read. The children should get accustomed to using the illustrations and text (even read-aloud) to give evidence of their answers to questions. If you look in achievethecore.com you can find examples and links. I love what you did with the Hungry Caterpillar. Are you creating a unit or offering it on tpt.

Unknown said...

Fran, Thanks so much for your post. My district is wanting us to use close reading in Kinder. We were told NOT to show the pictures on the first and second day. Is there a plan or template that you follow. Have you heard of not using the pictures on the first couple of days? Also we are to link our fiction reading to a non- fiction book and poem. We are confused and have had little training. I am on a team of very experienced teachers. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Nicole

Unknown said...

This is so helpful. Keep them coming...
My district has switched over to the CCSS this year, but we have had no formal training (or, at least, no training that is relevant for K and 1 teachers. THEY ARE NEVER PREPARED FOR K and 1 TEACHERS! GRRR!)

Okay, I have 2 questions:
1) How (or where) are you finding quality non-fiction titles that are exciting and not too difficult?
2) My reading coach told us that we are to do away with picture walks, predictions, and generating background knowledge (especially during guided reading groups.) Is this true? I have a hard time not teaching picture walks. As a reader, I do a picture walk with almost everything I read!

Thanks,
Andi

Cindy said...

Fran,
Thanks for sharing this. I LOVE the idea of a "living" flow map! Will have to give it a try ;-)

Fran Kramer said...

Interesting that you are being told not to picture walk with your kids. That is just good teaching with children this young so I take issue with that. You are suppose to do a "cold" read the first time around but we decided to read your audience and see how interested your kids are in the text. Teachers tend to beat background knowledge to death and are not strategic about this so be careful about this piece of it. Do not leave the text when doing text based questioning. In kinder we are having the kids look carefully at pictures and yes we are still looking to ask more demanding questions but now we want them to point out the evidence. I will do more on this topic over time. I hope this helps you.
Fran

Fran Kramer said...

Look at my flow map. I grounded their thinking by not having them map the life cycle aspect because they are not ready for this. Instead, I focused on the sequencing of numbers and the order of the days of the week. The last box is where they draw a butterfly themselves.

Stacy said...

I have only done a close read with non-fiction text so it's so nice to see one done with fiction. Thank you so much for sharing this and for using a classic story so that it was easy to understand and follow along with your lesson plan.

✰ Stacy

Simpson Superstars

Anonymous said...

Hey Kindergarten Crayons!
Kudos to you!!! I attended a seminar of CC today and yep..close read and summarizing was the topic! Do you mind sending us a copy of this? We would love to share with our colleagues on what close read looks like in K.

Second request...please visit our blog and read our latest post...No More Running Records!!! Really?? GR is out the Door with CC!!! We need your help!!! Please send to anyone who can help us....
XOXO
The Kindergarten Goonies
www.kindergartengoonies.blogspot.com

Fran Kramer said...

Guided reading is not out the door at all. That is really crazy that you are getting that message. A close read is nothing more than looking carefully at complex text and asking text based questions. Good teachers have been doing this forever. In kindergarten you stretch their thinking and have them look closely at pictures. I added the other pieces to get them to writing.

Anonymous said...

Yes, we realize that pictures are being used to assist comprehension but not for figuring out tricky words. What do you think about the poor readers who use the pictures to guess at words? How does your district level books? What literacy program does your district use?

In your opinion, what is difference between Guided Reading and Differentiated Literacy Instruction?

Just wondering your thoughts...

Have a good one!
The Goonie Gals
www.kindergartengoonies.blogspot.com

Fran Kramer said...

Do not confused comprehension with fluency. Close read is to grapple with complex text, look at it closely and understand what it means. Reading fluency falls under foundational skills and will never go away! they are essential in teaching our kids how to read.

Anonymous said...

We guess we are misreading one another. We understand your close reading. Forget about close reading...we should have just emailed you. We are wondering your opinions on what we are dealing with. We know that you are helping teachers at your school and thought you could help us. Your close reading posting...just made us think to ask you.

Here are our questions:
What do you think about the poor readers who use the pictures to guess at words? How does your district level books? What literacy program does your district use?

In your opinion, what is difference between Guided Reading and Differentiated Literacy Instruction? Do you follow Moats' research?

If you can help us..great! If not just let us know. We do not mean to be a bother. We just know that you care about literacy as much as us!

Have a good one!
The Goonie Gals
www.kindergartengoonies.blogspot.com

Kate Daniel said...

Is THAT the Cheerio 'heard round the world'?? A little nibble?? Haha! Great explanation, Fran. Almost makes me want to teach Kindergarten!


Kate
Second Grade Sparkle

Fran Kramer said...

Goonie Gals you are never a bother!
Our district is still using OCR and went through a basal alignment. You are asking hard,important questions that need to be investigated. I am not an expert by any means. I will find out what their perspective is.
The curriculum head is a close friend. My email is on the side of the blog and I am so glad to talk about these crazy challenges.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much Fran! We appreciated your comments on your blog. We can email if you like but I am thinking that others are in the same boat and like our discussion. We did respond on our blog.

Have a Good One and Keep in Touch!
The Goonie Gals
www.kindergartengoonies.blogspot.com

PS: Can we get a copy of the caterpillar close read? I have a close friend who works for the state and is giving seminars on CC.
She is looking for primary examples. If you have it on TPT..let us know!

shannon m said...

Is this flow ap available on Teachers Pay Teachers or anywhere?

Ashley said...

I love what you did with "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"!! Would you mind sharing? I would love to try it out in my own kindergarten classroom. aklein0618@gmail.com

Fran Kramer said...

Sorry but this is not finished yet but I will work on it this year and it will be in my TpT store. Follow me for updates and thanks for asking about this!
Fran