Aspen Institute
The Voice That Challenged a Nation
Included here are step-by-step instructions for conducting a close reading of The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Russell Freedman. After an individual and class reading, class members read carefully through the text excerpt,...
Curated OER
The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
"The Gettysburg Address" is the basis of a series of activities that not only model for learners how to conduct a close reading of a text, but also how a close reading can help them comprehend a difficult text. The detailed, step-by-step...
Curated OER
1984 by George Orwell
Readers of Nineteen Eighty-Four engage in a close reading exercise that directs their focus to the key details Orwell provides in the opening paragraphs to introduce his dystopian society. The included worksheeet is divided into three...
California Education Partners
My Librarian is a Camel
A two-part assessment challenges scholars to gather information from reading then write an opinion piece. In part one, learners read, take notes, and answer text-related questions. In part two, participants use their new-found knowledge...
EngageNY
Getting to Know Esperanza (Chapter 2: "Las Uvas/Grapes")
Delve into Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan with close reading and evidence-based, text-dependent questions. Part of a unit series, this well-sequenced, Common Core-designed activity draws on material from the previous day and homework...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Frankenstein
Help the class uncover the story of Frankenstein. Learners answer questions and complete activities to respond to the text Frankenstein as they read. Scholars learn new vocabulary, respond to personal and text-dependent questions,...
Literacy Design Collaborative
"The Gettysburg Address" Close Reading Module
It's time to think deep and narrow. Scholars focus close reading on one short text but task take their thinking to a deep level. Readers use a Rhetorical Analysis Chart to analyze The Gettysburg Address and determine how Lincoln used...
EngageNY
Close Reading: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Speech
How did Martin Luther King, Jr. sway people with his speeches? Scholars carry out a close reading of the Montgomery Bus Boycott speech and use the Close Reading Guide to help them work through the powerful text. While reading, they...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Paragraphs 2 and 3 of “Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison” and Introducing the NYS Expository Writing Rubric
What factors make adaptation successful for refugee and immigrant children? The class explores the topic by reading two paragraphs from "Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison." Next, they engage in a think-pair-share to discuss...
EngageNY
Analyzing Author’s Craft: “I Have a Dream”
It's time to make some connections! Scholars complete a close reading of the speech I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. They use an I Have a Dream Speech Gist Note-catcher, and I Have a Dream text-dependent questions to guide their...
EngageNY
Analyzing the Central Ideas, Part 1: “The Border”
What is your strategy? Scholars read "The Border" and work with a partner to practice reading strategies to use while independent reading. They identify difficult parts where they practiced rereading by marking them with sticky notes,...
EngageNY
Building Context for the Narrative: The Abolition Movement
That's history. Scholars work together to review the text Abolition and its accompanying text-dependent questions. They then determine what information to add to the Historical Context anchor chart. For homework, individuals think of...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Analyzing Point of View and Plot Development in Flush
It's the halfway point—there's no turning back now. Scholars work on the mid unit assessment for Flush. For the assessment, learners analyze the point of view and plot development by annotating the text using sticky notes and underlining...
EngageNY
Using Quotes to Explain Relationships: How the Invention of Television Changed People’s Lives
Television changes the world. Scholars determine the gist of the video clip Television Takes the World by Storm and article How Do
Inventions Affect the Way We Live? They then do a second view and read to complete an Explanation Task...
Learning for Justice
The Color of Law: Winners and Losers in the Job Market
The second lesson in "The Color of Law" shows how government policies supported economic inequality. Scholars read additional excerpts and respond to text-dependent questions from "The Color of Law" text, examine primary source documents...
EngageNY
Understanding Douglass’s Words: Learning to Read
How is a sentence like the human body? Scholars think about the comparison as they view an image of the human anatomy and begin to complete an Anatomy of a Sentence anchor chart. They review roots, prefixes, and suffixes and then begin...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Focusing on Taking a Stand (Chapter 2 cont.)
Scholars complete a close read of To Kill a Mockingbird and determine why characters take a stand. They use text-dependent questions and Note-catchers to help guide their thinking. Readers review the Taking a Stand Anchor chart and...
EngageNY
Analyzing Character and Theme: Tracking Control in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Pupils first participate in a drama circle as they continue reading Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream aloud with classmates. Next, scholars move around and discuss text-dependent questions about the play with a Three Threes in a...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Brown v. Board of Education
What's the connection? Scholars complete a close reading of Brown v. Board of Education and identify connections to Carlotta in A Mighty Long Way. Classmates learn new vocabulary, answer text-dependent questions, and complete a...
EngageNY
Practicing Structures for Reading: Gathering and Using Evidence to Analyze Salva’s and Nya’s Points of View (Chapter 4)
Class members discuss the gist of chapter four of A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park with a partner and share their responses with the class. Next, they complete graphic organizers to answer text-dependent questions based on a close...
EngageNY
Studying Conflicting Interpretations: Perspectives on Plessy v. Ferguson: Part 3
Scholars closely read Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissenting opinion in the Plessy v. Ferguson case, seeking to understand why he disagreed with the court's decision that racial segregation laws for public spaces were constitutional....
EngageNY
Launching Lyddie
Pupils engage in a close reading of chapter one of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. After answering text-dependent questions based on their reading, they complete reader's notes about how the setting, characters, and plot interact.
EngageNY
Speech Structure: Part 2 of the Commonwealth Club Address
Scholars continue reading and analyzing César Chávez's 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." Working with partners, they answer text-dependent questions about how governments and consumers affect working...
EngageNY
Understanding Interactions: Launching Pygmalion, Part 1
During a reading of one section of Pygmalion, individuals begin thinking more deeply about identity. They also complete text-dependent questions and a close reading guide.