Close reading: Is this something homeschoolers do? Is it valuable? Can you recommend resources for teaching it?

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I've come across references to this in the last couple of years, but it's not something I'd ever heard of before that, and it's definitely not something I ever remember doing in high school or college. Can anyone tell me more about it? Is this a skill you practiced with your students, or did you not find it necessary? If you did teach it, how often is it something you practiced? Can anyone recommend resources for teaching me how to understand its value and how teach it myself?

 

From the few examples I've seen, it sounds torturous to me and like something that will contribute to killing a love of beautiful literature. Frankly, though, what I don't know about teaching literature is vast, and I often feel like everyone else knows all this stuff that has somehow eluded me, and I suspect this may be another one of those things  :o Please help me educate myself so I can better educate my kids!

 

Thanks :)

Edited April 20, 2017 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[fourisenough]

It definitely isn't just a homeschool thing. My two older girls learned it in high school. At their school, it was called "Talk To The Text" or T4 for short, and it was required in the 9th-10th grade English and history courses. Initially they both complained about it, but it became 2nd nature. Both have scored 34 on ACT reading and oldest is killing it in her honors literature seminar in college, so I think it's probably a fairly effective technique.

 

DD12 took Socratic Discussion with WTMA last fall where annotated reading/close reading was explicitly taught. I thought it was fantastic. Her comprehension has always been excellent, but I think it stretched her as a reader.

Edited April 20, 2017 by fourisenough

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I use a mix.  Some texts I just let him read.  Some we discuss for plot, characterization, setting, and/or conflict.  Some we really dig into to see how it ticks.  What are the metaphors and how do they affect the reader.  Is there irony or sarcasm (in other words, does the writer say one thing but really mean another)?  

 

This is similar to how we look at art in a museum.  Some pieces we just enjoy.  Some we compare to others or discuss their place in movements or history.  Some we get really close and consider just how it was constructed.  But we don't try to examine every work in minute detail.  

 

I do think there is some benefit to doing a bit of creative writing along with literary analysis.  You don't have to do a full book or even a story.  Spending some time trying to describe a character or a scene in a way that is powerful, but shows instead of tells does increase your appreciation for what an author is doing.  And not every book is well done.  I gave up on a novel in a science fiction franchise I usually enjoy because the writing was so clunky.  I kept substituting better word choices as I was reading along.  Had to give it up in the third chapter.

[Guest]

Do you mean CLOZE reading?

 

If so, I think (Socratic) discussion is a far more effective method.

[The Governess]

I agree that the WTM Academy Socratic Discussion class does an excellent job at introducing this skill.

 

I think close reading is an important skill. Some students need to be taught how to slow down and make sure they are really understanding and interacting with what they are reading. Do they understand all of the vocabulary? Did they make any inferences or assumptions as they read? Did they react in a certain way to what they read? Can they connect what they read to another text, subject, life experience? Can they identify literary techniques? Can they identify the purpose of the text? The main ideas? Can they ask good questions about what they read and participate in a meaningful discussion? Etc.

 

I was worried that my dd would think annotating was a pain, but she actually really got into it and enjoyed it. I think she came to realize how much more she could get out of a short story/poem/other text if she slowed down and spent some extra time with it.

[regentrude]

Do you mean CLOZE reading?

If so, I think (Socratic) discussion is a far more effective method.

No, that is something completely different!

 

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/literacy/what-close-reading-actually-means/

[regentrude]

I never found it necessary to teach; both my children developed the ability to do close reading on their own.

[Guest]

No, that is something completely different!

 

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/literacy/what-close-reading-actually-means/

Huh. No wonder I was confused. Lol

[3girls4me]

Perhaps listen to some of these podcasts and learn from their example.

 

https://www.circeinstitute.org/podcasts/close-reads

 

Also - center for lit has some great resources.

 

http://www.centerforlit.com

 

 

This is assuming I am understanding what you are talking about :)

[klmama]

Double post

Edited April 21, 2017 by klmama

[klmama]

Double post.

Edited April 21, 2017 by klmama

[klmama]

Windows to the World includes close reading instruction.

[katilac]

My kids and I all enjoyed The Art of Reading dvds from The Great Courses. 

 

Like Sebastian, we mix it up. We don't closely read and analyze every work. I've never really tracked how often we purposefully use the skill, I just try to make sure we're doing it every so often. 

 

It goes by various names, so the term close reading may be new to you, but it's a very old skill that is routinely taught and used in school and college. Literary analysis is probably more familiar; just think of close reading as the type of reading you have to do in order to analyze the text. 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I forgot to come back and say thanks to everyone who replied!

 

It goes by various names, so the term close reading may be new to you, but it's a very old skill that is routinely taught and used in school and college. Literary analysis is probably more familiar; just think of close reading as the type of reading you have to do in order to analyze the text. 

 

 

OK, this sort of sums up what I was starting to think. Earlier on when I started looking into this, I came across a resource that literally picked apart every individual word of a short passage, and that threw me for a loop. I can't imagine making my students analyze a text word by single word, but the literary analysis/annotation that I've been planning all along sounds pretty close to what everyone here is talking about. Whew!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Windows to the World includes close reading instruction.

 

 

That's actually what we're going to be using starting in mid-June, so I'm glad to hear that's what we're talking about here  :thumbup1:

[winterbaby]

I guess it depends on whether it literally means "reading closely" or the public school paradigm of forcing every text through a particular rubric. I have bad memories of being forced to go through great works of literature with multiple colors of highlighter, basically color coding the whole text for various grammatical structures and literary devices, rather than just reading it. That approach would go better for non-fiction, but even there, to scaffold reading comprehension I think it's probably better to just have a broad range of experiences with texts of gradually increasing difficulty, so that comprehension of the higher levels comes about naturally. I'm also sensitive to how marking up a text reduces its future usefulness and attractiveness. On the other hand, sometimes it is necessary to take notes and it's good to know what kind of information to pull out. As long as the student's not being evaluated on their use of the apparatus rather than on their mastery of the content.

Edited April 26, 2017 by winterbaby

[Janeway]

When I was in school, Socratic discussion was used. Here, in the public schools, they just read and take tests and highlight text. It is rather, in my opinion, does nothing for the students. A waste of time.