Close reading???

[Allearia]

Aside from the obvious, I'm assuming reading slowly and trying to get every bit of meaning out of it, how is it different from what we now do? It seems like the latest buzzword. Is this something worthwhile to read about? I love reading about education, so I'm sure I would enjoy reading about it, but if the concept isn't going to add anything to our school day I would rather read other stuff about teaching or the subjects I am attempting to teach this year.

[Ellie]

Aside from the obvious, I'm assuming reading slowly and trying to get every bit of meaning out of it, how is it different from what we now do? It seems like the latest buzzword. Is this something worthwhile to read about? I love reading about education, so I'm sure I would enjoy reading about it, but if the concept isn't going to add anything to our school day I would rather read other stuff about teaching or the subjects I am attempting to teach this year.

 

I've never heard of it.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

(bias alert) These are public school methods that one uses to help make up for having learned to read with sight words, and to cope with having to learn most of one's other subjects with frantically arranged and illogical textbooks. 

 

Tip -- If you ever want to understand a public school teaching method, google it with the word "strategies" attached. :p

 

For little kids:

http://www.rec9nm.org/filestore/regionixclosereading_092012.pdf

 

For middle-sized kids:

http://www.syracusecityschools.com/tfiles/folder716/ELA-Grade06-Unit01-CloseReadingStrategyToolKit.pdf

 

For big kids:

http://iteachicoachiblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/five-simple-close-reading-strategies.html

 

In my experience and (obviously totally biased) opinion, none of this stuff is necessary in a homeschool setting. We get to teach our children to read properly, and we get to provide them with classic works of ever-increasing difficulty which we discuss with them as they read. We can tell through time-honored methods such as narration whether the comprehension and analysis skills are really there or whether we need to explain or train more, beforehand. We can use pre-reading methods (such as looking out for particularly troublesome new vocabulary words, or explaining a little about the context before beginning) without making a major production of it.

 

 

[Allearia]

Thanks! I love reading new teaching ideas but this sounds like it wouldn't be worth my time to read. I have been checking out Amazon for lesson planning resources and I am seeing a hundred books about close reading come up. I think I got enough about it reading the short links.

(bias alert) These are public school methods that one uses to help make up for having learned to read with sight words, and to cope with having to learn most of one's other subjects with frantically arranged and illogical textbooks.

 

 

 

I associate the term "close reading" with college-level lit crit, especially with poetry:  parsing every word, checking the OED for alternative definitions, thinking about author's word choices, style and syntax, etc.  I'm not sure there's much place for it in primary education.

[ElizabethB]

I associate the term "close reading" with college-level lit crit, especially with poetry: parsing every word, checking the OED for alternative definitions, thinking about author's word choices, style and syntax, etc. I'm not sure there's much place for it in primary education.

Worse than not much place for it...it encourages guessing and is part of the move away from phonics and towards whole word teaching.

[Orthodox6]

More likely, I shall muddy the issue by asking if OP is referring to "cloze reading".  (I'm only tangentially aware of "cloze reading", and never have heard of "close reading" -- but I am decades removed from knowing what transpires in public schools other than what I hear about the idiotic tests required in Texas over the years.)

 

https://www.gallaudet.edu/Documents/Academic/CLAST/EnglishWorks/Reading%20Cloze%20Procedure.pdf

[ElizabethB]

More likely, I shall muddy the issue by asking if OP is referring to "cloze reading".  (I'm only tangentially aware of "cloze reading", and never have heard of "close reading" -- but I am decades removed from knowing what transpires in public schools other than what I hear about the idiotic tests required in Texas over the years.)

 

https://www.gallaudet.edu/Documents/Academic/CLAST/EnglishWorks/Reading%20Cloze%20Procedure.pdf

 

Cloze reading was what I was voting against and what I assumed the OP meant.

[City Mouse]

"Close Reading" is a technique that has come about as a part of Common Core (not a specific standard, but more like a strategy). My DS's online public school has incorporated this into the LA curriculum.

 

It involves rereading a passage several times, and looking for specific things with each reading. For strong readers with good comprehension skills, it does seem a bit over overkill, but for students who are not as strong in reading skills, it has some benefits (at least as far as public school goes). This year, the curriculum takes several days on one reading passage to include all the rereading. Last year, he had every day or two he had a new passage, and it was a struggle just to keep up. I ended up reading most of the passages to him(has dyslexia). With the slower pace and the repeated readings, he reading skills are improving. By covering a smaller volume of material, he is able to focus more on the topic or goal of the lesson instead of feeling like we were just rushing through for the sake of quantity.

 

That being said, I don't know that a homeschooled student working at their own pace would even needed to worry about Close Reading.

[Minerva]

My understanding is that Close Reading is very careful, systematic reading. It is really contemplating and discussing word usage, passages, recurring themes. I think in some instances it is a valuable tool. I don't imagine you would want to do with with every book (or even every passage), but maybe something that is over your dc's head, a complex poem, something with difficult language. This is more than just careful reading, it is a deep discussion of why the words were used, how they were used, that will hopefully lead to deeper understanding of the work and heightened comprehension. It really means just take your time and discuss carefully, something many homeschoolers already do.