Going Deep Really Matters
Close Reading is an instructional strategy to use to allow students to look deeply at the text and create new ways of thinking. Pam Allyn (2013, p. 102) discusses her top five bid ideas about Close Reading:
Allyn (2013) also describes close reading through a text tree. "The solid trunk is the place you cast your reading eye first. You read down the lines of that tree, perceiving at least something about its age and its history. Now, it is only in your min'd eye that you can envision the roots. They represent history and culture and deep underpinnings that caused the text to grow(p. 103)." Close Reading - A Celebration of Qualitative Features of Text |
Allyn (2013) describes close reading in a way where students are increasing their capacity for reading at higher levels, nurturing deeper understanding through the text using a variety of lenses (p. 105). She states, "In order to go deep into a text, readers must understand how a text can be broken down (p. 105)." She describes close reading through the following lenses:
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Questions to Guide Close Reading Through Multiple Lenses
Allyn (2013) provides guiding questions to help teach each lens in the text (p. 105-107)
The Personal Lens
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The Linguistic Lens
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The Semantic Lens
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The Analytical Lens
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The Context Lens
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The Metaphoric Lens
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The Critical Lens
- What does the author do well in supporting his or her theme?
- How does the author help you connect to the characters?
- Compare this text to another text. What do they have in common?
- Do you like this text? Why or why not?