By Lindsay Flood 2013
*3 Close Reading Posters {What is CLOSE READING?, Why do I CLOSE READ?, and HOW do I CLOSE READ?} *Close Reading Introductory Activity Idea *Steps to Close Reading mini-posters {for students to add to their reading notebooks or folders} *2 samples of close reading, text labeling and use of text-based evidence graphic organizers *6 REALLY CREEPY original nonfiction articles {Lexile Ranges: 970-1050} *12 text-specific text based evidence graphic organizers to use with EACH of the 6 REALLY CREEPY articles **BONUS: 7 text based evidence graphic organizers to use with ANY of these REALLY CREEPY articles Have a SUPER CREEPY time reading these articles!
Cities of the Dead {970 Lexile} Haunted House: Fact or Fiction?{1110 Lexile} Our Blood {1000 Lexile} Pumpkin Guts {1050 Lexile} Spooky Spiders {1050 Lexile} Vampire Bats {1030 Lexile}
Sample of CLOSE READING
Sample of CLOSE READING
Sample of CLOSE READING
Sample of CLOSE READING
Understanding the purpose of the text Understanding what the author is saying Understanding the text structure Understanding what the author is doing with the words
Read once for pleasure Number each paragraph Then, re-read and label the important text Read the paragraphs in chunks Underline and Circle key ideas for a specific purpose Talk-back to the text
To learn new information To allow the information to stick in my brain To dig deeper into the text To find text-based evidence for answers To get-to-know the text To expand my thinking
Close Reading Activity: An Introduction to Close Reading 1) Give each student an Oreo cookie (or any cookie) 2) Tell the students that as soon as they get it, they can eat it. 3) After the students have all eaten their cookie, ask them, What did you just eat? Their response will be, An Oreo, or A cookie. 4) Record their responses on the board. 5) Then, tell the students this time they will get another Oreo, but to not do ANYTHING but look at the cookie until you tell them further directions. 6) After all students get a second cookie, then instruct the students to pick up the cookies and look at both sides, and to feel it with their hands. (They will probably look at you like you are nuts!) 7) Then, have the students close their eyes and tell them to take one bite of their cookie and to slowly chew the cookie, focusing on what they felt, the taste, the texture. 8) Then, with their eyes closed, have the students finish their cookie, savoring each bite. 9) After the students finish their second cookie, have the class answer these questions and record their answers on the board: What was the texture? What are some of the ingredients? What was your favorite part? What do you think makes this cookie so unique? Why is an Oreo different than other cookies? How did the Oreo feel in your mouth when you bit/chewed/swallowed? 10) After all the students have answered then explain how many times we read things and we just read them, without getting to know the book, or talking back to the text. 11) The first time you ate the Oreo, you just ate it, without really thinking about it. 12) The second time you ate it, it focused more on the experience, what it tasted like, etc. and you really got to know the Oreo. This is what Close Reading is; getting to know every aspect of a text.
Steps to Close Reading Read the text once for pleasure (if time allows) Number each paragraph Chunk your paragraphs {Read no more than 3 paragraphs at a time} Circle key terms about the topic Underline key ideas or important statements about the topic of the text Talk-back to the chunks by summarizing in 10 words or less what you just read in the left margin Dig Deeper in each chunk by finding out what the author is doing with the information and talk-back in the right margin Steps to Close Reading Read the text once for pleasure (if time allows) Number each paragraph Chunk your paragraphs {Read no more than 3 paragraphs at a time} Circle key terms about the topic Underline key ideas or important statements about the topic of the text Talk-back to the chunks by summarizing in 10 words or less what you just read in the left margin Dig Deeper in each chunk by finding out what the author is doing with the information and talk-back in the right margin
970L Cities of the Dead By Lindsay Flood Louisiana is known for many things; Saints Football, Mardi Gras, red beans and rice and even their cemeteries. Most cemeteries around the United States have burial plots below ground. However, Louisiana has a rare, and strange situation that creates what are commonly known as Cities of the Dead. Many years ago when Louisiana was first founded, a problem arose amongst the dead. Because the majority of Southern Louisiana s land is below sea level, whenever a hurricane or heavy rain occurs, the soil is quickly saturated and inevitably floods. Whenever the dead were buried, once the ground below the bodies got completely saturated, the caskets would pop up out of the ground. For many reasons, this was a problem. Not only was it not safe for dead bodies to be floating around in the land of the living, but it was quite frightening. Citizens of Louisiana came up with several solutions to this problem. First, they tried to weigh down the caskets with heavy rocks, but the water was overpowering and the caskets continued to float to the top. Next, they decided to bore holes in the caskets so that the water would seep through the casket, and weigh down the body that way. Unfortunately, that wasn t successful either. They needed a better solution. They desperately wanted their family members to rest in peace. Soon, families decided to build above ground crypts for their deceased loved ones. The tombs usually resemble small concrete buildings with a door. Some tombs are surrounded by rusty iron gates or religious statues. Today, families all over Louisiana refer to these cemeteries as Cities of the Dead. The crypts are closely built, and usually house several dead bodies in each tomb. Most recently during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many above ground graves and cemeteries in the New Orleans area were destroyed. Also, several caskets were found floating that were buried underground centuries before. Next time you are in Louisiana, stop by a City of the Dead. But be sure not to move in so quickly.
Cities of the Dead: Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Vivacious Vocabulary {Find these words in the text and circle them.} Key Term Write the sentence it s in: What are 2 Clue Words in or around the Key Term: This word means: saturate bore crypt Language Lingo {Find this sentence in the text and underline it.} Many years ago when Louisiana was first founded, a problem arose amongst the dead. Is this statement literal or figurative? Explain your thinking: What is the author s purpose of including this information?
Daring Details Cities of the Dead: Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Paragraph # 2 Key Details The author wants me to mainly know: 3 5 Sensational Structure {Reread paragraphs #2-5} What is the text structure of these 4 paragraphs? What key words from the paragraphs helped you determine this: Chunk paragraphs #2-5 in a summary statement of 10-15 words:
1110L Haunted Houses: Fact or Fiction? By Lindsay Flood Zombies, ghosts and haunted mansions; are these things real? If you ask some people, they would most definitely say YES! However, there are quite a few skeptics that don t believe in the realm of the supernatural. People that claim to have had encounters with ghostly beings usually have had these experiences in what are commonly known as haunted houses. Old, run down homes, barns or buildings are usually the dwelling places for these ghostly beings. When people try to locate ghosts in haunted houses, they use several different high-tech devices to try and prove their theory to be truth. With the use of night vision glasses, special electromagnetic wands, radars and super hi-definition cameras, ghost hunters seek to capture a small glimpse, and hopefully a video or two of an orb, or ghostly figure, from the paranormal world. For those that choose to believe in the paranormal, it s because of specific experiences or a longing to meet up again with a loved one or friend. Or, simply for the historical value of the haunted home. People from all over the world seek to encounter paranormal activity for several reasons. One, for the thrill of it. It s daring and brave to encounter a being of a different world. Also, it s considered rare to experience such a spooky treat or would it be a trick? However, there are many people that say houses are not haunted and could never be haunted. Skeptics of ghostly beings and haunted mansions simply say there s always a reason to not believe in such superstitious and ridiculous ideas. For example, if there is a loud creak or bang for no known reason, it could just be an hold home s foundation settling, which is completely normal. Also, if there happens to be a photograph or video that supposedly proves paranormal activity, the doubter simply offers the idea of a blur in the picture s development, or a spec of dust that caught the sunlight at a strange, but coincidental angle. Finally, they completely disagree with the existence of a haunting because of religious beliefs. Just as there are ghost hunters that search out the world of the unknown, there are people that try and scientifically prove that ghosts are simply not real. So, what do you believe? BOO decide for BOOself!
Haunted Houses: Fact or Fiction? Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Vivacious Vocabulary {Find these words in the text and circle them.} Key Term Write the sentence it s in: What are 2 Clue Words in or around the Key Term: This word means: skeptics dwellings encounter Language Lingo {Find this sentence in the text and underline it.} Also, it s considered rare to experience such a spooky treat or would it be a trick? What is the author saying in this statement? Explain your thinking. What does this say about the author s opinion of haunted houses?
Daring Details Haunted Houses: Fact or Fiction? Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Paragraph # 2 Key Details The author wants me to mainly know: 2 5 Sensational Structure {Skim and scan the passage again.} What is the text structure of this text? What key words or phrases from the text helped you determine this: Chunk paragraphs #2-4 in a summary statement of 10-15 words:
Our Blood By Lindsay Flood What s red and white and liquidy all over? If you guessed blood, then you are correct. Every living human contains this life giving element, and without it, our bodies could not function properly. How is Blood Made? The last time I pulled out my cookbook, I didn t see a recipe for how to make blood. Interestingly enough, we all have the exact ingredients needed to produce blood. Our amazing body produces its own blood in the bone marrow, the spongy inner core of everyone s bones. It takes four very important elements to make your body s blood: red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma and platelets. Each one of these components are specific and important to the health and survival of our bodies. The Blood Brigade The first very important member of the blood is red blood cells. They are important because they carry oxygen all throughout our bodies to each vital organ. White blood cells help our bodies to fight disease and infection. When our bodies are sick, these little soldiers go into action and fight off the germs that try and bring our immune system down. Plasma is a really cool part of the blood that carries important proteins, hormones and nutrients to our body to make us strong, healthy and allows our bodies to grow. The final components that makes up our body s blood are platelets. Whenever you fall and scrape your knee, tiny platelets jump into action to start creating a scab to keep out infection, and to start the healing process of your body. What s Your Type? It s interesting to know that not everyone has the same type of blood. There are eight different types of blood. There is no specific type of blood that is better or worse than the other. Each person s blood type depends on certain proteins that your body is born with. The eight types of blood are: A positive, A negative, B positive, B negative, O positive, O negative, AB positive and AB negative. The positive and negative simply means if you are positive for having a specific type of protein in your body or not. It s not a good thing, or a bad thing, it s just a unique quality in each specific person. The most common blood type is O positive. If you are O positive or negative, you can donate to other blood types too. Blood Bank If a person is in need of blood because of an illness or a large loss of blood, they will receive a blood transfusion. That means that they will receive blood from a donor. If people donate their blood, they go to what is called a Blood Bank, where they store blood for people that need it. When you donate blood, your body quickly begins the process of producing more. Each person contains 1 to 1 ½ gallons of blood at all times. However, it s important that each person receives the correct type of blood. If someone knows they have an O blood type, they are encouraged to donate their blood if their bodies are healthy and strong enough. 1000L
Our Blood Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Vivacious Vocabulary {Find these words in the text and circle them.} Key Term Write the sentence it s in: What are 2 Clue Words in or around the Key Term: This word means: produce transfusion components Language Lingo {Reread the subheading Blood Brigade and its section.} Get a dictionary. What does the word brigade mean? **Go back to that section. Highlight any words or phrases that are similar to the meaning of the word brigade.** Why does the author use this heading Blood Brigade for this section of information?
Daring Details Our Blood Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Paragraph # 2 Key Details The author wants me to mainly know: 2 4 Sensational Structure {Skim and scan the passage again.} What is the text structure of this text? Explain your thinking: Chunk paragraphs #4-5 in a summary statement of 10 words or less:
1050L Pumpkin Guts By Lindsay Flood Imagine this: A cool breeze blows through the night air, the stars are glowing against an eery midnight sky. Children hurry and scurry to and fro from porch to porch, as the dim light from a Jack-o-Lantern casts a crooked smiled into the darkness. Now, go back to the Jack-o-Lantern. Have you ever stopped to think, How did this Jack grow into the beautiful pumpkin it is today? Before this glowing Halloween symbol was carved and hollowed out, its glorious, gooey guts defined who it would be on such a magical children s night. Even though we see pumpkins come out in cooler weather, it takes warm weather and soil to produce such a lovely gourd. Pumpkins are planted in the late spring, to early summer, depending on what part of the country they are grown in. Once a pumpkin seed is planted in the ground, the moisture of the soil starts to seep in through the outer shell of the seed, and it begins germinating. Once this happens, the shell of the seed opens, and the pumpkin begins to grow. Like all other plants, the roots are the life line of the pumpkin. Once the seed pops out of its shell, tiny hair-like roots start to push downward into the soil. The roots collect nutrients and water that starts to feed the plant. Soon, a tiny sprout with two leaves pops up from the soil to begin the process of photosynthesis. During its growing season, the pumpkin s roots will spread throughout the ground and produce more leaves and vines above the ground. As the pumpkin plant matures, medium sized yellow and white flowers will pop up on the leaves. This means that the pumpkin fruit, what we know as the beautiful orange decorations in the fall, will soon be growing from this plant. When the pumpkin fruit first begins to grow, it will be a tiny green gourd. As it grows larger, depending on what type of pumpkin was planted, it will grow into the pumpkins that we love. Eventually, all the flowers will have fallen off the vine, and pumpkins will replace the leaves and flowers. Inside each pumpkin are lots of pumpkin seeds. The seeds can be planted for other pumpkin plants, or be roasted for a delicious fall snack. The next time you see a Jack-o- Lantern, thank its guts. They make the difference.
Pumpkin Guts Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Vivacious Vocabulary {Find these words in the text and circle them.} Key Term Write the sentence it s in: What are 2 Clue Words in or around the Key Term: This word means: nutrients germinating matures Language Lingo {Find this sentence in the text and underline it.} Before this glowing Halloween symbol was carved and hollowed out, its glorious, gooey guts defined who it would be on such a magical children s night. What form of figurative language is underlined in this sentence? Why do you think the author included this phrase? How does it affect the way you read the sentence?
Daring Details Pumpkin Guts Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Paragraph # 2 Key Details The author wants me to mainly know: 4 7 Sensational Structure {Skim and scan the passage again.} What is the text structure of this text? Explain your thinking: Chunk paragraphs #4-6 in a summary statement of 10-15 words:
1050L By Lindsay Flood When you think about spiders, what is your first thought? Gross? Scary? Beautiful? Spooky? Regardless of what your ideas are about these creatures, spiders are here to stay; particularly in dark, creepy corners. A spider belongs to the largest group in the animal kingdom, arthropods. Within this animal kingdom, a spider falls into the category of an arachnid. Arachnids are animals that have eight legs, two body segments, they don t have wings or antennae and they can t chew their food. Other famous spooky arachnids are ticks and scorpions. Currently, there are over 30,000 species of spiders known to creep and scurry all over this planet! Spiders carry their homes with them. They create their homes using a special silk from their abdomen out of openings called spinnerets. When the spider first releases its silk, the silk is in liquid form. However, once it hits the air, it turns into what looks like thin thread. The thread has a sticky coating that allows it to adhere to each other, and to whatever surface the spider is building its home on. The web serves several purposes for a spider. First, it is its home. When a spider comes down from it s web, it stays attached by creating what is known as a dragline, a rope like silk thread that serves as a ladder for the spider to make its way back to its web. Also, the web s sticky substance allows for insects and flies to stick to the web for the spider s food. Spiders are predators, they hunt for their food. Sometimes spiders wait patiently for the right juicy fly to land on their web, or sometimes, they pounce on their unsuspecting prey. However, spiders don t ever take a big juicy bite out of their meal. They don t chew their food. When a spider is ready to chow down, it wraps its prey in its thread, injects the prey with a poisonous venom that turns the inside of the bug into liquid, and it sucks the bug juice out for a delicious, slurpy meal. Some spiders even squirt the venom on the body of the insect and it turns to liquid as well. As spooky as spiders can be to humans, these little creatures can also sometimes be spooked themselves. Even though spiders are predators, they can also be prey to larger animals. Spiders steer clear of many birds, frogs, lizards and even monkeys. Ironically, one of the spider s most feared enemies is the wasp. The wasp can sting and paralyze the spider, making it a quick and easy meal for any wasp family.
Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Vivacious Vocabulary {Find these words in the text and circle them.} Key Term Write the sentence it s in: What are 2 Clue Words in or around the Key Term: This word means: adhere silk pounce Language Lingo {Find this sentence in the text and underline it.} Regardless of what your ideals are about these creatures, spiders are here to stay; particularly in dark, creepy corners. Why do you think the author included this phrase? As the reader, what mood does this phrase create for you?
Daring Details Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Paragraph # 2 Key Details The author wants me to mainly know: 2 6 Sensational Structure {Skim and scan the passage again.} What is the text structure of this text? Explain your thinking: Chunk paragraphs #6-7 in a summary statement of 10-15 words:
1030L By Lindsay Flood Dracula is one of the most infamous vampire characters known. He wears a black cape, has long, sharp fangs and sucks the blood of unwilling humans. Vampire bats also have sharp fangs and suck blood to survive. However, they don t usually wear a cape to do so. Vampire bats are native to South America and Mexico. They prefer warmer climates to live in. Vampire bats are the only mammal that can fly. They live and travel in colonies, or groups of at least 100 bats. Sometimes their colonies can be as large as 1,000 bats! These mammals are nocturnal creatures that live and sleep in deep, dark caves and come out in pitch black of the night to hunt their unsuspecting prey. When a vampire bat finds a delicious treat to snack on, it lands closely and quietly to its prey. When it gets close enough, it jumps onto the prey, and sinks its tiny, sharp teeth into the creature. It punctures the skin of the animal, and sometimes unlucky human, sucking the blood for its meal. Because blood is its only source of nutrition, it sucks on its prey for about 30 minutes. The vampire bat does carry disease, and many times, the animal that is bitten by the bat gets nasty infections and very sick. The wounds generally heal quickly, but if the bat is carrying a disease, the animal may end up dying anyway. As frightening as their name sounds, vampire bats are warm blooded creatures that care for their young. The baby bats don t drink blood at first, but they nurse from their mother. They cling tightly to her for the first three months of their lives as she flies and searches for her prey. Because of vampire bats, most other bats have received negative raps. However, there is no fear of other bats. In fact, they are usually more scared of us than we are of them.
Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Vivacious Vocabulary {Find these words in the text and circle them.} Key Term Write the sentence it s in: What are 2 Clue Words in or around the Key Term: This word means: infamous unsuspecting punctures Language Lingo {Reread paragraph #} Underline the use of sarcasm in this paragraph. Why do you think the author included this phrase? As the reader, what mood does this phrase create for you?
Daring Details Text Based Evidence by Close Reading Paragraph # 2 Key Details The author wants me to mainly know: 4 5 Sensational Structure {Skim and scan the passage again.} What is the text structure of this text? Explain your thinking: Chunk paragraphs #2-4 in a summary statement of 10-15 words:
Finding Text Based Evidence While Close Reading Article Title: 3 Main Points in the Text: What text evidence supports that Point #1 Important? 1) What text evidence supports that Point #2 Important? 2) 3) What text evidence supports that Point #3 Important?
Finding Text Based Evidence While Close Reading Article Title: Difficult Word How is it used in the article? What context clues helped you the most? What does the word mean?
Finding Text Based Evidence While Close Reading Article Title: Paragraph # What is the main idea of this paragraph? 1) 2 Supporting Details 2) 1) 2) 1) 2)
Finding Text Based Evidence While Close Reading Article Title: Paragraphs Chunked Write a summary of these paragraphs in 10 words or less. What is the author saying to me, the reader, in these paragraphs?
F inding Text Based Evidence While Close Reading Article Title: Paragraph # Most important Detail What is the author doing in this paragraph? 2 Key terms or phrases in this paragraph 1) 2) 1) 2) 1) 2)
Finding Text Based Evidence While Close Reading Article Title: My thinking The text says
Finding Text Based Evidence While Close Reading Article Title: Topic of the Article: My thinking about this Topic: My NEW thinking based on evidence from the text My NEW thinking based on evidence from the text
Thank you for purchasing this from my store! Every time you purchase something from my store, you help support our adoption from Ethiopia! Graphics PRIMARY POLKA DOTS CLIP ART {ME!, TpT}, Creative Clips Krista Walden {TpT& TN}, Mycutegraphics.com & The Teacher Wife {TpT} Ashley Hughes {TpT} Fonts Kevin & Amanda, Sweet Fonts {Sandra Matamadas TpT}, Miss Tina, CC Fonts Cara Carroll {TpT} & KG Fonts {TpT CU Licenses Purchased} Questions? Comments? Lindsay Flood lindsaydflood@gmail.com