Roles of Readers in Close Reading Infographic

The Common Core State Standards have put close reading in the spotlight as never before. While middle and high school teachers want and need students to connect with, analyze, and learn from both literary and informational texts, many are unsure how to foster the skills students must have in order to develop deep and nuanced understanding of complicated content.

Equipping students with the tools and process of close reading sets them on the road to becoming analytical and critical thinkers—and empowered and independent learners. Here's a look at the different roles of readers in the close reading process:

The Code Breaker

Readers decode the text. Young readers must understand the alphabetic principle and that the sounds of language are associated with the symbols in a text.

Text Critic

Readers critically evaluate text, understanding that the author is attempting to position readers to consider an issue from a specific vantage point.

Meaning Maker

Readers create meaning from the text, understanding that it brings a message from the author. They also leverage their background knowledge to understand and appreciate the text.

Learn more about the role of the close reader, as well as the role of the teacher in close reading in the ASCD books:

Literacy experts Barbara Moss, Diane Lapp, Maria Grant, and Kelly Johnson explain how to teach students to be close readers, how to make close reading a habit of practice across the content areas, and why doing so will build content knowledge.

Informed by the authors’ extensive field experience and enriched by dozens of real-life scenarios and downloadable tools and templates, these books explore:

Text complexity and how to determine if a particular text is right for your learning purposes and your students.
The process and purpose of close reading, with an emphasis on its role in developing the 21st century thinking, speaking, and writing skills essential for academic communication and college and career readiness.
How to plan, teach, and manage close reading sessions across the academic disciplines, including the kinds of questions to ask, texts to use, and supports to provide.
How to assess close reading and help all students—regardless of linguistic, cultural, or academic background—connect deeply with what they read and derive meaning from complex texts.

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Via: http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/close-reading-resources.aspx