Fostering Close Reading through Effective Instructional Decisions

1. Fostering Close Reading through Effective Instructional Decisions Allowing complex texts to drive decision-makingBy Kasha Hayes

2. Warm-up: Excerpts from Two Complex Texts Directions: • Read the excerpts from the two complex texts (Their Eyes were Watching God and Jane Eyre) located on the participant’s handout • As you read, annotate for evidence of characterization for the main character in each text (Janie and Jane, respectively) Turn and Talk: • What did you annotate? What did your table partners annotate?

3. Essential Questions • How do complex texts drive instructional planning decisions? • How do instructional planning decisions focused on intended student learning facilitate close readings of complex texts?

4. Learning Outcomes Participants will be able to: • explain the instructional decisions behind and the components of the model CCSS lesson • experience a portion of the model lesson and examine instructional decisions through various lenses (teacher and student) • prioritize instructional decisions to facilitate student learning and close reading of a new complex text • reflect on model lesson for applicability to other complex texts 

5. Agenda • Warm-Up • Session Outcomes and essential questions • Rationale for close reading • Process of instructional decision making • Preview model lesson • Experiential learning and reflection • Prioritize and reflect on instructional decisions with new complex text • Closing/Review Objectives/Feedback Form

6. Rationale for Close Reading Common Core Shifts for ELA/Literacy • Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction • Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational • Regular practice with complex text and its academic language Achievethecore.org

7. Instructional Decision Making A few things to consider: • What is your intended student learning? How will that learning help students work towards mastery of a standard? • How many times do you need to read the text (or portions of the text) in order to reach the intended student learning? • What does the text demand of students? Focus on Tier 2 academic vocabulary words? Unpacking syntax? Text-dependent questions and discussion? • What else do your students need in order to come away with your intended student learning?

8. Preview lesson As you read the lesson… • Note the complexity of the text • Review Standards addressed • Consider the Culminating question (students must use evidence from reading in order to answer it) • Purpose for reading Turn and Talk – How do these things help focus students to read more closely?

9. Experiential Learning • For the next 10 minutes, participate in the model lesson. Consider your reactions as both a teacher and as a student

10. Reflection Turn and Talk • What happened to you while you participated? • What would happen with your students? • How does this mode of instruction support the work with CCSS? • How would these text-dependent questions support the intended student learning? • How did the text drive the lesson? • How does the lesson support the identified standard? • Share out

11. Prioritizing Instructional Decisions • Practice with Jane Eyre • With your table partners, reread the excerpt from Jane Eyre. • Next, prioritize CCSS-aligned instructional tasks you would use facilitate additional close reading. • Remember, the text should drive your instructional decisions. What choices will help your students work towards mastery of the standard?

12. Reflection • Share out • What tasks did you select? What is the rationale behind your selections? • How will your tasks facilitate the intended student learning? • How are your tasks linked to mastery of the standard?

13. Closing and Feedback Form • Please take a few minutes to fill out your feedback form. • Thanks for your participation!