If you look at my original close reading post, you’ll see I was basically using the phrase “close reading” to refer to annotation. It took me a year or more to realize that I was saying one buzzwordy thing to mean a lot of explicit, less confusing things that readers do when grappling with a […]
close reading
There and Back Again: My Journey with Gallagher’s Article of the Week Assignment
Before the Common Core were a twinkle in David Coleman’s eye, Kelly introduced an assignment into his classroom called article of the week. In the assignment, students read complex informational texts and responded to them in writing. That writing was nearly always a blend of the explanatory and argumentative modes, and it often culminated with a discussion of the issues […]
Here’s What I Know about Reading for Meaning Statements
If you used any of the articles of the week I posted this year (just to be clear, Kelly Gallagher is the originator of the Article of the Week strategy), you definitely noticed some changes to the format. I’ve written elsewhere about why I use Graff/Birkenstein’s They Say/I Say strategy with AoWs (here and here), but I […]
Discussions that Promote Societal Belonging
They are a recurring nightmare in the United States, a horrifying symptom of some dysfunction in our culture. In the past six months, victims have been theater-goers, Sikh worshipers, and now first graders. A big part of me hates writing this post, instead wanting simply to admire and affirm Jim Burke’s noble call to continue the […]
Close Reading, the Common Core, and a Freaking Awesome Prezi
I don’t know about your district, but in mine we have a leading contender for Buzzword of the Year: close reading. So what is this mystical act? And, like too many buzzwords, is it mere hogwash? Or could there be awesomeness contained within it? [Please note that, contrary to journalistic common sense, I am saving […]