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Dave Stuart Jr.

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Reading

An Obituary for Close Reading

June 17, 2014 By Dave Stuart Jr. 40 Comments

Close reading, one of the most ubiquitous terms of the Common Core literacy era, passed away yesterday evening. Ironically, its death is mourned by the very teachers (myself included), administrators, coaches, consultants, and authors who killed it through overuse. In its final hours, close reading lay on its deathbed and reflected on its meteoric rise to stardom and similarly rapid decline […]

Why I Use the Article of the Week in My Elective Classes

March 24, 2014 By Dave Stuart Jr. Leave a Comment

(Note from Dave: Heidi Bonnema calls herself a “baby teacher,” but this is more a testament to her humility than it is to her skill level. I’m honored to call her, not just a colleague, but a friend. If you follow Teaching the Core’s article of the week list, you’ll have noticed that, lately, the articles […]

What Texts Does the Common Core REQUIRE Students to Read?

October 30, 2013 By Dave Stuart Jr. Leave a Comment

Although the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are rife with suggested texts and text types, there are several parenthetical remarks within the grade-specific reading standards that aren’t examples; they are to be included. Required titles RI.11-12.9 — that is, the ninth standard within the Reading Informational texts strand for grades 11 and 12 — is […]

Can a text be inherently worth reading, even if it wilts your soul?

October 3, 2013 By Dave Stuart Jr. 14 Comments

Calling all readers! Bring your friends, bring your students, and answer this simple question in the comments. (This is a great warm-up activity for your students, by the way.) Do you agree with the following statement? “If some curriculum guide you were handed says ‘This Text Was Deemed To Be ‘Close Reading Worthy’ but you […]

A Non-Freaked Out, Focused Approach to the Common Core — Part 3 — Close Reading

April 18, 2013 By Dave Stuart Jr. 35 Comments

Update from Dave: Welcome to one of the most popular posts on the blog. This post is kind of old and doesn’t reflect my latest thinking, so let me point you toward some more recent things I’ve written in case you’re curious: An Obituary for Close Reading Moving Forward with Close Reading Purposeful Annotation: A […]

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