Close Reading and the Reading of Complex Text Are Not the Same Thing

Thank you for writing this! I can confirm that close reads and text complexity are not the same thing! I am a special education teacher in a fourth grade inclusion classroom and we do close reading passages every week. The students must read the passage and then answer questions about the passage. These questions include high level inference questions to promote a higher order of thinking, interpreting what they have read and therefor conveying a true understanding of what the author was trying to communicate. It goes even deeper but you get the idea. As you point out text complexity deals more with the different layers of a text that can make it more complex or rich such as the vocabulary choice, how it’s organized, the tome of the piece and so on just as you mentioned. While I can certainly tie into the text complexity of a close read, they are in fact two different things. I look to text complexity when deciding what my student should read, what text will be just right for them, meaning not so difficult that they will not be able to comprehend what they are reading but challenging enough that they will grow form being exposed to it. Therefore I look at the text complexity of the piece; I am looking for the sweet spot do to speak. Dr. Mesmer Virginia Tech University and Sarah Brown Wessling have both researched and written extensively on the issue of text complexity. You echo what they both have found.

1/23/16

When I first heard of close reading and text complexity, I was confused as to how the two relate, but after having the opportunity to engage in collegiate visits with a close reading and complex text lesson with grade 1, I found it so interesting that with a close read, emerging readers were learning to have thoughtful discussions about inference, predictions, and vocabulary. The close read was with a book by Brian Lies, Bats at the Beach, whose books have wonderful illustrations and rich, vibrant vocabulary. Another researcher on Close Reading and Comprehension, Dr. Nancy Boyles, emphasizes the same principles as Shanahan, in regard to text complexity. During my visit to grade 1, the teacher emphasized the first read in a close reading was for enjoyment; then, the following lessons focused in on re-reading a passage, examining vocabulary, and student/teacher discussions. I loved the fact that the first reading was based on enjoyment, because the ultimate goal is to foster a love and appreciation of reading, with the goal of leading students to use learned strategies in their independent reading with increased comprehension. 1/24/16

As a 6th grade ELA resource/inclusion teacher, I am constantly looking for strategies to improve my student's comprehension skills. The one thing that stood out to me was that Shanahan discussed teaching a strategy through scaffolding. Often times, I think teacher at the middle school level expect students to already possess the strategies needed to comprehend a text; however, this is not the case (and I'm not just referring to students with special needs). I think as educators we have to remember that any strategy we teach students to use will be best learned through scaffolding. We can't expect students to learn and use a strategy taught in a lesson one day the very next day, at least not effectively. I also think Shanahan makes a good point about using a variety of texts. I think students needs exposure to a variety of genres, media formats, and text structures. Although, this blog was directed at grades 3-5, I was able to relate to many aspects of the post.

1/24/16

I am so happy I found your blog, I have been reading your posts and am learning so much.

I have been doing close reading with my first graders and also accessing complex texts with the reading wonders program - literature anthology and readers workshop. I am wondering, what are your thoughts on helping the students that struggle with decoding skills when doing close reading and accessing complex texts? Do I focus on tackling that hurdle with them in small group and for close reading and complex text just read aloud and guide students in interpreting the text? Not worrying about those that can't read the text? I guess I am confused as to what to do, and expect from students.

See, when I am asking students to go back during a re read to find text evidence, (why was the dog sad? How do you know? Where did you find that? What sentence or words told you he was sad? ) I am banking on the fact that they can read and decode automatically and comprehend the text in order to find the evidence. My top group and some on level grouped students can, but there are those students struggling with even just reading the text and comprehending it...so what can I expect from those students who struggle with just the reading and making sense of the literature anthology or readers workshop story?

1/25/16