Lessons and Units for Closer Reading, Grades K-2. Nancy Boyles

a student might say, “The first book we read about George Washington told us about his whole life. The second book is just about one part of his life, when he chopped down the cherry tree. The third book was about when he was president. Now I can see why he was a good president: because he was always honest, since he was a young person.”

      How This Book Supports Unit Teaching

       There are five units in this book, all centered on areas of study that will interest students at this developmental level.

       Completing each unit will take four to five weeks.

       Within each unit, students study four anchor texts and a related fable.

       There is a lesson specified at the end of each unit connecting all texts, and questions are provided to guide these connections.

       A Unit Curriculum Map offers an at-a-glance view of the whole unit—exactly which lesson to teach each day.

      6. Teach close reading using learning pathways that show students how to learn.

      Teaching units strengthens the impact of close reading. Teaching units as learning pathways is even more powerful. Here’s what I mean: You and your students could study a unit on dinosaurs, a perennial primary favorite. You would read books about various dinosaurs, and students would come to recognize the connection between these massive prehistoric creatures—which would build their dinosaur domain knowledge, a great start. But what if you added another layer to your unit study? What if you used this dinosaur unit to show students how to study any animal they want to investigate? This is what I call a learning pathway, and it is focused not on the content of a unit, but on the process of learning how to learn.

      Courtesy of Rick Harrington Photography

      Tips for Success

       Alone or with colleagues, brainstorm all the learning pathways you might want to construct in the primary grades. For example, in this book I’ve addressed how to study about a person, an animal, a place, a theme, or a character trait. But this is just a beginning! You could design a learning pathway on a current issue or on something that resonates in your community or state.

       Framing your unit teaching in terms of learning pathways is the gift that keeps on giving. Here’s why: The first time you study an animal (or whatever) with your students, you begin to forge this pathway. The next time animal study comes up in a unit, or even in an individual text, students have a bit of a foundation on which to build—so your job is a little easier, and students are a lot more engaged. To get you thinking about the kinds of questions that could work over and over again across units, ask, “What are some questions we always need to answer when we’re studying an animal? How do we begin? What kinds of resources might help us?”

      Just imagine the independent close reading we would see in our students if teachers of every grade worked together to build these pathways. Instead of a learning pathway, we’d have a learning superhighway. And by the end of high school, we’d most certainly have kids who are college and career ready. College may seem a long way off when we’re teaching kindergarten or first or second grade. But close reading can support literacy right from the start. Close reading taught really, really well can help students achieve standards—and so much more!

      Here are the pathways, units, and anchor texts included in this book.

      How This Book Supports Learning Pathways

       Each unit provides access to a different learning pathway: How to study a character trait, an animal, a person, a place, and a theme.

       Each pathway is introduced during a unit preview lesson that gets students thinking about what it means to study this particular pathway; questions are provided.

       The final lesson for each anchor text brings students back to the learning pathway: examining the way this week’s text connects to the pathway.

      Reflecting on the Six Guidelines

      Before diving into the pathways, units, and lessons themselves, take the time to reflect on each of these six guidelines, asking yourself a related question to envision close reading in your primary grade classroom. Then read the following section on Teaching and Assessing Students’ Comprehension. I think you’ll like all the reproducibles that you can take back to your classroom right now.

      Reflecting on the Guidelines for Close Reading in K-2

      1 Rely on high-quality picture books that you read aloud.A question to ask yourself: What makes this book “high quality”?

      2 Teach an initial close reading lesson to build content knowledge.A question to ask yourself: What are the complexities of this text?

      3 Teach close reading follow-up lessons to build skills.A question to ask yourself: Which comprehension skills are well-aligned with this text?

      4 Assess close reading appropriately with formative assessments.A question to ask yourself: How will I make sure students are actively engaged as readers and responders?

      5 Teach close reading using units so students can make connections between texts.A question to ask yourself: What books will work together to build students’ critical thinking about an area of focus?

      6 Teach close reading using learning pathways that show students how to learn.A question to ask yourself: What pathways work for my grade, and how can they be part of a vertical alignment between grades?

      Courtesy of Rick Harrington Photography

      Teaching and Assessing Students’ Comprehension

      How do we assess the comprehension skills of primary grade students in a way that makes our teaching lives easier, not harder? What do formative assessments look like for young learners who are just getting their sea legs with literacy? What exactly are we trying to pinpoint in order for assessments to inform our daily instruction? The reality is that, when we look at all of our new reading standards (Common Core or other standards), panic sets in. Our minds race: Where do I start? There are so many standards and these kids are so young, and are these rigorous expectations even developmentally appropriate?

      Here’s what I can tell you that will ease your mind: Having spent a lot of time analyzing sample assessment items from PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) and SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium), I have concluded that the hundreds of standards boil down to only about twelve comprehension concepts and skills at the early primary level. These dozen skills are the most central for K–2 children to learn; all that students will be expected to know and be able to do in the intermediate grades and beyond depend upon them.

      So in this book, I focus instruction and assessment on just twelve comprehension skills and concepts that help students go the greatest distance when reading and responding to text in meaningful ways. And I firmly believe that if your students engage in the five units in this book, they will improve their readiness for the high-stakes assessments that begin in third grade. Does that make this book “test prep”? Not at all, because the test isn’t driving the lessons; rich texts and ideas are. If I am guilty of having an agenda, it’s to help teachers in the primary grades in turn help their students develop the habits and skills of proficient readers!

      Specifically, by