I have shared before about the importance of establishing a close reading routine in your teaching. You can check out THIS blog and THIS blog to learn more. Now that the school year is winding down, it’s a great time to give your students that final push with some End of Year Themed Close Reading Passages! These are seasonal, and written about topics that will engage students this time of year. But, they are still rigorous and perfect for pushing your students a little bit more with every second of instructional time you have left!
What is included in the Close Reading Pack?
In this set of close reading passages, you receive five texts written for students in K-2nd grade. These close reading passages and paired reading activities are used as a shared read between you and a student. Or, allow students to read independently while you guide them through comprehension tasks.
The five passages comes in each set more than once, to allow you to use the different copies with different close reading tasks. Each passage comes as a colored, full-page copy. This is great for the teacher to use to introduce the text to the students. There are also two, half-page black and white copies of each text. These are perfect for students to use during the 2nd and 3rd reading. They can mark them up, and easily go back and find text evidence with them.
Along with the different copies of the passages, each text set includes lesson plans with close reading activities that can be done during the first, second, and third reads. Planning is completely taken off of your plate with this resource! Additionally, there are comprehension tasks with graphic organizers for each text. The purpose of close reading is to deepen a student’s understanding of what they read. So, it’s important that we as teachers take the time to ensure that they are understanding what they read with each task!
How Can I use these passages in my classroom?
Depending on the close reading routine you have set up in your classroom, these passages work in a variety of ways. I have two different teaching routines to try.
One option is to use these entirely in small groups. Introduce the first reading with each group, then work with students on the subsequent close reading tasks throughout the week. This allows you to tailor the tasks to each group’s needs. With the three readings, and the comprehension and writing tasks for each read, one passage set is enough material to fill a week of small reading instruction!
Another option is to introduce the first read with your entire class. From there, depending on the needs of different groups of students, pair students up to complete the 2nd and 3rd read tasks in pairs. This option is great for students who have begun to demonstrate plenty of reading independence. The pace of doing things entirely in small groups is just right for some students. But, for others it limits the discussions they have if they are given a little more autonomy! For these students, plan to pull them in small groups to discuss and check work each day. Letting them do the tasks in pairs around the room pushes them a tiny bit more before you release them for the year!
Getting Started with Close reading
Get started with this End of Year Close Reading Set by grabbing your own download HERE. You can also browse all of the themes of close reading I have to offer, by clicking HERE. You can find a theme to engage even your most reluctant readers. And, engagement is the first step in creating students who truly love reading!
Happy teaching, everyone!
