1st Grade Close Reading

1st Grade Close Reading

Today I had the opportunity to visit Mrs. Hochstedler's Room in 1st Grade. Our lesson focus was on close reading. We did a mini-lesson today on the 3 stages of close reading. I used Smeken's Close Reading Triggers set to introduce each phase so that the students could make a visual connection. I also used a familiar text that most of the students had already heard, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. 

Phase 1: I introduced this stage by wearing the glasses and talking about this phase is something that we do every time we read a story. We read to determine what is happening, who are the characters, where is the story taking place, and how the story ends.

Phase 2: I introduced this stage by getting out the microscope and had the students tell me the purpose of the microscope. I then modeled how we use that in the second phase of a close read. We may zoom in on unknown words, why the words are written the way they are in the book, and what the author's purpose is for writing.

Phase 3: I introduced this stage by getting out the telescope. Again, the students told me the meaning and we connected it with close reading. We "zoomed out" to determine "Why we thought Pete sand his happy song even after losing all his buttons". Stage three involved making text-to-text connections and/or using text or pictures to support our answer, 

Mrs. Hochstedler's Class did a great job today. Stay tuned as I will visit Mrs. H's Classroom on Monday morning and the students will work more independently on a close read using a nursery rhyme!