The topic for this segment of Bam! Radio (an all-education radio network that offers programming from top education organizations and leaders) is close reading. Guest Christopher Lehman, the Founding Director of the Educator Collaborative, defines and discusses what close reading is and is not.
Guidance
Ferlazzo, L., Lehman, C.
BAM! Radio
Elementary School (K-5) High School (9-12) Middle School (6-8)
English Language Arts
Curriculum and Instruction Standards
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This short audio segment (a little over seven minutes long) is a good primer on close reading in an easily digestible format. Lehman talks knowledgably about close reading and provides a few strategies on starting students with close reading and teaching kids to have ownership of the process. Lehman also discusses the common misconceptions about close reading, clarifying that rereading or reading difficult texts is not close reading. While these are elements found within the overall process of close reading, close reading needs to be about purposeful attention to the text and using evidence found within the text to make meaning. Lastly, Lehman addresses the controversy about teaching background knowledge.