Analyzing, Inferring, and Determining...Oh My!

Students have been quite busy the last three weeks diving deep into our topic of study for the quarter, Overcoming Learning Challenges Near and Far, as they become "close readers." The big ideas of this unit are led by two guiding questions: Why are education, books, and reading important? How can I overcome learning challenges? In this unit, students will read literary texts about children who face challenges with access to school and education and how they overcome those challenges. As a class, we will be reading Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown, Rain School by James Rumford, and Nasreen's Secret School by Jeanette Winter. Students will analyze the challenges the main characters face with access to school and education, as well as how those challenges are overcome. Students will also determine the "gist" of each story, as well as the message (theme) of each story and how it is conveyed or communicated through details in the text. 

So, why close reading? Close Reading is a strategy that requires critical analysis of a short but complex text. Essentially, close reading is reading purposefully, in order to discover the multiple layers of meaning within a text - this is what leads to true reading comprehension.