Close Reading MLK Jr.

It's time to dig deep in reading the story Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington by Frances E. Ruffin.

Close Reading is broken up into 4 phases.  I prefer to do one phase a day but phases can be combined based on how deep you wish to go into the comprehension.  

The phases dig deeper in comprehension as you go on.  It starts with basic questions and goes to higher level thinking.


You should always choose complex text to work on close reading with.  That being said students may struggle with reading this independently.  Close Reading is not meant to be done as a center or homework either.  Each time it is read it is read out loud by the teacher.  I sometimes like to have the students listen to someone else reading it.  I especially like having them listening to a video on the first day.  Click on the video link above to have the book read to them.

When I do a close reading I like to have a printed copy for each student.  Of course that isn't possible so I type up the story. Above you can click on the story to get a copy of this book for you!

Have their own copy is important so they can add annotations while we read.

I also add all the questions I'm going to ask the students in a red font.  These questions get asked orally to the class.  Give the students time to look for the evidence and talk with their partners.  After they have been given this time you then call on someone to orally share the answer.  You want everyone a chance to look for the answers and you want everyone to hear the answers.  You also now have the opportunity to ask someone who wouldn't normally know the answers to share with the class.


The following poster shows the annotations that I'm using with my second graders.  Teach one annotation at a time.  Click on the poster and read about my annotation posters in a previous post. You can pick up the poster and bookmarks for free.





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