Set your ELA block up for success with this 5-day close reading plan for upper elementary.
Close reading is a powerful tool for boosting students’ reading skills and critical thinking.
A structured approach is key to getting the most out of your close reading sessions.
Here’s a simple 5-day close reading plan to guide students through close reading, helping them understand texts better and develop essential reading strategies.
This plan is also outlined in full in each of our Close Reads with Mystery Picture resources.
A 5-Day Close Reading Plan for Upper Elementary
This plan is outlined completely in each of our Close Read with Mystery Picture sets. We have discussed these close reads many times on this blog, and we have many seasonal and themed resources to keep your students engaged and interested in their practice!
Day 1: Preview and Initial Reading
The goal of Day 1 is to help students get familiar with the passage and start reading actively by previewing that passage, marking it up, and answering the first set of questions.
Let’s go through the plan for Day 1:
- Preview the Passage:
- Titles and Headings: Start by checking out the title, headings, and subheadings to get a sense of what the text is about.
- Text Features: Look at any charts, graphs, or images. Discuss how these might help you understand the text.
- Bold Words: Identify bolded words and guess their meanings from the context.
- Observe the Titles: Use the title to predict the main ideas and content of the passage.
- Background Knowledge: Talk about what students already know about the topic and connect it to previous readings.
- Fiction or Nonfiction: Determine if the text is fiction or nonfiction and discuss how to tell.
- Read the Questions: Next, go over the questions to guide students on what to look for while reading.
- Mark It Up: Introduce the “Mark It Up” page. Show students how to highlight or underline important parts, make notes, and identify key details. Model this process and let students practice marking up the text on their own or in pairs.
- Answer the Questions: Have students read the passage and answer the first set of questions. They can do this alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Focus on strategies for multiple-choice questions, like eliminating wrong answers and providing evidence.
Day 2: Reread and Dig Deeper
The goal for Day 2 is to revisit the text to strengthen understanding and answer more questions.
Let’s take a step-by-step look at what Day 2 entails:
- Reread the Passage: Students read the passage again, using their annotations to help with understanding.
- Answer the Second Set of Questions: Students answer these questions independently or with a partner. Continue to support them with strategies for answering multiple-choice questions. You can change your focus here depending on your goal. If you want to use the Close Read with Mystery Pictures to help with test prep, you could use these questions to practice working with multiple-choice questions.
- Bonus Activity: In groups, students discuss the worst answers for each question. They need to explain why these answers are the least effective. This helps you check their understanding and reasoning.
Day 3: Mystery Picture and Vocabulary Fun
The goal of Day 3 is to engage learning through a creative activity and vocabulary practice.
Here is what you can expect from Day 3:
- Optional: Create a poster, PowerPoint, or Google Slides presentation to showcase the vocabulary word.
- Mystery Picture: Students use their answers from earlier questions to reveal a mystery picture by coloring. The mystery pictures are available whether the students are working with the physical resource or the digital resource.
- Vocabulary Work: Pick a vocabulary word from the text and fill out a graphic organizer. This should include:
- Identifying the Word: select a word from the passage to work with
- Definition: Look up the word’s meaning.
- Synonym and Antonym: Find words with similar and opposite meanings.
- Use in a Sentence: Write a sentence using the word.
- Illustration: Draw or find an image that represents the word.
Day 4: Writing Response
The goal of Day 4 is to improve writing skills with a structured response to a prompt. Here is the plan for Day 4.
- Analyze the Prompt: Read the writing prompt together, highlighting key terms and discussing the question.
- Find Evidence: Have students read the passage a third time to find details that will help answer the prompt.
- Write Using the RACE Acronym: Guide students through the writing process with the RACE strategy:
- Restate the Question: Rephrase the prompt.
- Answer the Question: Provide a direct response.
- Cite Evidence: Refer to specific parts of the text.
- Explain the Evidence: Discuss how the evidence supports the answer.
- Peer Review: Once students finish writing, pair them up to give feedback to each other using the RACE framework.
Day 5: Graphic Organizers
On Day 5, the goal is to organize and synthesize information using graphic organizers. The close reading resource contains many graphic organizers, so you have some options as you decide what you want students to work on.
Here is the plan for Day 5:
- Complete Graphic Organizers: Depending on the text type, students will choose and fill out an appropriate graphic organizer:
- Share and Discuss: If time permits, have students share their organizers and discuss their insights.
If you love graphic organizers, you may want to check out this graphic organizer resource that includes 50+ graphic organizers.
Conclusion
This 5-day close reading plan is designed to help students dive deep into texts, improve their comprehension, and develop critical reading and writing skills. By following this plan, students will not only understand texts better but also gain valuable strategies that will benefit them across all areas of learning.
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