Start using Close Reads with Mystery Pictures to improve reading comprehension in upper elementary.
Working on reading comprehension with students is an ongoing battle.
As students age and the emphasis turns from being able to read to understand what they read, teachers must find creative ways to keep reading comprehension skills relevant and fun for them.
Reading Comprehension Skills for Upper Elementary
When we work on reading comprehension in class, we often work on very specific skills that will grow with each other over time as students learn to understand better what they read.
Some of the skills that we need to work on include using background knowledge, making inferences, visualizing, asking questions, summarizing, and figuring out what unknown words mean.
None of these skills are very exciting to learn on their own, but if you work on them within the right context and using topics the students find interesting, we can make working on reading comprehension much more engaging for students.
Using Close Reads with Mystery Pictures to Improve Reading Comprehension
One way that we like to work on reading comprehension with upper elementary students is through Close Reads with Mystery Pictures.
Our Close Reads are based on a given theme and include the close-read strategy and mystery pictures that students can fill in as they answer questions based on the reading.
The Close Reads with Mystery Pictures are interesting not only because students get to color but also because they are based on topics specifically designed to engage students of this grade level.
Many Close Reads to Choose From
One of the things that keeps teachers coming back for more close reads are the many themes and topics available for students to work from.
In the shop, we have a variety of holidays and monthly themes of Close Reads with Mystery Pictures. Each resource includes three different passages that fit within that theme.
With all of the available topics, using Close Reads with Mystery Pictures could quickly become part of your student’s daily work, a transition activity as students return from specials, recess, or lunch.
Using Close Reads with Mystery Pictures as part of your daily practice will ensure students are getting ongoing reading comprehension practice on the key skills we know will be assessed at the end of the year.
Check out some of our favorite Close Read sets below by clicking on the images!
Close Reads with Mystery Pictures Save Teachers Time
Each close reads set is designed with teachers in mind.
Each set includes three passages written at three different reading levels. Including reading passages written at different reading levels helps teachers save time as they differentiate for students.
The different levels also allow teachers to quickly assess students’ ability to progress from one passage level to the next.
The close reads ask questions encouraging students to look into and work on the skills we listed earlier.
Using Mystery Pictures with Upper Elementary Students
The mystery pictures support students as they read and answer questions.
The pictures are fun to color, but they also help students self-assess.
If students answer the question incorrectly, the picture does not turn out; however, if they answer the question correctly, they will be rewarded with a correct image.
If your students use mystery pictures the way mine have, they will begin to figure out what the image is as they answer the questions. Then, they will use what they can see to make inferences about what the correct answer might be to the question.
Although this may seem like the mystery picture is providing the answer to the student, it is actually providing immediate feedback, which the teacher may not be available to provide.
Close reads are not about assessing students. They are about giving students practice and review of common reading comprehension skills.
As you consider using Close Reads with Mystery Pictures to improve reading comprehension practice in your classroom, consider building the Cose Reads into your students’ regular routine.
In this blog post, we discuss building structure and routine in the classroom with Close Reads.
We also have some other blog posts you may find helpful as you consider the role close reads will play in your classroom.
Click on the images below to read more!
All of our resources are availabe in our website store, or, if you prefer, you can see them in our shop on the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace by clicking here.
