The Effectiveness Of 2nd Grade Close Reading Activities

By Frank Murray


Literature tends to be complicated at first glance. To better understand the manner in which words are used certain strategies should be put to use. 2nd grade close reading activities are methods aimed at assisting students to understand different passages. In order to grasp this concept students need to work closely with their teachers.

Teachers should not be there throughout the whole way. Their purpose is to offer a little guidance and leave the rest of the heavy lifting to those being taught. Students who understand the concept being taught will have the concept on their fingertips. Proper understanding does not come easy for everyone. Students need to be patient with themselves and give their best.

Ensure that you are a close reader yourself. While teaching, it is important that you understand the text forwards and backwards. Each time that you get to ask a question or raise an issue, you will know ways to help your students find textual evidence in the text. Demonstrating close reading through class discussion is as essential as direct instruction in learning.

The purpose of such skills is to help students read increasingly complex texts over time. While choosing texts to use with the students, think about your aim behind every text. Look for comprehensions that raise authentic questions and could be interpreted differently based on the knowledge of a learner. Ensure that you occasionally assign stretch texts, which are meant to be challenging for a student to read independently, and may require some days of study.

As students start learning this skill, they should first read through the whole text. They may have to read through once or twice when they feel the need to understand something specific. This may be the overall theme that the writer is trying to put across. It may not be easy to identify this during the first read. Doing it again is better when an individual has more focus.

A question session must be set aside to see if the students are okay at different points. Those who have properly understood may state something specific from what they have read without necessarily rereading through the whole thing. Such students have shown good understanding. Students should feel free to discuss on related topics that they have previously heard of. If there is no proper comprehension, teachers need to re-strategize.

Encourage exploratory discussions among students between reads. Students discuss what they read, the phrases they marked up, and about the literary element or focus skill. The strategy; think, pair, share does work well with close discussions.

These are amazing methods to involve students and ensure they are participating. This also helps what they are learning to sink in. Reading also tends to be more exciting because their problem areas will be dealt with. Questions give an opportunity for teachers to understand their students. They can engage them and gauge their level of understanding.




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