Close Reading and Text Dependent Questions

This past school year I really worked hard to try and incorporate more close reading skills and text dependent questions into my reading instruction.

First, I had to figure out what exactly close reading was.  Here are a few books and web posts that I found really helpful:

Close Read Complex Text and Annotate With Tech
great post with lots of good links

10 Super Innovative Teacher Ideas for Close Reading
another good post with a lot of helpful information and links


Text Dependent Questions- Grades K-5 by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

Falling in Love with Close Reading by Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts

Once I wrapped my head around close reading strategies and thought about how I could use it in my classroom I gave it a try with a couple TIME for Kids articles and short fiction passages.  I was amazed at how hard it was for my 5th graders to find actual proof from the text to support their thinking.  I had wrongly assumed that this would be a simple task we would simply gloss over.  NOPE!

We worked on text dependent questions A LOT this spring, and I was excited when my kiddos finally started to get it, and I heard them discussing books on their own and saying things like "yeah, because on page 23 it said....".  YES!  They actually took the time, on their own, to go back and find proof to support their reasoning when discussing a book.  

I wanted to have an easy to use resource that would allow me to have a large quantity of text dependent question stems close by at any time so I could hit the different reading standards with a variety of text dependent questions.  

 I created a set of text dependent question cards that have worked wonderfully for me!  They are organized by each common core reading standard and there are a variety of questions to go with each standard.  There are over 190 different question prompt cards covering fiction and non-fiction!

They can be hole punched, organized on a binder ring, and kept close by for those times when you want to throw in a TDQ!  You can print them on white card stock with the colored boarders, or print them in black and white on bright colored card stock.  

 You can find this resource in my Teachers Pay Teachers store if you are interested in getting the whole set of over 190 different text dependent question stem cards!

Happy Reading!

American Revolution- Student Engagement and Note-Taking

Right now in social studies I am teaching about the many events that led up to the American Revolution.  In previous years my class has always loved learning American History, but this year....not so much. I had to do something extra to get them hooked.

As an introduction, and to grab the kids attention, I asked them to brainstorm things their parents have asked them to do.  They responded with typical things like "be quiet", "clean your room", "eat your vegetables"... We talked  about why parents give directions, and they all agreed that parents are trying to help their kids, teach them important lessons, show them the right way to do things. We talked about how as kids get older and show they are responsible parents usually give them more freedom.  I compared this to the colonists and Britain.

Ok...now they are getting interested.  My next scenario asked them how they would feel if they were 20 or 25, had a job, and living on their own and their parents were giving them the same directions.  This got a major response!  The kids were outraged by this fictional scenario and even the thought of it happening to them.

Perfect!  I got them hooked!

I moved into the content covering the French and Indian War, the Proclamation of 1763, the stamp act, the quartering act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable/Coercive Acts.  I kept relating the events to the kids lives and made connections between the colonists wanting freedom and not needing/wanting Britain's rule and guidance anymore.  I think this series of lessons finally got them interested in learning more about history!

As I planned this series of lessons I realized that this was a perfect example of cause and effect, and also a great opportunity to teach my kids some note-taking skills.
I created this cause and effect note-taking sheet for the kids and it really helped my class organize their learning and make connections between the events and the growing frustration of the colonists.

Events Leading to the American Revolution Note-taking

You can download a copy of this note-taking sheet by clicking the link above.

How do you get your kids excited to learn about history?