Unpacking the Text Via Close Reading in

Developing Critical Thinking Through Art of

Questioning
VALERIA FIDES G. CORTEZA, PhD
Education Program Supervisor 1
Division of Zamboanga City
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 SESSION OBJECTIVES
1. Deepen understanding on the close reading
process
2. Learn questioning strategy to support close reading
process; Q&AR strategy in developing questions
3. Gain understanding of close reading a text by asking
questions
4. Use text to create text dependent questions
5. Use close reading strategy to guide learners in
understanding complex text
KWL Chart: Questions in Close Reading

What I Know What I want to know What I learned

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Game

•Strictly NO picture taking please!

•Look at the picture for only 10 seconds.

• (This is done individually)

Look at the
picture
for ten
seconds.
 Questions:

1. How many dogs

were on the cover?
 Questions:

2. What color were the

dogs?
 Questions:

3. Were there more big

dogs or small dogs?
 Questions:

4. Which dog is the

main character?
How many dogs were on
the cover?
What color were the
dogs?
Were there more big
dogs or small dogs?
Which dog is the main
character?
How can I help my
students become
competent readers
of complex texts?
 What is close reading?
Close Reading is a careful and deliberate reading
and rereading of a complex text to determine
such things as explicit meaning, craft/structure,
author’s purpose, bias, and underlying
meanings, etc.

Dr. John D. Barge , State School Superintendent

Common Core Georgia Performance Standards
 How might teachers implement close reading in the classroom?

The first step is to know why teachers are having students read
something. What do they want students to know or
understand about the reading when they get done?
Big deal in close reading:
Kids talking about books
Vocabulary
Real life connections
Cross –Curriculum connections
Life skills
Fun
 Stages of the Close Reading Process
First Reading—figuring out what the text says
(literal comprehension)

Second Reading—figuring out how the text works

(craft and structure)

Third Reading—figuring out what the text means (interpretation/deep

understanding)

Source: Shanahan, T. (June 18, 2012). What is close reading? Shanahan on Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/2012/06/what-is-close-
reading.html.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Questions????
We ask
questions
because we
scaffold our
learners to
understand
the text, and
not to assess
what they
learn.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Text Dependent Questions
Focuses on the student’s ability to ask
and answer questions to demonstrate
understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for their answers.
Eighty percent to 90 percent of the
reading standards in each grade require text
dependent analysis.
Text Dependent Questions are critical element in reading.
They require students to dig deeply into the text to answer
them. In fact, a text dependent question cannot be answered
without using the text; background knowledge and prior
experiences should not be included or considered.
To craft effective text dependent questions, you must read
and understand the text thoroughly. As you plan a lesson,
begin with the end in mind:
What do I want students to know and do as a result of
the lesson?
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Effective Text Dependent Questions
require students to go back to the text
in order to answer them.
Add a cue to direct students back to
the text to the end of your Text
Dependent Question.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Cues after a Text Dependent Question:
Remember to use textual evidence to support your ideas.
Remember to use words and phrases from the text to prove your answer.
Be sure to include specific evidence from the text to support your ideas.
Be sure to include specific words and phrases from the text to support your
opinion.
Use specific words or details from the text or illustrations to support your
ideas.
Inferences should be supported by text. What in the text helped you to
know? What words and phrases did the author use that led you to your
answer?
 How might a teacher implement the standard?

A good instructional strategy to use that addresses teaching

close reading and using text dependent questions is Question-
Answer Relationship.

Taffy Raphael (1984) writes about there being 4 types of

questions:
Right There
Think & Search
Author & Me
On My Own
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The question–answer relationship (QAR) strategy
helps students understand the different types of
questions. By learning that the answers to some
questions are "Right There" in the text (literal),
that some answers require a learner to "Think and
Search,“ (process/skills) and that some answers can
only be answered "On My Own,“ (performance)
students recognize that they must first consider the
question before developing an answer.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Answer Description
The answer is in the text or the discussion, and if we
pointed at it, we'd say it's "right there!" Often, the
Right There answer will be in a single sentence or place in the text
or utterance, and the words used to create the
question are often also in that same place.
The answer is in the text or the discussion, but you
Think and Search might have to look in several different sentences or
utterances to find it. It is broken up or scattered or
requires a grasp of multiple ideas across paragraphs,
pages or utterances.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Answer Description
The answer is not in the text or the discussion, but
Author and I you still need information that the author or teacher
has given you, combined with what you already
know, in order to respond to this type of question.
The answer is not in the text or the discussion, and
On My Own in fact you don't even have to have read the text or
listen to the lesson to be able to answer it.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 A piece of Wood
Once upon a time there was a piece of wood. It was not an expensive
piece of wood. Far from it. Just a common block of firewood, one of those thick,
solid logs that are put on the fire in winter to make cold rooms cozy and warm. I
do not know how this really happened, yet the fact remains that one day this
piece of wood found itself in the shop of an old carpenter. His real name was
Mister Antonio, but everyone called him Mister Cherry, for the tip of his nose
was so round and red and shiny that it looked like a ripe cherry.
As soon as he saw the piece of wood, Mister Cherry was filled with joy.
Rubbing his hands together happily, he mumbled to himself: "This has come in
the nick of time. I shall use it to make the leg of a table." He grasped the hatchet
quickly to peel off the bark and shape the wood. But as he was about to give it
the first blow, he stood still with arm uplifted, for he had heard a wee, little
voice say in a pleading tone: "Please be careful! Do not hit me so hard!"
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Answer Description Question
The answer is in the text or Why was the carpenter
the discussion, and if we called Mister Cherry?
Right There pointed at it, we'd say it's
"right there!" Often, the This is a Right There (RT)
answer will be in a single question because the words
sentence or place in the text used in the question and answer
or utterance, and the words are found in the same sentence
used to create the question in the text.
are often also in that same
place.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Answer Description Question
The answer is in the text or Describe the piece of wood
Think and the discussion, but you might found in the carpenter's
Search have to look in several shop.
different sentences or
utterances to find it. It is This is a Think and Search (TS)
broken up or scattered or question because the
requires a grasp of multiple information for the answer
ideas across paragraphs, comes from different places in
pages or utterances. the text.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Answer Description Question
The answer is not in the text or How could a block of wood
Author the discussion, but you still make a cold room warm?
and I need information that the
author or teacher has given This is an Author and Me (AM)
you, combined with what you question because clues in the text
already know, in order to must be combined with
respond to this type of background knowledge in order
question. to answer the question.
 Answer Description Question
The answer is not in the text Do you think being a
On My Own or the discussion, and in fact carpenter is an important
you don't even have to have job? Why or why not?
read the text or listen to the
lesson to be able to answer it. This is an On My Own (MO)
question because the description
of the carpenter is not found in
the text. You must draw on your
own experience and knowledge
to answer the question.
 Passage for Practice

Tom has lived in Manila his entire life. However, tomorrow, Tom and his
family would be moving to Cebu. Tom hated the idea of having to move. He
would be leaving behind his best friend Ron, the baseball team he had played
on for the last two years, and the big swing in his backyard where he liked to
sit and think. And to make matters worse, he was moving on his birthday!
Tom would be thirteen tomorrow. He was going to be a teenager! He
wanted to spend the day with his friends, not watching his house being packed
up and put on a truck. He thought that moving was a horrible way to spend his
birthday. What about a party? What about spending the day with his friends?
What about what he wanted? That was just the problem. No one ever asked
Tom what he wanted.
Questions Question Type (RT, TS, Rationale
AM, OMO)
1. How long has Tom lived in Manila?
2. What is the name of the town where Tom and his
family are moving?
3. What might Tom do to make moving to a new town
easier for him?
4. What are two reasons why Tom did not want to
move?
5. In what ways can moving to a new house and to a
new city be exciting?
6. Why did Tom feel that his family was ignoring him?
 Levels of Blooms Taxonomy Levels of QAR
Assessment Comprehension
Performance Creating Applied On My Own

Understanding Judging Author & I

Analyzing
Interpretive
Applying
Process/skills Understanding
Think & Search
(Comprehension)

Knowledge Remembering Literal Right There

Stages of Close Q&A Relationship
Reading
VS
 Stages of reading vs. Q&AR
Stage 1 KEY IDEAS & DETAILS Q&A Relationship Questions
Read closely to determine what Right there : Answers are Who was the most important
the text says explicitly and to found directly in the text. characters in the story?
make logical inferences from it. Often the words from the Who, What, Where and How
question and the answer questions
Determine central ideas or are in the same sentence What key details support the
themes of a text and analyze main idea?
their development; summarize What is the main idea of the
the key supporting details and Think and Search: Answers text?
ideas. are in the book but must Retell the story.
use several parts.
Analyze how and why Identify characters, setting ,
individuals, events, and ideas major events.
develop and interact over the
course of a text.
 Stages of reading vs. Q&AR
Stage 2 CRAFT & STRUCTURE Q&A Relationship Questions
Interpret words and phrases as they The author and What does the (word or phrase from the story,
are used in the text, including me figurative language, sensory word) mean?
determining technical, connotative What kind of text is this?
and figurative meanings and analyze Explain the meaning of___?
how specific word choices shape Which word really call your attention here?
their meaning or tone. What do we notice as we reread them?
Analyze structure of text, including
how specific sentences, paragraphs What was the problem, solution?
and larger portions of the text (e.g. What text structure did the author use in this text?
section, chapter, scene, or stanza) Describe the story structure including beginning,
relate to each other and the whole. middle and ending.
Assess how point of view or purpose From what point of view is this story told?
shapes the content and style of a Who is narrating the story?
text. What is the author’s purpose?
 Stages of reading vs. Q&AR
Stage 3 Q&A Questions
INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS Relationship
Integrate and evaluate content presented How did the author use illustrations to engage the
in diverse formats and media, including reader in the events of the story?
visually and quantitatively, as well as in The author How do the (visual/multimedia elements) help the
words. reader understand the author’s message.
and me What text features (heading, table of contents,
glossaries, electronic menu, icons) did the author
include to help the reader?
Delineate and evaluate the argument and On my own Identify the reasons the author gives to support his key
specific claims in a text, including the point?
validity of the reasoning as well as the What is the authors’ point of view on the topic? Explain
relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. cause and effect relationships.

Analyze how two or more texts address What mood does the author create?
similar themes or topics in order to builds Compare (characters, titles from the same genre,
knowledge or to compare the approaches theme, topic, versions of the same story, etc.)
the authors take
Summing Up: Close Read the Cartoon
 QUESTIONS – R1

•Describe the setting. Describe the scene.

•What are the details that you can see in the cartoon?
•Tell who are in the cartoon. Describe each and
describe their emotions.
•What do you think the cat is telling?
•What does the cartoon say?
 Questions R2
• How did the artist shows us what the text says?
• What is the cat doing? Notice the injuries of the cat and the suspect
he is describing, the dog.
(The focus is how does the text say it?)
• Look at the context of the room the two characters are in.
• Notice the look on the face of the police artist, and the ability of the
police artist to capture what the cat is describing.”
 Questions – R3

•Examine the Picture and Evaluate

Meaning
•Is the cartoon is funny or not? Why?
•What does the text mean?
•What is the message?
We shall close read the following text.
 The Little Red Hen
Once upon a time, there was a little Red Hen, who lived on a farm all by
herself. An old Fox, crafty and sly, had a den in the rocks, on a hill near her house.
Many nights the Fox lay awake and thought how good that little Red Hen would
taste. But he could not catch the little Red Hen. She was too wise for him. Every
time she went out, she locked the door behind her. When she came in again, she
locked the door behind her and put the key in her pocket, where she kept her
scissors.
At last, the old Fox thought up a way to catch the little Red Hen. Early in the
morning, he said to his old mother, "I'll be bringing the little Red Hen for supper."
Then he took a big bag and walked to the little Red Hen's house. The little Red
Hen was just coming out of her door to pick up a few sticks for kindling wood.
The old Fox hid behind the woodpile. As soon as she bent down to get a stick,
into the house he slipped, and scurried behind the door.
In a minute, the little Red Hen came quickly in, and shut the door and locked it.
"I'm glad I'm safely in," she said. Just as she said it, she turned round, and there
stood the ugly old Fox, with his big bag over his shoulder. How scared the little
Red Hen was! She dropped her apron full of sticks and flew up to the big beam
across the ceiling. There she perched, and she said to the old Fox, down below,
"You may as well go home, for you can't get me."
"Can't I, though!" said the Fox. So, what do you think he did? He stood on the
floor underneath the little Red Hen and twirled round in a circle after his own tail.
And as he spun, and spun, and spun, faster, and faster, and faster, the poor little
Red Hen got so dizzy watching him that she couldn't hold on to the perch. She
dropped off, and the old Fox picked her up and put her in his bag and started for
home.
He had a very long way to go, up hill, and the little Red Hen was still so dizzy that
she did not know where she was. When the dizziness began to go off, she
whisked her little scissors out of her apron pocket, and snip, snip! She cut a little
hole in the bag. Then she poked her head out and saw where she was, and as
soon as they came to a good spot, she cut the hole bigger and jumped out
herself. There was a great big stone lying there, and the little Red Hen picked it up
and put it in the bag as quick as a wink. Then she ran as fast as she could till she
came to her own little farmhouse. She went in and locked the door with the big
key. She laughed.
The Fox went on carrying the stone and never knew the difference. He was
excited when he got home. “Let’s cook the Hen!” he said to his mother. When I
open the bag, hold the cover off the pot and I'll shake the bag so that the Hen will
fall in. Then pop the cover on, before she can jump out."
The Fox lifted the big, heavy bag up until it was over the
open pot, and gave it a shake. Splash! Thump! Splash! In
went the stone and out came hot water. The little Red
Hen lived happily ever after, in her own little farmhouse.
 Close Reading Process
•1st step Read and annotate

•2nd step Re - read and know the meaning of

the unknown words

• 3rd step Read the text, discuss the details and

respond to the text dependent questions
 Purpose: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences
from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from
the text.

Question Answer Text Evidence

1st read

2nd read

3rd read
•Go back to the KWL chart and fill in the
last column
CLOSE READ
PLEASE!!!
PIPER