Close Reading or Text Dependent Questions

for Craft and StructureThis work by Tracy Watanabe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Craft & Structure: Goals

Standard 4: The author uses specific words and phrases in text to shape the meaning.

Analyze how those specific word choices/phrases shape the meaning or tone.

Craft & Structure: Goals

Standard 5: The author purposefully structures the text to build meaning -- including sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza).

Analyze how those structures relate to each other and the whole.

Craft & Structure: Goals

Standard 6: The content and style of the text reveals what the author’s purpose is or why he/she chose a specific point of view.

Analyze how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Craft & Structure: Big Idea

What did you notice about the three goals of Craft & Structure?

What will students need to do in order to fulfill those goals? (What verb?)

Craft & Structure: Analyze

Analyze the word choice (#4), text features (#5), point of view (#6), and purpose (#6) to decide why the author did it that way, and what the effects are.

What does student analysis of Craft & Structure look/

sound like?

If students need to analyze Craft & Structure, then what

types of questions and tasks do we need to give them?

In close reading, students answer text dependent questions on

Craft & Structure, and should have a culminating writing task.

Standard #4 Example ? Standard 4: The author uses specific words and phrases in text to shape the meaning.

Analyze how those specific word choices/phrases shape the meaning or tone.

What is the meaning of the word “______” in the second paragraph?

Which sentence helps you understand how Jeff looked?

Which word means it’s visible from the earth’s surface?

Standard #5 Example ?Standard 5: The author purposefully structures the text to build meaning -- including sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a

section, chapter, scene, or stanza).

Analyze how those structures relate to each other and the whole.

Which best describes how the third paragraph was organized?(a) problem and solution(b) cause and effect(c) definition and description(d) compare and contrast

What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

Where would you place the sentence on the story map?

Beginning Middle Ending

Standard #6 Example ?Standard 6: The content and style of the text reveals what the author’s purpose is or why he/she chose a specific point of view.

Analyze how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

What point of view is the story written? Why?

Which quotation shows that the narrator is deeply affected by his decision?

Why does the author use the word “______” to describe the issue?

Why did the author write the text?

Culminating Writing Task

The text dependent questions should scaffold the students toward successfully completing the culminating writing task.

This task should relate to the key ideas of the text.

Example: “Officer Buckle’s final safety tip is ‘Always stick with your buddy.’ How did he and Gloria each learn this lesson for themselves throughout the story?

Scaffold Option: T-chart for each point of view and evidence from the text.

achievethecore.org

Other Culminating Tasks: Digital StorytellingNote: The writing task can be “outside the box” (eg digital storytelling)

Sample Task: Be a literary or historical character sharing a defining moment when you made a choice that changed the story or world forever.

Standards involved in this task:

Several reading standards, including Craft and Structure

Several writing standards to write the storyboard

Several speaking and listening standards

Your turn: Create Craft & Structure

questions and tasks for an upcoming reading lesson.

What can we do in the future to make sure students engage in Craft & Structure questions

and tasks?