Lessons and Units for Closer Reading, Grades 3-6

A former classroom teacher and professor of reading, Nancy Boyles is a literacy consultant, who provides workshops, model lessons, and curriculum support to districts and organizations nationally, regionally, and locally. Over the course of her career she has received numerous awards , including New England Reading Association's Outstanding Literacy Leader Award and Connecticut Reading Association's Celebrate Literacy Award for exemplary service.

Foreword by Tanny McGregor Acknowledgments A Guide to Using the Lessons and Units Chart: Learning Pathways, Units, and Anchor Texts Teaching for Coherence: Why Moving From Stand-Alone Lessons to Units of Study Matters Picture Books as Mentor Texts The Secret Weapon of This Book's Units: Learning Pathways Chart: Teaching Units According to Learning Pathways How Coherence Leads to Critical Thinking Seven Criteria for Critical Thinking The Ten Planning Steps for Each Unit: Tips for Success Chart: A Visual Tour of the Units Step 1. Identify Your Learning Pathway, Unit Focus, and Inquiry Question Step 2. Select and Sequence Your Books Chart: Quick Survey of Text Complexity Chart: Choosing Powerful Picture Books Step 3. Determine Your Reading Focus Standard for the Unit Chart: Determining a Unit's Focus Standard Step 4. Plan for Units of Approximately Five Weeks Using a Unit Curriculum Map Chart: Unit Curriculum Map for Studying ____ Step 5. Launch Your Unit With a Unit Preview and a Kickoff Lesson Based on the Nonfiction Article Provided Chart: Unit Preview Questions and Discussion Points Chart: Questions to Link an Introductory Short Text to a Unit of Study Step 6. Study One Picture Book Per Week, Beginning With an Initial Close Reading Lesson Where You Discuss The Entire Book Chart: Close Reading Lesson Components, Links to Video, and Hot Tips for Close Reading Success Step 7. Revisit the Text for Follow-Up Standards-Based Skill or Strategy Lessons Template: Follow-Up Skill or Strategy Lesson Exemplar Lesson: Follow-Up Lesson for The Raft Exemplar Graphic Organizer: Describe a Character or Person Step 8. Link the Books to One Another Through Discussion and Written Response Chart: Discussion Questions for Text-to-Text Connections Step 9. Administer Two Assessment Tasks at the End of Each Unit (Content-Based and Standards-Based) Distinguishing Between the Content-Based and Standards-Based Assessments Chart: Rubric for Content-Based Assessment (Task 1) and Standards-Based Assessment (Task 2) Chart: Interpretation of Rubric Data Chart: Rubric for Measuring Students' Critical Thinking: Talking and Writing About Sources Step 10. Analyze Student Work Template: Reflecting on Reading Responses for Individual Students Template: Reflecting on Class Performance for a Close Reading Follow-Up Task Reflection Questions for the Ten Steps of Unit Planning and Teaching The Units and Lessons How to Study a Concept: What Makes Someone a Good Leader? Introduction to the Unit Unit Curriculum Map for Close Reading Short Informational Text: To Be a Leader Close Reading Lessons for Weslandia Close Reading Lessons for Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson Close Reading Lessons for Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic Close Reading Lessons for Nelson Mandela How to Study a Person: Who Was Abraham Lincoln: Boy, Husband, Father, President? Introduction to the Unit Unit Curriculum Map for Close Reading Short Informational Text: Selected Quotes by Abraham Lincoln Close Reading Lessons for Honest Abe Close Reading Lessons for Looking at Lincoln Close Reading Lessons for Abraham Lincoln Comes Home Close Reading Lessons for Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln How to Study a Topic: How Do You Prefer to See the Moon-As an Astronomer, an Astronaut, a Native American, or a Storyteller? Introduction to the Unit Unit Curriculum Map for Close Reading Short Informational Text: Reflections on the Moon and Astronomy Close Reading Lessons for Faces of the Moon Close Reading Lessons for Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back Close Reading Lessons for Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 Close Reading Lessons for The Man in the Moon How to Study a Genre: How Many Ways Can You Tell a Fairy Tale? Introduction to the Unit Unit Curriculum Map for Close Reading Short Informational Text: Why We Need Fairytales Close Reading Lessons for The Princess and the Pizza Close Reading Lessons for The Cowboy and the Black-Eyed Pea Close Reading Lessons for Extra! Extra!: Fairy-Tale News From Hidden Forest Close Reading Lessons for Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude How to Study an Author: How Does Robert Burleigh Write Such Interesting Informational Books? Introduction to the Unit Unit Curriculum Map for Close Reading Short Informational Text: Robert Burleigh Talks About His Writing Close Reading Lessons for Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth Close Reading Lessons for Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh Close Reading Lessons for Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer Close Reading Lessons for Tiger of the Snows: Tenzing Norgay: The Boy Whose Dream Was Everest How to Study a Time in History: What Choices Would You Make if You Were a Slave Child? Introduction to the Unit Unit Curriculum Map for Close Reading Short Informational Text: Slave Holder's Diary Close Reading Lessons for Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman Close Reading Lessons for Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride Close Reading Lessons for Now Let Me Fly: The True Story of a Slave Family Close Reading Lessons for Up the Learning Tree How to Study a Theme: What Makes Home So Special? Introduction to the Unit Unit Curriculum Map for Close Reading Short Informational Text: My Home Close Reading Lessons for Let's Go Home: The Wonderful Things About a House Close Reading Lessons for Going Home Close Reading Lessons for A Thirst for Home: A Story of Water Across the World Close Reading Lessons for On This Spot: An Expedition Back Through Time How to Study a Current Issue: What's the Big Deal About Clean Water? Introduction to the Unit Unit Curriculum Map for Close Reading Short Informational Text: Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a Drop to (Safely) Drink Close Reading Lessons for A River Ran Wild Close Reading Lessons for A Life Like Mine (excerpt) Close Reading Lessons for One Well: The Story of Water on Earth (excerpt) Close Reading Lessons for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind The End of the Story: Reflecting on Student Work From New Haven, Connecticut From Belfast, Maine From Naugatuck, Connecticut More From Naugatuck, Connecticut From Meriden, Connecticut From Greenland, New Hampshire From North Haven, Connecticut More From North Haven, Connecticut Reflecting on Trends Exemplars: Reflecting on Class Performance for a Close Reading Follow-Up Task References

"Lessons and Units for Closer Reading reassures teachers like me to the same degree that it instructs. It is no accident that Nancy uses words like coherence, connections, and synergy in her opening pages. Through her unit and lesson design, she brings that coherence to us in incremental, practical ways-ways that new and experienced teachers can easily absorb into their teaching practices. Nancy is giving us what we want: specific lesson ideas based on a solid framework that uses children's literature, but it is actually what we need, too." -- TANNY MCGREGOR, Education Consultant and Author of Comprehension Connections "In her new book, Lessons and Units for Closer Reading, Nancy Boyles offers teachers what they ask for and need the most-practical, useable strategies and examples in the form of actual close reading lessons-32 to be exact-along with 23 videos accessible through QR codes that show how to implement these close reading lessons and related strategies. What a treasure trove of modeling and guidance for teachers! As a former elementary educator myself, how I wish I had had this powerful resource to help me become a better teacher of reading." -- LARRY AINSWORTH, Education Consultant and Coauthor of Common Formative Assessments 2.0 "The Common Core Standards call for students to be able to read texts closely to make meaning and for students to build knowledge systematically (CCSS for ELA, p. 33, 2010). This book provides a vivid picture of instruction that supports this kind of learning. Boyles' text speaks to the teacher who has been grappling with how to develop units and strategically integrate close reading lessons, providing clarity and inspiration. This is a must-have text for educators and will remain a go-to resource in my professional library for many years to come." -- SUNDAY CUMMINS, Ph.D., Literacy Consultant and Author of Close Reading of Informational Texts "Now you understand what close reading is, but you need the nitty-gritty. Presto, Nancy Boyles delivers eight stellar units of study. Her lessons are practical, the text-dependent questions for all those marvelous picture books save you a few weeks of arduous planning. But what I admire most of all? The gallery of student work she's gathered, with her commentary about strengths, needs, next steps. It's a rare window into another practitioner's thinking about what constitutes higher-level reading and writing work. Everybody's talking about it, but no one has done such a good job showing it until now." -- LESLIE BLAUMAN, Teacher, Education Consultant, and Author of The Common Core Companion: Booster Lessons, Grades 3-5 "Everywhere you turn, headlines call for students to read with depth and rigor. But few teachers get the support they need to bring this about for 25+ students each and every school day. Nancy Boyles' new book gives them that 'how-to,' and it's remarkable. She provides seven units of study [plus] a valuable planning guide that shows them how to design their own units with a depth that motivates and engages students. Once teachers ace the planning process, the day-to-day implementation of the units becomes easier. I predict that this book will become teachers' favorite resource for unit design." -- LAURA ROBB, Education Consultant and Author of Vocabulary Is Comprehension