Lessons and Units for Closer Reading, Grades K-2

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.

Reading Closely in K-2: Guidelines for Getting Started 1. Rely on high-quality picture books that you read aloud. 2. Teach an initial close reading lesson to build content knowledge. 3. Teach close reading follow-up lessons to build skills. 4. Assess close reading appropriately with formative assessments. 5. Teach close reading using units so students can make connections between texts. 6. Teach close reading using learning pathways that show students how to learn. Teaching and Assessing Students' Comprehension The Twelve Skills in Focus How the Assessments Are Embedded Across Books and Units How the Assessments Are Embedded in Weekly Instruction During Reading Success: It's in the Cards After Reading Success: Framing Students' Thinking How to Evaluate Students' Written Responses Rubric for Evaluating Reader Response Frames Standards: Putting the Assessment Tools to Work The Reproducibles: Active Reader Cards and Reader Response Frames Student-Friendly Forms for Teaching and Assessing the Standards The Units and Lessons Learning Pathway: How to Study a Character Trait Unit Focus: Why Is It Important to Show Kindness to Others? Fable to Begin the Unit: The Wind and the Sun Close Reading Lessons for Melissa Parkington's Beautiful, Beautiful Hair Close Reading Lessons for Mama Panya's Pancakes: A Village Tale From Kenya Close Reading Lessons for Each Kindness Close Reading Lessons for Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla Learning Pathway: How to Study an Animal Unit Focus: How Are Animals the Same? How Are Animals Different? Fable to Begin the Unit: The Hare and the Tortoise Close Reading Lessons for Panda Kindergarten Close Reading Lessons for Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems Close Reading Lessons for Surprising Sharks Close Reading Lessons for Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! Learning Pathway: How to Study a Person Unit Focus: How Can You Make a Difference-Even if You're a Kid? Fable to Begin the Unit: The Lion and the Mouse Close Reading Lessons for Blizzard Close Reading Lessons for The Wednesday Surprise Close Reading Lessons for Rosie Revere, Engineer Close Reading Lessons for The Story of Ruby Bridges Learning Pathway: How to Study a Place Unit Focus: What Is Special About This Place? Fable to Begin the Unit: The Lion and the Dolphin Close Reading Lessons for Antarctica Close Reading Lessons for Fernando's Gift Close Reading Lessons for Creatures of the Desert World Close Reading Lessons for America the Beautiful: Together We Stand Learning Pathway: How to Study a Theme Unit Focus: Why Is It Important to Make Good Choices? Fable to Begin the Unit: The Two Frogs Close Reading Lessons for Fireflies Close Reading Lessons for Those Shoes Close Reading Lessons for Maddi's Fridge Close Reading Lessons for The Empty Pot References

"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 "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 (01/02/2015) "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 (01/02/2015) "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 "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 (01/02/2015)