In this 8-week online book study course, participants will read Note & Notice: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst, select and apply close reading strategies from the book in their classroom, and share their experiences online by posting brief reflections about their application experiences. The authentic classroom application of the practices described in this book is a key component of this class; thus, if your curriculum over the course of the 8-weeks will not offer ample opportunities to practice the strategies with literature in your classroom, we recommend that you opt to take this class at another time.
This class is divided into two parts and specific instructions for what you'll do week-to-week can be found on the tabs above.
Part 1 (Weeks 1-4): Thinking About Close Reading, the CCSS, and Preparing to Teach the Signposts
The first half of the class focuses on Part 1 of Notice & Note (pp.1-63). We’ve divided the reading into two chunks and will ask you to apply two of the preliminary strategies the authors suggest: 1) strategies that improve student-to-student discourse, and 2) a strategy for having students create text-dependent questions.
Part 2 (Weeks 5-8) The Signposts
The second half of the class focuses on the six signposts the authors have identified. The reading will encompass both Part II and Part III (pp.64-191). Part II introduces you to the signposts and outlines essential elements that will aid students in identifying and using the signposts for close reading. After reading Part II, we’ll want you to identify two of the six signposts you can teach and use with your class in the remaining weeks. The “due date” for identifying which signposts you’ll be applying in your classroom is at the end of Week 6; however, if you read Part II and post your plan prior to the end of Week 6, you’re welcome to dive right into your application. Part III of the book contains detailed lessons for each of the six signposts. Thus, we’d expect you to focus on the two chapters in Part III that feature the signposts you selected, but we invite you to read all of them.
