Once they are done, they will trade with another group to mark that group’s paragraph with the same rubric I will eventually use to mark the paragraphs they will write on their own. Students will get the same instructions: close read, paying attention to character and theme.ĭuring the following class, they will work in groups to discuss their notes and then to complete a group paragraph, based on the model we co-created the previous day. Next, I will assign the story, Saturday Climbing, by WD Valgaardson, another text that deals with finding contentment. We discuss their discoveries as a class and then I will model how to write a literary paragraph. What did they learn? How would they describe Vicente? What evidence would they use to back up their statements? When they have finished a close read, I will have them turn and talk to a partner. I will direct them to take notes with that purpose in mind and will model the process of close reading with them, using the first few pages of the text. It is just chock full of good messages and I use it as a jumping off point for teaching students how to analyze textįirst I will set a purpose for reading the story: to analyze the character of Vicente and to discover the author’s message. The story is about a wonderful old guy named Vicente, who discovers that true contentment is not found in your pocket book, but in doing what brings you joy. The first one is one of my all time favourites: The Singing Silence, by Eva-Lis Wuorio. Then, I will use a little bit of gradual release as we study three short stories.

A fter they’ve learned about close reading, I begin with short stories, because of their brevity, before we move onto longer texts.

The Singing Silence by Eva-Lis Wuorio