Reading Closely for Textual Details

Description

This unit develops students’ abilities to read closely for textual details and compare authors’ perspectives through an examination of a series of texts about the separation of religion and government in the United States.

The unit activities are organized into five parts, each associated with short texts. The parts build on each other and can each span a range of instructional time depending on scheduling and student ability.

Part 1 introduces students to the idea of reading closely for details through an examination of a range of text types. Part 2 introduces students to a particular process for close reading that involves questioning the text—at first generally and then in text-specifi c ways—to help them focus on important textual ideas and characteristics. Part 3 develops student profi ciency by analyzing textual details for making comparisons across texts. Parts 4 and 5 develop students’ abilities to express their analysis, first through writing text-based explanations in Part 4 and then, in Part 5, through facilitating and participating in text-centered discussions.