Being a “good” reader does not mean that you read a lot of
books. Building reading comprehension skills is done through close reading practice and study of the passages. Building that
reading muscle also means reading things that are challenging or outside your
favorite book series or genre. Middle school students can flex this muscle and
work on this skill through the Collections Series from HMH. These are grade-level
close reader workbooks, meaning the reading selections are provided in the book
and students work alongside the text.
Each collection has a central theme and contains a short
story plus two reading selections from varying sources (magazines,
informational texts, newspaper articles, autobiography, graphic novels, poems,
and many more). Themes include Facing Fear, Making Your Voice Heard, Perception
and Reality, Nature at Work, The Thrill of Horror, Anne Frank’s Legacy, and the
Value of Work, just to name a few. The Student Close Reader is a
consumable worktext that provides reading selections, prompts, questions, and
space for writing. A prolific writer may want a separate notebook to document
thoughts/observations and answers. Background information is provided on
authors, and notable quotes are pulled out and displayed along with images and
graphics that enhance the readings. Students are guided every step of the way through
questions and instructions as they develop their reading skills, learn about
authors, create their own dictionary from selected vocab words, and process
what they are reading. The “Read” questions guide students through a close
reading of the passage, provide space for annotating, and use the side margins
for inferences and analysis. The “ReRead” questions further guide students’
reading to focus on smaller chunks of the text to uncover meaning and central
ideas. The final “ReRead and Discuss” section is designed for small group
discussion. Students working independently can document their responses and
revisit them later, as their own thoughts and opinions may change. Every text
selection ends with a “Short Response” section where students summarize their
ideas about what they have read. This is the application section; after reviewing their own notes, they are going to take a stance and defend their opinion. This develops critical thinking and rhetoric skills.
The Close Reader Teacher’s Guides are wrap-around
texts with student reduced pages that include typical answers to help evaluate students’
comprehension. Learning objectives are clearly indicated, and differentiated
learning strategies and additional student discussion questions are provided.
Use as little or as much of these helpful teacher tools as your student needs.
There is a place for you to take notes as you teach, observe, and prep. Access
to the mentioned eBook or online platform are not available for the
homeschool/individual market.
