Handout
Stanford University

Close Reading

For Students 5th - 10th Standards
Here's a poster that highlights the skills needed for the close reading of primary source documents when gathering evidence to support historical claims.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading: The Introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

For Teachers 5th Standards
As part of a group of lessons, your class will return to the primary text for this unit, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Key vocabulary as well as close reading strategies continue to be the focus skills; however, this lesson...
Lesson Plan
1
1
EngageNY

Getting Ready to Learn About Human Rights: Close Reading of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

For Teachers 5th Standards
Introduce young readers to informational texts with a well-designed, ready-to-use, and Common Core-aligned unit. Young readers learn a variety of skills while studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). As the first...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading: Unpacking Specific Articles of the UDHR

For Teachers 5th Standards
Lesson 6 of this extensive unit finally has your class begin to work their way through specific articles from the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Before examining the rights actually detailed in the...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading: Becoming Experts on Specific Articles of the UDHR

For Teachers 5th Standards
A continuation of the previous lesson, which is part of a larger group of lessons on human rights (see additional materials). Here, in Lesson 7, your class will explore more articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie: A Close Reading

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Andrew Carnegie's "The Gospel of Wealth" provides high schoolers an opportunity to engage more complex text. After a close reading of the essay and an analysis of Carnegie's argument that the rich are superior because they earn money,...
Lesson Plan
3
3
Curated OER

Jim Murphy, The Great Fire - Grade 6

For Teachers 6th Standards
The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

A Close Reading of Learned Hand's "I Am an American Day"

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Judge Learned Hand's "Spirit of Liberty" speech delivered during the July, 1944 "I Am an American Day" celebration is the subject of a close reading activity that models for learners how to approach a dense, difficult text.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Monroe Doctrine: A Close Reading

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify specific passages in the Monroe Doctrine to events in early U.S. diplomacy.
Unit Plan
The New York Times

The Careful Reader: Teaching Critical Reading Skills with the New York Times

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
The 11 lessons in this educators' guide focus on using newspapers to develop critical reading skills in the content areas.
Worksheet
Germantown School District

Close Reading World Religions: Islam

For Students 6th - 8th
As part of a close reading activity, individuals respond to three questions and craft two short essays based on a passage about Islam, one of the world most widespread religion.
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Voyage on the Mayflower for Grades 3-5

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Following an online activity, scholars complete a Grafitti Wall in which small groups write words and phrases on chart paper pertaining to Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and Thanksgiving. Pupils perform a close reading then answer a series of...
Activity
1
1
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 1

For Teachers 6th Standards
Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...
Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Second Grade Skills Unit 6: The War of 1812

For Teachers 2nd Standards
An English language arts unit closely examines spelling, grammar, reading, and writing skills. Scholars practice spelling patterns and tricky words. A read-aloud details the War of 1812 and introduces adverbs, and a close reading looks...
Lesson Plan
Tennessee State Museum

Deciphering the Document: Unlocking the Meaning of the Emancipation Proclamation

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Help your learners truly understand the Emancipation Proclamation by asking them the put it into their own words. After reading the document out loud to the class, and briefly discussing the legal language, split your class into small...
Worksheet
3
3
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address

For Students 8th - 11th
Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
"The Gettysburg Address" is the basis of a series of activities that not only model for learners how to conduct a close reading of a text, but also how a close reading can help them comprehend a difficult text. The detailed, step-by-step...
Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

The Audacity of a Vote: Susan B. Anthony’s Arrest

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a lesson that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech paragraph by...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Defying British Rule: Women's Contributions to The American Revolution

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a lesson that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational text leads the...
Activity
National Endowment for the Humanities

A Defense of the Electoral College

For Students 9th - 12th
Each presidential election year, the debate about the electoral college rages. Michael C. Maibach's "A Defense of the Electoral College" offers young political scientists an opportunity to examine a reasoned argument for why the...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Learning for Justice

Mary Church Terrell

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Learning for Justice

Mary McLeod Bethune

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians conduct a close reading of the text of an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who taught herself to read, grew up to establish schools for other Black women, and went on to become an advisor...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Reconstruction Treaties Of 1866: The Reconstruction In Indian Territory

For Teachers 9th
The Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 and their impact on the Five Tribes in the United States Civil War are the focus of a lesson that asks young historians to consider how these treaties affected tribal sovereignty. Class members do a...
Lesson Plan
Teaching Tolerance

Social Media for Social Action

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Engage in activism, not slacktivism! Scholars discuss social media and the Internet as tools for social change. Next, they engage in a close reading strategy called Thinking Notes as they read an article about social media activism.

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