Close Reading Doesn't Mean "Draw a Picture"

Drawing a picture takes your mind away from reading. Drawing requires careful control and, particularly for younger students, forces attention away from the narrative to under-developed fine motor skills. I see many "one size fits all" study programs that include "hot button" Common Core terminology and claim to transport kids to the Shangri-La of  compliance by making them draw pictures.

Close reading also doesn't mean, "Write complete sentences in response to the following questions." Composition and reading are two different, admittedly related, but divergent activities. We must establish a pace, direct attention to details, and open the mind to speculation, not assign tasks that constantly take the reader's mind off the substance of their reading. In other words, close reading study guides must be composed of questions that facilitate reading. The answers must be extremely brief.

It takes time enough for a kid to move his attention from the story to a question and then onto a sheet of paper to record an answer. The question should do most of the work. If you want to use pictures, draw them yourself. They can be effective! Graphic novels are effective because they show kids how to visualize! Don't require kids to visualize before showing them how it's done.

Your reading skill builders should draw the reader to critical components of understanding. The answers to the questions must not require too many moments of reflection. Most questions shouldn't require a "gathering of thoughts." They should instead be "bases" that kids touch on their way to understanding. Readers stop just long enough to verify clearly that they have observed the first detail, then the next, and the next.

And finally, yes, you should have them draw a picture or compose a conclusion. But these should be obvious. They should beg for expression. If you have built the road to understanding, and if they've make all the stops, the answers should be easy.