Close Reading, Key Passages, and Commentary

At the secondary level, students are explicitly required to develop their “close reading skills” which depend on comprehension and highlight inferencing, interpretation, critical reading, and critical thinking. In the lower grades, students are introduced to vocabulary, the concepts of synonyms and word choice, literary aspects of a text (such as character and setting), all while learning how to decode language and comprehend texts. Primary school is also the time when teachers scaffold explicit text connections for students through reflective activities that foster text to self, text to world, and text to text connections. This foundational knowledge of decoding, language, text forms and features, as well as thinking routines are the building blocks of effective close reading. Without this foundational knowledge of texts and ability to make connections to texts and between texts, students struggle to become critical readers.

Brassell & Rasinski (2008) identify three levels of comprehension:

1. Literal Comprehension

The reader can recall information that is explicitly communicated in the text.
Plot, stated descriptions, character names, events, facts, stated details

2. Inferential Comprehension

The reader infers what is happening in the text without the information being explicitly stated.
Readers use their background knowledge, personal experience, knowledge from other texts they’ve read,
and their imaginations to make inferences about the knowledge, experience, and/or circumstances being
communicated in a text. Inferences usually rely on logic and detail, but they also asks students to take
risks, especially when inferring what abstract thoughts and feelings are being implied in a text but not
directly stated.

3. Critical Comprehension

The reader makes critical and/or evaluative judgements about the information presented in the text.
Evaluations and judgements about the information presented in a text seeks to praise, challenge, and
critically consider the information provided. In informative texts, a reader might consider how information
was collected or communicated and the effects either of those might have on the ways in which the reader
is perceiving or understanding the imparted knowledge. In literary texts, a reader might consider how
culture or era (either the text’s or the reader’s) might effect the ways in which a reader thinks about or
understands a character, their circumstances, or the text as a whole. Critical thinking is part of critical
reading: the reader considers factors both within and outside of the text that affect the production and
reception of knowledge and understanding that the text seeks to communicate.

Students who struggle with literal comprehension will struggle to achieve inferential and critical comprehension. This is why it is important to check literal comprehension of a passage or text before moving forward with inferential and critical reading skills. Multiple choice and short answer questions that only assess comprehension have come under scrutiny in the last couple of decades for not being rigorous enough for a secondary English course; but as teachers we also have to engage with the reality that if students are still having trouble decoding text or literally comprehend information and stories, then we will never successfully be able to equip students with the skills needed to comprehend at an inferential and critical level.

---

Teaching Approaches

The first step to engage students in close reading is to have them think about what constitutes a “Key Passage” in a text. The document below is addressed to students, and is meant to help provide guidance on what may constitute a “Key Passage” or a “Key Moment”. It is important for the teacher to remember that there are not objective answers here: a passage may stand out to a particular student as being “key” because they are able to bring knowledge and a set of experiences that helps them engage with that passage in a personal, yet meaningful way. One of the most humbling experiences of my career was teaching Midaq Alley to a class of Egyptian students. Their understandings and revelations about characters and moments in the text were so different than my own because they could relate and connect a set of knowledge, experiences, and cultural context that was distant and foreign to me as a western reader. Likewise, there were characters and moments that stood out to me as being significant and impactful in transforming my understanding of Egyptian society that were common place to them. When choosing “Key Passages” and discussing significant aspects of a text, it is extremely important that we honor the reader, and the ways in which their knowledge, experience, and beliefs play a role in developing inferential and critical comprehension, which are the cornerstone skills of close reading.

Since passage selection itself can be a subjective process, it is beneficial to begin by asking students to select Key Passages and/or Moments, rather than the teacher providing these to the student. This will help students feel more confident when developing close reading skills because students are likely to choose a passage that they literally understand and can connect to in order to develop some inferential understanding of the passage. Providing opportunities for students to share these Key Passages helps students develop an understanding of how readers compare as they discuss moments they find significant and engaging. This helps readers develop an awareness of the ways in which readers respond similarly to the content and style of texts, as well as where students have an individual perspective, insight or response to a particular subject matter or style. Helping students develop an awareness of the ways in which their thoughts, feelings, emotions, insights, and biases compare with their peers not only allows them to appreciate the ways in which their individual selves are unique, it can also help them realize how to offer critical and creative thought to the discussion that is unique, enlightening, and contributes to the critical discourse of a work. It is this level of personal response, evaluation, and critical and creative thinking that is awarded at the highest levels of analysis.

Teaching Resources