On dirait que les supérieurs disent la phrase “lecture attentive” si souvent ces jours-ci que, si c'était un jeu à boire, Je serais mort d'une intoxication alcoolique. C'est un peu comme quand tu utilises le mot “pastèque” enough times in a row and the word stops having any connection to a melon you can eat and instead becomes just a pattern of sounds.
The problem isn’t the actual skill of close reading. The problem is that it’s become another buzzword, thereby (ironically) stripping the skill of any relevance in the minds of teachers. Good job, education gurus. Good job.
Close reading shouldn’t be a separate lesson. You shouldn’t be in the middle of reading a novel. Stop reading. Switch to some article about the history of lawnmowers, close read it, then return to the “real” work. If that’s what you’re doing, these kids will NEVER want to close read. They’ll be doomed to a life of half-assed skimming, never quite discerning inferences or main ideas. Sad.
Of course, getting my juniors and seniors to actually read the stuff I assign them (hell, even to LISTEN as I read it TO them) is like fistfight with a raccoon. Comme, I swear I could tell a kid “Read three pages in The Great Gatsby, or I’ll cut off your pinkie-toe” and they’d be like “No more flip flops for me!” This has forced me to give them reading check quizzes as a means of blackmailing them into learning.
I used to give them the usual multiple-choice quizzes, but they are SO EASY TO CHEAT ON. And they don’t really make the kids think too hard. This year, I’ve been reevaluating how I write those reading check quizzes, placing an emphasis on rereading and interpreting key passages from the novel. I’m mixing up the way I ask questions, trop: multiple choice, fill-in-the blank, short answer. Lots and lots of direct quotes from the novel and working to understand how they shape the main idea. And close reading. Lots of close reading that is an extension of what we’re already doing.
The kids are improving their understanding of the difference between reading for pleasure and reading with the purpose of analysis in mind. I’ve been totally gobsmacked by how many juniors and seniors didn’t know that reading a novel for an ELA class isn’t the same as reading the latest Colleen Hoover book for fun. Oops. Guess I forgot to mention that freshman and sophomore year–course correction in progress.
To this end, check out my Animal Farm chapter reading quizzes up now on TpT. Teaching Partner Claire is currently using them with her low-level ELA1 class and has said that the variety of question types and embedded close reading are keeping the kids more engaged than a steady diet of multiple-choice-only quizzes. As always, I designed these with accessibility in mind. Read-along audio is included for all quizzes, and there are regular and thoughtfully-modified versions for every chapter.
Mots-clés: Lecture des quiz de contrôle, Évaluations chapitre par chapitre, Options d'évaluation flexibles, Rédiger des devoirs pour l’apprentissage, Versions de quiz modifiées, Hébergement SPED, Modifications ELL, Gain de temps pour les enseignants, Nettoyer les copies des étudiants, Formats de quiz attrayants, Évaluations de la pensée critique, Dissuasion de la tricherie, Utilisation de la police Lexend, Hébergements audio, Quiz YouTube à lecture haute voix, Environnement d'apprentissage inclusif, Responsabilité dans l'éducation, Stimulation de la motivation des étudiants, Charge de travail réduite des enseignants, Compréhension globale du roman, George Orwell, animal de ferme, lecture attentive, pratique quotidienne de la lecture, preuve textuelle
