Submitted by
Jenelle Ball, with Kate
Activity: Chemistry Close Read
Ginno and Gale Morgan
Chico High School
FOR THE TEACHER Chico, California
Summary
In this activity, students will learn through actively reading real-world chemistry articles. The
close-read strategy is used as a way of enhancing student understanding and engagement by
slowing down the reading process without detracting from the current curriculum.
Grade Level
High School
Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to
actively engage in a science-based article, by annotating the text while reading.
make real-world connections to the chemistry content being taught in class.
write a thoughtful reflection and summary of content communicated in an article.
Chemistry Topics
This lesson supports students’ understanding of
interdisciplinary concepts
real-world applications
Time
Teacher Preparation: 10 minutes
Lesson: 30-45 minutes
Materials
Science content based article (ChemMatters is a great resource for these)
Student handouts
Safety
No safety considerations are needed for this activity.
Teacher Notes
The chemistry close read is an active read of an article for depth of understanding. The
strategy helps students navigate and access the sometimes challenging chemistry
readings. The close reading strategy slows down the reading process, which is helpful for
students with little interest or enthusiasm to read challenging expository text.
Each student is given a copy of an article to read and annotate. They should highlight or
underline important or interesting ideas and then write in the margins next to the word
or passage their thoughts, reactions, connections, and/or questions about the text. When
the reader comes across a word that is new, they should circle it, look up the definition,
and near the word write the definition. After reading the article, the student writes two
statements: a summary and a reflection (see picture of student example for reference).
At the beginning of the school year, I give students a sample close read and model what
they should do. I pick something short in length (a paragraph or two) that is about
something interesting. When students do the close read, they sometimes fall into the
habit of writing shallow comments like “cool,” “very interesting,” or “wow.” Modeling
thoughtful and insightful written comments helps set high expectations. Making
meaningful and rich comments also emphasizes the importance of slowing down and re-
reading at times. It is also good to include words that need defining, so if students skip
over them, they learn the significance of understanding words as part of the context.
Both the summary statement and reflective statement are also modeled at this time.
These statements are the synthesis piece that addresses the “so what?” or purpose of
reading the article. Most of the students in the chemistry class at our school have done
close reads in their English classes, so this is a familiar process. This introduction to the
close read usually takes 20 to 30 minutes, which leaves class time for daily work.
The experience in the English class has shown that articles should be no longer than two
to three pages. At times, the assigned article has connected with a topic being studied,
but most of the articles have been selected because they are about a current event or
fascinating research project. The articles have come from ChemMatters, Chemical &
Engineering News, and local newspapers. ChemMatters comes with a free online
Teacher’s Guide, which includes extensive and detailed reading guides for each article.
Typically, two to three nights are given to complete the assignment. On the day the
assignment is due, a short class discussion should occur. The assignment sheets for the
chemistry class and the English class are included in the classroom resources section.
For grading - In the beginning, I required six to nine comments per page. I also required
one definition. The comments are quickly checked for richness, and a particularly good
comment gets a mark of recognition on the paper. The real evidence of deep
understanding is shown in the summary statement and reflection.
Later, instead of counting the number of comments, focus on the richness of comments.
Finally, the teacher can check the close read with a fast look so that only the ending
statements need careful reading.
Use the included classroom resources as needed when implementing the close read:
o The first, entitled “Chemistry Close Read,” is the two-page handout that I use in
my chemistry class.
o The second, entitled “Article of the Week,” is the one-page handout that is used in
the ninth-grade English class. I included it to support a collaboration effort that a
chemistry teacher might want to establish with an English teacher.
o The third, entitled “Article of the Week Options,” is a one-page handout that is
used in the ninth-grade English class. I included it to give teachers an expanded
list of things that could be asked of students after they have done a close read.
o The fourth attachment is the student survey that I used at the end of the school
year to collect feedback about the Close Read.
FOR THE STUDENT
Lesson
1. Close Read (6 points): Read with a pencil/highlighter in hand, and annotate the
text.
Annotating means underlining or highlighting key words and phrases—
anything that strikes you as surprising or important, or that raises questions.
Annotating includes writing your thoughts and reactions in the margins next
to what you have highlighted or underlined. These need to be rich comments.
Rich comments might begin with the word, what or why or any of the
phrases that could also be used to start your reflection statement.
Highlight or circle words you don’t know, and look them up! Write down the
definition in the margin next to the word.
2. Summary Statement (2 points): Write a summary statement for the article in
which you include:
the author, title, and source
a summary verb
the sentence completed with the main idea of the article
The summary statement is 25 words or less; the author/title/source counts
as 1 word.
At the end of your statement, write the number of words in your statement
and circled it.
3. Reflection Statement (2 points): Use one of the following sentence starters and
write a brief 1-2 sentence reflection statement for the article.
A) I noticed. . . E) I’d like to know. . .
B) I wonder. . . F) I realized. . .
C) I was reminded of. . . G) If I were. . .
D) I am surprised that. . . H) I am not sure. . .
Created by J. Ball & K Ginno
Purpose Explanation
Express and reflect The writer
Expresses or reflects on his or her own life and experiences.
Often looks backward in order to look forward
Inquire and explore The writer
Wrestles with a question or problem
Hooks with the problem and lets the reader watch him or her
wrestle with it.
Inform and explain The writer
States a main point and purpose
Tries to present the information in a surprising way
Analyze and The writer
interpret Seeks to analyze and interpret phenomena that are difficult to
understand or explain
Take a stand The writer
Seeks to persuade audiences to accept a particular position on a
controversial issue
Evaluate and judge The writer
Focuses on the worth of person, object, idea, or other phenomenon
Usually specifies the criteria for the object to be seen as good or
bad
Propose a solution The writer
Is calling for action
Describes the problem, proposes a solution, and provides
justification
Seek common The writer
ground Aims to calm the intensity
Respects the values of all readers
from Teaching Adolescent Readers by Kelly Gallagher, p.183
Summary Verbs
For Beginners:
compares explains presents
defines gives shows
describes lists tells
For More Proficient Writers:
acknowledges confuses enumerates persuades
adds considers evaluates praises
advises contrasts explores predicts
answers critiques expresses proposes
asks defends features provides
asserts demonstrates furnishes recognizes
assures denounces identifies recommends
blames depicts illustrates simplifies
captures discourages informs solves
clarifies encourages invites suggests
classifies endorses judges supports
confirms entertains mentions teaches
confronts entices offends traces
adapted from Step Up to Writing, p.3-6 by K. Ginno English Teacher at Chico High School
