Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts (Corwin Literacy)

by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher

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What it really means to "read closely."

What could Fern Arable, Jay Gatsby, and Winston Churchill possibly have in common? They all need masterful teachers to help students revel in their complexity. And Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher are just the two mentors to help you make that happen.

Call it close reading, call it deep reading, call it analytic reading-call it what you like. The point is, it's a level of understanding that students of any age can achieve with the right kind of instruction. In Rigorous Reading, Nancy and Doug articulate an instructional plan so clearly, and so squarely built on research, that teachers, schools, and districts need look no further.

The 5 Access Points Toward Proficiency

  1. Purpose & Modeling: Teachers think aloud to demonstrate critical thinking and how good readers always know why they are reading.
  2. Close & Scaffolded Reading Instruction: Teachers engage students in repeated readings and discussions, with text-dependent questions, prompts, and cues to help students delve into an author's ideas.
  3. Collaborative Conversations: Teachers orchestrate collaborative learning to get students in the habit of exercising their analytical thinking in the presence of their peers.
  4. An Independent Reading Staircase: Teachers artfully steer students to more challenging books, with strategic bursts of instruction and peer conferences to foster metacognitive awareness.
  5. Performance: Teachers offer feedback and assessments that help students demonstrate understanding of text in authentic ways and plan instruction based on student understanding.

There's more . . . Also included are illustrative classroom video clips available via QR codes along with an online Facilitator's Guide with PowerPoints--making Rigorous Reading the only resource a teacher, school, or district needs to seriously stretch students' capacity to read and comprehend text.

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. The recipient of the 2008 Early Career Achievement Award from the Literacy Research Association, she is also a teacher-leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College and a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California. Nancy can be reached at nfrey@mail.sdsu.edu.

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is the recipient of an IRA Celebrate Literacy Award, NCTE's Farmer Award for Excellence in Writing, as well as a Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education. He is a credentialed English teacher and administrator in California. Doug can be reached at dfisher@mail.sdsu.edu.

Nancy and Doug collaborate often. Text Complexity (IRA, 2012) is among their many best-selling texts-and Rigorous Reading's precursor, which explains what exactly makes a text "hard."

  • ISBN10 1452268134
  • ISBN13 9781452268132
  • Publish Date 29 October 2013 (first published 30 August 2013)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Out of Print 12 March 2021
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher SAGE Publications Inc
  • Imprint Corwin Press Inc