Engage students in complex literary strategies as they dive into exploring rich pairs of fiction and nonfiction texts. Written by Lori Oczkus and Timothy Rasinski, this resource brings together two key strategies from the Common Core State Standards: close reading of paired texts. It provides teachers with the opportunity to use close reading strategies, reciprocal teaching, paired fiction/nonfiction texts, text sets, text-dependent questions, and hands-on activities. It includes 12 units across 4 content areas: language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Key differentiation strategies used in today's classrooms are provided including open-ended tasks and activities strong for multiple intelligences, and each unit includes text-dependent assessment for each text type. Aligned to McREL and Common Core State Standards, this resource prepares students for college and career.
Author Biography:
Lori Oczkus, M.A., is an accomplished educator, author, and speaker. She has experience working as a bilingual elementary teacher, reading intervention specialist, sta developer, and literacy coach. Lori has inspired many teachers through her motivating workshops and best-selling books. She frequently spends time in classrooms and focuses on helping teachers refine their reading instruction. Lori has been inducted in the California Reading Association Hall of Fame for her many contributions to the field of reading. She has authored several books including Best Ever Literacy Survival Tips: 25 Lessons You Can't Teach Without! and Guided Writing: Practical Lessons, Powerful Results.
Dr. Timothy Rasinski is a professor emeritus of literary education at Kent State University and was previously director of its award-winning reading clinic. Dr. Rasinski is the author of numerous best-selling books, articles, and curriculum programs on literacy education and has co-authored many resources for Shell Education including, but not limited to, Greek & Latin Roots: Keys to Building Vocabulary, Starting with Prefixes and Suffixes, Practice with Prefixes, Vocabulary Ladders: Understanding Word Nuances series, Getting to the Roots of Content-Area Vocabulary series, Idioms and Other English Expressions series, Close Reading with Paired Texts series, Rhymes for the Times: Literacy Strategies through Social Studies, as well as TCM's curriculum resource Building Vocabulary series.
Dr. Rasinski is a frequent, well-known presenter nationwide and in 2021 and 2023 was named one of the top 2% most-citied scientists in the world. His scholarly interests include reading fluency, word study, reading in the elementary and middle grades, and readers who struggle. Dr. Rasinski served a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association and was co-editor of The Reading Teacher, the world's most widely read journal of literacy education. He has also served as co-editor of the Journal of Literacy Research. Dr. Rasinski is a former president of the College Reading Association and has won the A. B. Herr and Laureate Awards from the College Reading Association for his scholarly contributions to literacy education. In 2010, Dr. Rasinski was elected to the International Reading Hall of Fame, and in 2019 Dr. Rasinski was recipient of the International Literacy Association's highest honor--the William S. Gray Citation of Merit--for his contributions to the field of literacy.
