Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts

by Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483332086
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/30/2013
Series:	Corwin Literacy
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Nancy Frey is professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Nancy was a teacher, academic coach, and central office resource coordinator in Florida.  She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California.  She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. She has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as The Artificial Intelligences Playbook, How Scaffolding Works, How Teams Work, and The Vocabulary Playbook.

Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator.  He is a credentialed teacher and leader in California.  In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as Welcome to Teaching, PLC+, Teaching Students to Drive their Learning, and Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning.

Table of Contents

List of Videos
Foreword by P. David Pearson
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Your Access Point
Chapter 1. Ramping Up for Complex Texts
Reading Complex Texts: Anchor Standard 10
A New Definition of Text Complexity
Reading Closely: Anchor Standard 1
The Importance of Comprehension Strategies Instruction for Accessing Complex Texts
Accessing Complex Texts Through a Gradual Release of Responsibility
Summary
Chapter 2. Access Point One: Purpose and Modeling
Accessing Complex Text Requires Modeling
Accessing Complex Text Requires a Clear Purpose
Summary
Chapter 3. Access Point Two: Close and Scaffolded Reading Instruction
Accessing Complex Text Requires Close Reading
Accessing Complex Text Requires Scaffolded Reading Instruction
Summary
Chapter 4. Access Point Three: Collaborative Conversations
Accessing Complex Texts Requires Collaborative Conversations
Accessing Complex Texts Requires Student-to-Student Interaction
Summary
Chapter 5. Access Point Four: An Independent Reading Staircase
Accessing Complex Texts Requires Independent Reading
Accessing Complex Texts Requires Conferring
Summary
Chapter 6. Access Point Five: Demonstrating Understanding and Assessing Performance
Accessing Complex Texts Requires More Than Personal Connections
Accessing Complex Texts Requires Students to Do Something After Reading
Accessing Complex Texts Requires Formative Assessments
Summary
Coda
Professional Learning Guide
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"One would think that the first place to look when wanting information about the Common Core State Standards would be, well, the Common Core State Standards. The fact is, though, Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey are quickly becoming the go-to folks for information on teaching these standards. They've proven this again in Rigorous Reading. This is certainly a book to be added to your collection of books that attend to the demands of the CCSS."

Kylene Beers

"With Rigorous Reading Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey have provided literacy educators who are committed to successfully raising the bar with solutions that make sense. The book is masterfully developed with an extensive reach across many grade levels in terms of defining what it means to provide intentional instruction and teaching text complexity. The five access points are discussed pragmatically with evidence of a solid research base deftly woven throughout the book. This is the most practical book I have come across in terms of providing teachers with the knowledge base and assistance many are seeking to improve their instruction with regard to complex texts. "

Steven L. Layne

"In a time when nearly every state has adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), we need resources that show us how to support students in developing their full literacy potential. In this very practical and insightful book, Fisher and Frey examine how CCSS conceptions of text complexity are causing us to shift some of our ideas about reading instruction. Rigorous Reading is an important resource that will help teachers align reading instruction with the CCSS in powerful ways. "

Linda B. Gambrell

This is a bold book. . . . Its genius, and its unique contribution, is in bringing the balance and the centeredness to this new game in town—the Common Core. "

P. David Pearson

"In Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Helping Students Comprehend Complex Texts, Fisher and Frey help teachers understand how to bring vigor to rigor. They teach us how to help students understand more from their complex texts — greater understanding that will help to bring life and energy to each student's reading. Rooted in solid research, this is book is a must-read for those grappling with how to translate the recommendations and mandates around text complexity from the Common Core into instructional practices. "

Jennifer Serravallo author of Teaching Reading in Small Groups and Conferring with Readers

"In a time when nearly every state has adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), we need resources that show us how to support students in developing their full literacy potential. In this very practical and insightful book, Fisher and Frey examine how CCSS conceptions of text complexity are causing us to shift some of our ideas about reading instruction. Rigorous Reading is an important resource that will help teachers align reading instruction with the CCSS in powerful ways."--Linda B. Gambrell, Professor

"In Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Helping Students Comprehend Complex Texts, Fisher and Frey help teachers understand how to bring vigor to rigor. They teach us how to help students understand more from their complex texts -- greater understanding that will help to bring life and energy to each student′s reading. Rooted in solid research, this is book is a must-read for those grappling with how to translate the recommendations and mandates around text complexity from the Common Core into instructional practices."
--Jennifer Serravallo author of Teaching Reading in Small Groups and Conferring with Readers

"One would think that the first place to look when wanting information about the Common Core State Standards would be, well, the Common Core State Standards. The fact is, though, Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey are quickly becoming the go-to folks for information on teaching these standards. They′ve proven this again in Rigorous Reading. This is certainly a book to be added to your collection of books that attend to the demands of the CCSS."
--Kylene Beers, Ed.D.

"This is a bold book. . . . Its genius, and its unique contribution, is in bringing the balance and the centeredness to this new game in town--the Common Core."--P. David Pearson, Professor of the Graduate School of Education

"With Rigorous Reading Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey have provided literacy educators who are committed to successfully raising the bar with solutions that make sense. The book is masterfully developed with an extensive reach across many grade levels in terms of defining what it means to provide intentional instruction and teaching text complexity. The five access points are discussed pragmatically with evidence of a solid research base deftly woven throughout the book. This is the most practical book I have come across in terms of providing teachers with the knowledge base and assistance many are seeking to improve their instruction with regard to complex texts."--Steven L. Layne, Ed.D., Professor of Literacy Education

From the Publisher