Rigorous Reading, Florida Edition

5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts
Douglas Fisher - San Diego State University, USA
Nancy Frey - San Diego State University, USA
Corwin Literacy
Rigorous Reading, Florida Edition
May 2020 | 176 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781071820599
Available from January 0001
Paperback
ISBN: 9781071810637
Available from January 0001

Description

Newly revised and updated throughout, this new Florida Edition has been specially developed to align with Florida’s new B.E.S.T. Standards.

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, Purpose & Modeling:

  1. 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—making Rigorous Reading the only resource a teacher, school, or district needs to seriously stretch students' capacity to read and comprehend text.

Contents

List of Videos

List of Videos

Foreword

Foreword

INTRODUCTION: Your Access Point

  • CHAPTER 1. Ramping Up for Complex Texts
  • Reading Complex Texts
  • A New Definition of Text Complexity
  • Reading Closely and Carefully
  • Accessing Complex Texts Through a Gradual Release of Responsibility
  • The Organization of Learning Expectations in Florida
  • Organization of Rigorous Reading, Florida Edition
  • Summary
  • CHAPTER 2. Access Point One: Modeling and Learning Intentions
  • Accessing Complex Text Requires Modeling
  • Accessing Complex Text Requires a Clear Learning Intention
  • 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
  • The Goals of Independent Learning
  • Accessing Complex Texts Requires Wide, Independent Reading
  • Increasing At-Home Reading
  • Accessing Complex Texts Requires Conferring
  • Summary
  • CHAPTER 6. Access Point Five: Assessing Students’ Understanding
  • Checking for Understanding
  • Providing Effective Feedback
  • Engaging in Feed-Forward Instruction
  • Summary

Coda

Coda

References

References

Index

Index

Additional materials

Description

Newly revised and updated throughout, this new Florida Edition has been specially developed to align with Florida’s new B.E.S.T. Standards.

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, Purpose & Modeling:

  1. 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—making Rigorous Reading the only resource a teacher, school, or district needs to seriously stretch students' capacity to read and comprehend text.

Contents

List of Videos

List of Videos

Foreword

Foreword

INTRODUCTION: Your Access Point

  • CHAPTER 1. Ramping Up for Complex Texts
  • Reading Complex Texts
  • A New Definition of Text Complexity
  • Reading Closely and Carefully
  • Accessing Complex Texts Through a Gradual Release of Responsibility
  • The Organization of Learning Expectations in Florida
  • Organization of Rigorous Reading, Florida Edition
  • Summary
  • CHAPTER 2. Access Point One: Modeling and Learning Intentions
  • Accessing Complex Text Requires Modeling
  • Accessing Complex Text Requires a Clear Learning Intention
  • 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
  • The Goals of Independent Learning
  • Accessing Complex Texts Requires Wide, Independent Reading
  • Increasing At-Home Reading
  • Accessing Complex Texts Requires Conferring
  • Summary
  • CHAPTER 6. Access Point Five: Assessing Students’ Understanding
  • Checking for Understanding
  • Providing Effective Feedback
  • Engaging in Feed-Forward Instruction
  • Summary

Coda

Coda

References

References

Index

Index

Additional materials

SAGE Publishing Logo

Rigorous Reading, Florida Edition

5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts

Douglas Fisher , Nancy Frey
Cancel Print

May 2020 | 176 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781071810637 $40.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781071820599 $37.00

Newly revised and updated throughout, this new Florida Edition has been specially developed to align with Florida’s new B.E.S.T. Standards.

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, Purpose & Modeling:

  1. 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—making Rigorous Reading the only resource a teacher, school, or district needs to seriously stretch students' capacity to read and comprehend text.


Table Of Contents:

  • List of Videos
  • Foreword
  • INTRODUCTION: Your Access Point
  • CHAPTER 1. Ramping Up for Complex Texts
  • Reading Complex Texts
  • A New Definition of Text Complexity
  • Reading Closely and Carefully
  • Accessing Complex Texts Through a Gradual Release of Responsibility
  • The Organization of Learning Expectations in Florida
  • Organization of Rigorous Reading, Florida Edition
  • Summary
  • CHAPTER 2. Access Point One: Modeling and Learning Intentions
  • Accessing Complex Text Requires Modeling
  • Accessing Complex Text Requires a Clear Learning Intention
  • 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
  • The Goals of Independent Learning
  • Accessing Complex Texts Requires Wide, Independent Reading
  • Increasing At-Home Reading
  • Accessing Complex Texts Requires Conferring
  • Summary
  • CHAPTER 6. Access Point Five: Assessing Students’ Understanding
  • Checking for Understanding
  • Providing Effective Feedback
  • Engaging in Feed-Forward Instruction
  • Summary
  • Coda
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

“Worthwhile, intentional, and thorough are watchwords to describe the Florida edition of Fisher and Frey’s Rigorous Reading. This book provides teachers and teacher-leaders with the critical information they need to unfold Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards and improve transdisciplinary literacy acquisition across grade levels. It is mindfully written for those closest to the students—the classroom teachers.”
Enrique A. Puig, EdD, University of Central Florida
“Fisher and Frey have truly outdone themselves with this must-read for all Florida educators—preservice to secondary. Rigorous Reading effortlessly moves from theory to practice while explicitly addressing necessary scaffolds to ensure each and every student can access complex text. The five access points are exactly what educators need to elevate learning and increase cognitive engagement through strong literacy instruction.”
Courtney Lough, Pasco County Schools, FL
“Just as our students require scaffolded instruction, so do we teachers in an ever-changing educational landscape. In this book, Fisher and Frey offer Florida’s teachers the what and the how of providing the nuts and bolts to students with diverse needs and states of readiness.”
Paul Holimon, Collier County Public Schools, Naples, FL
“This is a bold book. . . . It is genius, and its unique contribution is in bringing the balance and the centeredness to new education standards.”
P. David Pearson, University of California, Berkeley
“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, EdD

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