What is Amplify Close Reading?
Amplify Close Reading is a differentiated reading solution laser focused on helping students in grades 6–8 acquire the close reading skills that empower them to read and understand complex text.
To capture students’ imagination, Amplify Close Reading takes the form of an interactive graphic novel called The Last Readers. This story is set in a dystopian future world run by Machines, where people are told what to read and what to think. But dissent is afoot. Recruited for the rebellion, students are trained in the powerful ways authors convey meaning and affect their audience.
This is done in two ways.
Students learn to question everything they read by engaging with a story-based adventure in which understanding every piece of text; every article, billboard, speech and poem is essential to the narrative.
Students learn to leverage the same devices used by authors to convey meaning by creating new content that integrates seamlessly with the story.
Unlike other reading supplementals which rely solely on assessment questions and feedback, Amplify Close Reading seamlessly weaves digital instruction with assessment within an immersive story where the analysis of text is a critical element in the plot. And with optional scaffolding designed specifically for EL students and struggling readers, every student can experience the same story from beginning to end.
Set in the future, students find themselves told what to do and what to think by a race of machines. Through a series of missions, students are trained to carefully analyze discovered ‘documents’, extract their meaning, and create new content that rallies those around them to rebel.
Each mission includes three steps;
Learn — In tutor mode, students engage with a specific close reading concept using digital manipulatives.
Practice — In reader mode, students apply knowledge of the concept to a complex text.
Demonstrate — In maker mode, students use their newfound knowledge to create content that solves a story-based problem.
Teachers can leverage the original content generated by students in each mission as a rich, classroom discussion piece.
This combination of differentiated content and pedagogy with the creativity and purpose of storytelling results in something that truly engages students and gives them a rock-solid ability to tackle complex text.
Grades Appropriate for Amplify Close Reading
The content is designed for students in grades 6–8 but can be effectively used with struggling 9th graders and advanced 4th and 5th graders.