The CLOSE Reading Strategy (11 X 17 placemat 23 X 28 wall poster) is a metacognitive instructional procedure that uses the word close as an acronym and provides educators and students with a brain friendly step by step guide to conducting a close read of complex text.  The role of vocabulary and the strategies for determining the meanings of unknown words are foundational to the skill of conducting a close read and a priority in the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP); College and Career Ready Standards and the Redesigned PSAT/SAT.  If students are expected to read at high levels of text complexity, they must develop word consciousness, the skill of inferring and problem solving strategies.
 
Each verb in the CLOSE Read Strategy represents a spectrum of viewing or shades of meaning; check, look, observe study, examine.  It can also be viewed as a continuum of viewing.  Each verb also represents an attribute of complex text.  The verb check is for vocabulary, look is for key details, observe is for text structure and text feature, the verb seek is for signal words and the verb examine is for author’s craft. (Grades 2-12)