Close Reading That Sticks

Proven Strategies to Boost Comprehension and Critical Thinking Across Subjects

Ever watched a student speed through a reading assignment like it’s a race to the finish line—only to look totally stumped when asked what the text was actually about? You’re not alone. 

In today’s fast-paced, scroll-happy world, deep reading is becoming a lost art. But that’s exactly why close reading matters more than ever. It’s not just about slowing down. It’s about zooming in, reading with curiosity, asking questions, and uncovering meaning that lives beneath the surface. Whether in language arts or science, close reading strategies can transform the way students interact with texts, helping them build stronger comprehension skills and deeper understanding across every subject.

Close reading is an essential strategy that emphasizes the importance of multiple readings, detailed analysis, and structured discussions to uncover deeper meanings in texts (Brown & Kappes, 2012). This strategy is not just limited to language arts either. Close reading can increase student comprehension and engagement in everything from science to social studies.

Stick with us as we detail a few strategies, challenges, and opportunities associated with close reading and learn how you can make your students close reading masters. 

What Is Close Reading and Why Does It Matter?

Close reading is an essential literacy strategy that helps students engage deeply with complex texts. Additionally, it is central to the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards. Not only does close reading offer multiple modes for engagement, but it also improves students’ reading comprehension (Angulo, 2019; Fisher & Frey, 2014a). Better yet, this increased comprehension isn’t only tied to language arts, as literacy can be integrated into all parts of your classroom. Literacy isn’t just for language arts time; it benefits every area of learning. (Click here to learn more about how to integrate literacy into social studies and science).

More specifically, close reading helps students better comprehend vocabulary, text structure, and authorial intent. All of these outcomes are crucial in fostering critical thinking in students who can form conclusions based on sound evidence. 

When students read closely, they reach higher levels of achievement as well. Fisher and Frey (2014a) found that middle school students who applied close reading strategies showed significant improvements in reading, attendance, and self-perception. What more could an educator want? Students who are growing, attending class, and feeling more confident? That sounds like a dream to me. 

Annotation as a Pathway to Understanding

A great way to encourage close reading is through annotation. Annotation helps students actively engage with the text and helps them recall and comprehend complex information (Porter-O’Donnell, 2004).

Here are a few key annotation strategies:

• Mark Important Information: Highlighting, underlining, and circling can all help students quickly identify key points of a text.

• Ask Questions: Writing a research question at the beginning of a reading can help students identify specific pieces of evidence as they read. Also, consider encouraging students to write their own questions in the margins as they read and then discuss those questions afterward. 

• Make Connections or Inferences: This is especially helpful for comparing and contrasting multiple texts. Instruct students to look for pieces of evidence or ideas that challenge what they read in another text. 

These strategies will be key not only for language arts but also for understanding complex texts in other areas of study. 

Choosing the Right Texts for Close Reading

Not all texts are created equal. There are certainly some readings that are more effective than others, especially for readers who are in the early stages of developing their close-reading skills. To help develop a student’s close reading skills, teachers need to be careful and intentional in the texts they select. Choose a text at their reading level, and help guide them through the process of annotation, questioning, and discussion (Fisher & Frey, 2014c). 

The National Education Association shared some advice on how a teacher can choose the best texts for close reading. Just like Goldilocks, there are some texts that are too complicated and some that are too easy, but there is the sweet middle of texts that are just right. Finding the text that is “just right” will take time, and it may look different from class to class. However, these texts should be rich and high-quality, connecting to whatever curriculum goals you’re focusing on at the time. Also, consider student interests—choose texts about topics or from authors that they enjoy in order to support a general love for reading. 

Regardless of the chosen texts, teacher guidance is crucial. Both students and teachers may experience challenges in this process, such as time constraints or mental fatigue (Fisher and Frey 2014c). This is completely okay! Any skill worth having will take time and patience to develop for both the student and the teacher. Help your students have a successful experience by providing reading prompts, guiding questions, and various goals for students to meet. 

Digital Reading: A New Frontier (with New Challenges)

While classrooms are increasingly incorporating digital texts, there is an abundance of new opportunities and new challenges that emerge in literacy instruction. Digital reading has benefits such as convenience and access, but research also shows that it may increase students’ cognitive load. Screen-based reading can lead to more distractions and mental fatigue, making it harder for students to stay focused and process information deeply (Mason et al., 2023). Digital annotation tools can also be a blessing and a curse, but regardless, it is becoming clear that there are new emerging challenges when it comes to close reading in a digital environment. 

Print shouldn’t be entirely disregarded, however. Traditional annotation practices, like highlighting, underlining, and margin notes, boost comprehension in printed texts (Ben-Yehudah and Esher-Alkalai 2014). However, when students use similar tools in a digital format, the benefits begin to fade. This doesn’t mean that digital tools are completely ineffective. Instructor-provided highlighting improves memory and comprehension for students, while learner-generated highlighting only supports memory (Ponce, Mayer, and Méndez 2022). When reading online, students still need guidance and structure. 

When used intentionally, digital tools can support close reading. Integrating online annotations within a reciprocal teaching framework significantly improves reading comprehension (Yeh, Hung, and Chiang 2016). The key is blending the strategy with technology. Teachers support students just as they would in a printed format by layering questions, prompting reflection, and modeling annotation techniques. As digital reading becomes more and more relevant, we need EdTech tools that aren’t just flashy but are thoughtfully designed to support deep reading. 

Making Close Reading Work in Your Classroom

Close reading will look different in your classroom depending on grade, the subject you’re focusing on, and the needs of your students. However, there are still a few universal principles that can make close reading effective regardless of the subject.

For example, layered readings can help students engage with class content more deeply. Students can read a text multiple times, each with a different focus. Here’s what this may look like in your classroom:

• First, have them look for a general understanding: What are the main ideas? What is the author’s argument? Here, students can create an outline or a mind map of the piece’s main points.
• Then, look at general vocabulary and structure: How did they structure their argument? What are the key terms here? What words do I not know, and what do I think they mean? Students can record new words and what they think the definition may be, then share their ideas with other classmates.
• Finally, assess the author’s purpose and deeper meaning: Why is this important? How is this author contributing to a wider conversation? What does contribute to what I already know about the subject? Have students write an assessment paragraph on the author’s purpose, why the topic is important, or how effective the author was at making their point. 

Classroom strategies like Socratic seminars and structured discussions give students opportunities to verbalize their interpretations, engage with peers’ perspectives, and refine their understanding. Tools like graphic organizers or comprehension checks can help them organize their thoughts and track their growth. Annotation strategies—such as using color-coded highlighters or annotation codes (e.g., ? for questions, ! for surprising info)—further support close engagement with the text. And don’t forget: close reading works across all subjects. Whether it’s analyzing a primary source in social studies or interpreting a data-heavy science article, the same skills apply.

Conclusion: Reading with Purpose in a Digital Age

Close reading is a key strategy that will help students in all areas of their education. Close reading can help with their critical thinking, academic success, and life-long learning. 

When students close-read, they are doing more than making notes and annotations. They’re actively creating connections, forming opinions, and crafting conclusions. Help bring up a generation of close readers by building a bridge for your students between both printed and digital texts. 

At Mission.io, we’re passionate about building that bridge. Our platform integrates text-based tasks, reading supports, and interactive annotation features that bring literacy to the forefront—whether students are diving into a science topic or exploring a historical event. We believe EdTech should do more than digitize worksheets. It should elevate learning. So let’s challenge ourselves to prioritize deep reading and meaningful engagement. Because when we do, we don’t just support literacy. We empower students to think, question, and understand the world around them.