Course Duration: 12 Weeks (3 Months)Move beyond finding answers. Learn to interpret complex ideas, analyze an author's message, and support conclusions with strong textual evidence.As reading materials become more challenging, students need more than fluency and basic comprehension. They must learn to recognize relationships between ideas, interpret information that is not directly stated, and explain their thinking with clear evidence.At EiFO Academy, Close Reading 2 builds on foundational reading strategies and guides students toward more independent, analytical reading. Using engaging nonfiction texts from National Geographic Reading Explorer, students explore science, history, culture, and real-world issues while strengthening their academic vocabulary, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills.What Students Will LearnStudents develop increasingly sophisticated reading skills, including:Main Ideas and Deeper Meaning: Identify central ideas, distinguish important details from less relevant information, and understand how supporting evidence develops an author's message.Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions: Combine information from different parts of a text to interpret ideas that are implied rather than directly stated.Analyzing Text Structure: Recognize cause-and-effect relationships, comparisons, sequences, and other organizational patterns that help readers understand complex information.Academic Vocabulary: Use context clues, word parts, and relationships between words to understand unfamiliar vocabulary in academic texts.Author's Purpose and Perspective: Examine why an author wrote a passage, how information is presented, and how word choices influence meaning.Interpreting Information: Connect ideas across paragraphs and analyze relevant facts, examples, and explanations.Evidence-Based Responses: Develop clear, accurate answers supported by specific details from the reading.What Makes EiFO Close Reading 2 Different?Authentic Nonfiction That Builds KnowledgeThrough National Geographic Reading Explorer, students encounter thought-provoking topics that expand their understanding of the world. Reading across subjects also helps students develop the background knowledge needed to understand more advanced academic texts.Small-Group InstructionWith a maximum of six students per class, teachers can monitor comprehension, encourage discussion, and help students work through challenging vocabulary and complex ideas.Moving From Comprehension to AnalysisStudents learn that strong reading is not simply locating information. They practice examining how ideas connect, why details matter, and what conclusions the evidence supports.Learning to Support Answers With EvidenceStudents are encouraged to explain not only what they think, but why. By returning to the text and identifying relevant evidence, they develop stronger reasoning and more precise responses.Structured Practice, Assessment, and FeedbackReading assignments and comprehension assessments reinforce important strategies, help identify misunderstandings, and provide opportunities for continued improvement.Learning OutcomesBy the end of the course, students should be better prepared to:Identify and analyze central ideas in increasingly challenging nonfiction texts.Make logical inferences and draw conclusions supported by textual evidence.Recognize how text structure contributes to meaning.Understand and apply a wider range of academic vocabulary.Analyze an author's purpose and the way information is presented.Connect information across paragraphs to develop a deeper understanding of a passage.Construct clearer, more accurate evidence-based responses.Read unfamiliar nonfiction texts with greater confidence and independence.Why These Skills MatterAs students progress through school, reading becomes a tool for learning across every subject. Science, history, mathematics, and English Language Arts increasingly require students to interpret information, analyze relationships, evaluate evidence, and communicate their understanding.Close Reading 2 helps students develop these transferable academic skills while preparing them for more advanced reading and writing expectations.At EiFO Academy, Close Reading 2 teaches students to read beyond the surface, think critically about information, and explain their understanding with confidence and evidence.
