Friday, May 15, 2026
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Monday, May 11, 2026
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Saturday, May 9, 2026
Step by Step with Teacher Zee: Close Reading: A Way of Thinking While Reading
Today, I taught my student (she is in 7th grade) the Close Reading Strategy. I am sharing my method because, sharing is caring.
- Explicitly taught the strategy first
I framed Close Reading as a tool for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition, which gives my student a clear purpose for learning it. This matters because students engage better when they understand why a strategy is useful. -
Used oral recall immediately after instruction
Asking her to repeat what she heard strengthened processing and retention. This checks listening comprehension and helps transfer information from passive hearing to active understanding. -
Moved into written articulation
Having her write her own understanding was a good practice because it:- reveals misconceptions,
- shows depth of understanding,
- strengthens metacognition,
- and reinforces academic language.
-
Provided corrective feedback without replacing her thinking
Pointing out what she got right first and then strengthening incomplete ideas is how scaffolding works. Instruction is direct and I see where my student apply revision as another learning strategy. -
Used the visual after conceptual understanding began forming
I showed my student the Close Reading visual (AI assisted). The graphic came after discussion and processing, so it functioned as reinforcement and organization, not passive decoration. The visual consolidated the learning.
My student and I were able to work together following this process:
Explain --> Recall --> Rephrase --> Clarify --> Visual Reinforcement
I was also able to incorporate, although indirectly, the following skills:
- retrieval practice,
- formative assessment,
- metacognitive reflection,
- vocabulary development,
- and multimodal learning.
For a Grade 7 student moving into Grade 8, this is the kind of literacy foundation that supports:
- science readings,
- social studies texts,
- IB/MYP criterion work,
- evidence-based responses,
- and later research tasks.
For me, teaching the Close Reading strategy is not answering questions but, it is a way of thinking while reading.
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Monday, May 4, 2026
CDrama Review: Identity, Intimacy, and Balance in Pursuit of Jade (3 of 3)
What makes the rendition of identity, intimacy and balance even deeper is its extension to community. After some challenges and intrigue from neighbors, newfound friends and the law, Yan Zheng and Changyu celebrate the lunar new year by writing couplets. This is another episode where I found my folklorist role activated.
The couplet scene is where intimacy becomes public because
married life is part of community. And in this particular scene, Yan Zheng
teaches Ning, Changyu's little sister, how to read and showing her how to
write. The Marquis is not only a military elite. He is also a scholar and a
poet. When the neighbors read Yan Zheng's couplet, they asked him to write for
them especially at the time when the lone scholar left Lin'an for the capital.
I’m already smitten at Yan Zheng at this point. Seeing him interact with the village elders, men and women who cannot write well or express their beliefs and dreams found a scribe who can help them articulate their desired grace. Changyu is the luckiest girl in the world. Yan Zheng, aka Xie Zheng, the Marquis of Wu’an was inscribing himself into her world.
As our one true pair assimilates in community, we see a
temporary equilibrium built on asymmetrical truths: she holds social
legitimacy. He holds hidden power. And the romantic and moral tension thickens.
That’s why when Lin'an was plundered, violated and destroyed it was a necessary
rupture. Episode 17 was difficult to watch. Seeing Lin'an fall was tragic
because it challenges the intimacy, identity and balance in an enclosure that
allowed these themes and elements to grow.
Next post: Act 2 - Revelation in Love and Alignment in War
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