For nonreaders or early readers, a close reading takes the form of an interactive read aloud. Yes, an interactive read aloud is appropriate for nonreaders or early readers, and certainly our beginning (WIDA ACCESS Reading level 1-2 students). I would suggest that Close Reading may be done at any level, given the appropriate scaffolding. Additionally, let’s consider chunking text so that a smaller portion may be given to ELLs. Consider the objective given. What are teachers expecting from grade-level students? Once established, reference MPIs and check for the MPI related to that student’s level within that objective. It is always appropriate to expose ELLs to grade level text. Often times, students can process (listening… and eventually reading) at a higher level than they can produce (speaking/writing).