Good Readers use Reading Strategies to Take them on New Adventures!

Growing Leaps and Bounds with Reading Strategies

Monitor/Clarify

Why do I Monitor/Clarify?

  • To make sense of my reading

When do I Monitor/Clarify?

  • When the reading no longer makes sense
  • When I am stuck on a word's meaning

How do I Monitor/Clarify?

  • Reread all around the word or area in question. Make substitutions, use picture clues
  • Use my schema or background knowledge.
  • Study the structure.
  • Predict, infer, make connections, ask questions, summarize

Predict

Why do I Predict?

  • Gets my mind ready to read
  • Gives me a purpose to read

When do I Predict?

  • Before and during reading

How do I Predict?

  • Think about title, look at cover and pictures.
  • Think about the text structure.
  • Use what I know.
  • Ask questions ~ I wonder. . ., Who is. . ., Why is. . .
  • Adjust my predictions as I read.
  • Predictions may or may not be proven.

Make Connections

Why do I Make Connections?

  • Reading is thinking! Good readers make connections that are text to self, text to text, and text to world.
  • To better predict and understand the text because of what I already know ~ how the characters feel, what may happen based on another text. . .
  • T-S means more to me because it reminds me of my own life. Everyone has different schema and different experiences which can be shared to help me understand more.

When do I Make Connections?

  • Before, during, and after reading
  • Make connections when I'm figuring out unknown words!
  • When I am reminded of a similar event
  • T-S : That reminds me of . . . I remember when . . . An experience I have had like that is . . . I felt like that character when . . . If I were that character I would . . . .
  • T-T examples include:

Content ~ I've read another book on this topic

Genre~ this is a "mystery" (etc.) like Cam Jansen series

Author ~ this author always. . .

Illustrator ~ I recognize these pictures by. . .

Setting ~ ___________ took place at the same location as

Characters ~ she/he reminds me of. . .

Illustrations ~ remind me of . . .

Plot ~ this story is like. . .

Structure ~ this story has a literary device (like a flashback) like. . .

Theme ~ this book had the same lesson as . . .

Language ~ the writer's language reminds me of. . .

Tone ~ this book has the same feel as. . .

  • T-W on nonfiction ~ open our mental files and make connections between what we know about the world and the new information

How do I Make Connections?

  • Chart connections. What connections helped to understand the story, which didn't?
  • Venn diagrams
  • Connect to the theme or main idea of the text
  • Start with "It helps me understand . . ." (Character feelings, setting, events)
  • Activate prior knowledge before, during, and after reading.
  • On nonfiction (T-W) make a KWL chart. Do T-W with newspaper articles, also.
  • Use a double entry journal ~ one side is for key event, idea, word, quote, or content. The other is for connections.
  • Always ask, "How does this connection help me understand the text?"

Infer

Why do I Infer?

  • Authors describe: characters' feelings, events, setting. . . I have to infer to understand.
  • To draw conclusions, make predictions, and reflect on my reading
  • To determine the meanings of unknown words

When do I Infer?

  • Before, during, and after reading
  • In life, I infer with my 5 senses ~ What is making that noise? What is cooking? How is that person feeling? What is this sharp object? What does a cake with candles on it mean?
  • When the author doesn't answer my questions, I must infer by saying: Maybe. . ., I think. . ., It could be. . ., It's because. . ., Perhaps. . ., It means that. . ., I'm guessing. . .

How do I Infer?

  • Look at the picture.
  • Think about the characters' behavior.
  • Ask questions as I read. Some of my questions are answered in the text, others are not and must be inferred.
  • I use my prior knowledge plus the text clues to draw conclusions.

What do I Infer?

  • Meaning of unfamiliar words
  • Setting
  • Explanation for events
  • What the character is feeling
  • What pronouns refer to
  • Author's message
  • Answers to my questions when they are not directly stated

Fun Inferring Practice! Read these sentences, and have a discussion about the character, setting, and draw conclusions.

  • Sue blew out the candles and got presents.
  • Mary plays her flute for two hours every day.
  • The boat drifted in the middle of the lake.
  • John ran into the street without looking.
  • Meg was the star pitcher, but she had a broken finger.
  • We bought tickets and some popcorn.
  • I forgot to set my alarm clock last night.
  • When I woke up, there were branches and leaves all over the yard.
  • Yesterday we cleaned out our desks and took everything home.
  • Everyone stopped when the referee blew the whistle.

Why do I Ask Questions?

  • To clarify, wonder, determine author's style or intent, to better understand, when the reading gets confusing, to monitor my reading, to synthesize new information, and to determine importance
  • To stay actively involved in the reading
  • To read with a purpose
  • To deepen comprehension (Thick vs. Thin Questions)

When do I Ask Questions?

  • Before, during, and after reading ~ I just look at the cover and title and begin asking.
  • When I use the strategies: Is my prediction good or do I need to change it? What am I visualizing? Do I need to change my mental image? What's happened so far? Does this remind me of anything?
  • If I don't have the background knowledge, I need to ask more questions.
  • Hearing other people's questions inspires more of my own questions.
  • As I read, does it make sense?
  • Just go outside ~ what questions do I have about nature? What questions do I have about a painting or illustration?
  • To coincide with the Reading CAFE, I ask myself who/what each paragraph as a way to monitor my reading. I reread if you cannot state who/what the paragraph is about.

How do I Ask Questions?

  • Start by using a wordless book ~ what questions do I have?
  • Before I read and as I read, many of my questions are predictions. My "after the book has been read" questions are the most thought provoking.
  • Create an "I Wonder" chart before, during, and after the story. Which questions were answered? Which had to be inferred?
  • There are 3 types of questions ~ Predicting Questions move me forward, Monitor Questions pull me back, Thinking Questions makes me infer
  • Questions start with who, what, where, when, why, how, would, could, should, do, does, did
  • What happened? Why did it happen? Think about cause and effect.
  • Thick questions deepen my comprehension and thin questions can be found in the text.
  • Questions can be related to the text type ~ narrative, expository, technical, persuasive, or text structure ~ sequence, problem/solution, cause/effect, descriptive, compare/contrast
  • I use connections to help me ask meaningful questions.
  • Ask ~ What does my question do for my reading?
  • Begin with a KWL chart for nonfiction texts.
  • TEACHERS: Give students a list of answers. THEY come up with the questions ~ like Jeopardy!

How do I answer Questions?

  • A - answered in the text, BK - answered from someone's background knowledge, I - inferred, D - discussion, RS - research needed C- signals confusion
  • I use our own interpretation, the pictures, and rereading.

Types of Questions

  • Does the question start with: What did, Who did, How many, What was, Who are, What does ___ mean, Define, What kind ~ then the answer is RIGHT THERE in the text.
  • Does the question start with: How do you, How did, What, What happened to, What happened before/after, How many times, What examples, Where did ~ then I must THINK and SEARCH for the answer. The answer is found in different parts of the story. Words to create the question and answer are not in the same sentence.
  • Does the question start with: Have you ever, If you could, If you were going to, In your opinion, Do you agree with, Do you know anyone who, How do you feel about ~ then you are I am on MY OWN and I need to think about the answer. The answer is NOT in the story.

Questions to think about

  • What is the author trying to tell me?
  • Why did the author write this book?
  • Is the title appropriate? What is my evidence?
  • What did the character learn?
  • Who/what is each paragraph about?

Summarize

Why do I Summarize?

  • To identify and organize important information
  • To check understanding in a brief way
  • To find the main idea, and/or problem/solution
  • To put the story in order

When do I Summarize?

  • When reading, giving game instructions, talking quickly about our week-end, explaining newspaper articles. . .
  • Before, during, and after reading

How do I Summarize?

  • In my own words
  • Before I read, I preview to see how the text is organized by looking at cover, table of contents, illustrations
  • During reading, I keep a graphic organizer and jot down what has happened
  • After reading, I skim text and determine the most important parts in 3-5 sentences. What can I leave out? Use the graphic organizer to help.
  • When it is nonfiction, I use the text structure to create a summary: descriptive, problem/solution, compare/contrast, sequential, main idea/detail, cause/effect
  • Pick out what's necessary ~ title, captions, headings. Cross out repeated items. Highlight necessary ideas and key words, make a graphic organizer with key words and ideas for each paragraph, invent a topic sentence by using the first sentence of the text
  • Omit unimportant details

Subtext

Why do I Subtext?

  • To understand perspectives and inner most thoughts of characters
  • To examine what the character is thinking, not saying
  • To comprehend the text more deeply

When do we Subtext?

  • During reading

How do we Subtext?

  • Act out a character in a text by making personal connections and inferring the character's thoughts by using the illustrations in the text.
  • Become a character in a painting. What am I thinking, feeling?
  • Write an advertisement for a product. Who is my target audience? What can I say to convince people to buy my product?
  • Subtext what various people think on the same issue. For example ~ A child wanting candy thinks: "It's delicious! It gives me energy! It's fun to eat! I've been good!" A mom may think: "It's bad for his teeth! It's supper time! He'll get sick!" A store clerk would think: "Buy the candy! I need to make money!" A doctor might think: "He's gaining too much weight. Does he ever eat vegetables?" An onlooker may think: "What a mean mom. One candy bar won't hurt."

Visualize/Sensory Imagery

What do I Visualize?

  • Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, a football game on the radio, menu items, instructions, magazine articles, a song being sung or a nature cd. . . .
  • Visualize a birthday cake, sketch it, compare ~ no 2 sketches will be alike!

Authors rely on me to Visualize. Why? TO:

  • Keep me interested
  • Enhance understanding
  • Draw conclusions
  • Recall details and text after it has been read
  • Help me to understand new words
  • Make texts personal and memorable
  • Form unique interpretations
  • Clarify
  • Help me when I write

When do I Visualize?

  • During and after reading
  • When there are no illustrations, but WARNING: illustrations can have an effect on mental images. Try covering the illustrations with post-it notes and have students use their own mental images as you read aloud. Compare.
  • Our schema, or background knowledge, helps us visualize
  • Hearing other people describe their mental pictures changes my own.

How do I Visualize?

  • Using my senses and emotions
  • Paying close attention to the adjectives and adverbs
  • Picturing the characters, setting, events
  • I infer meaning as I create images
  • Quickly sketch what I saw and compare with a peer ~ no two sketches are alike!
  • As I read, I revise my images when new information is added

Retell

5-finger-retelling

Why do I Retell?

  • To create a mental image in great detail to someone who was not there, or to someone who has not read the text
  • Learning to retell a story thoughtfully is critical to learning to write a story
  • To build comprehension

When do I Retell?

  • After reading or after an event (after a movie, vacation, week-end, etc.)

How do I Retell?

  • Read the story 3x ~ (1st for impression, 2nd for detail, 3rd for comprehension)
  • Use retelling cards, small props, puppets, story guideline posters, and even the book to help as I learn to retell.
  • Tell the story. Don't memorize the author's words but develop a personal, storytelling voice.
  • Use an expressive voice.
  • Pick what is most important to tell.
  • Tell details in the right order.
  • Recall the story structure and formulate retelling around that
  • For Fiction: beginning/middle/end, characters, setting, theme, plot episodes/events, resolution, sequence of events, beginning, next, then, after that, in the end ~ use details!
  • For Nonfiction: problem/solution, descriptive, compare/contrast, sequential, main idea/detail, cause/effect, use the table of contents to help

Synthesize/Evaluate

Why do I Synthesize/Evaluate?

  • My thinking evolves
  • I infer
  • I connect to a larger and more meaningful whole by finding the "big idea"
  • To see relationships between ideas ~ do I agree or disagree with the author? Why?
  • Makes the reading more memorable

When do I Synthesize/Evaluate?

  • When there is something to think about, such as an unfamiliar point of view, new information, a new theme
  • When making connections
  • Before, during and after reading
  • Before: What connections am I making? What does the author want to teach me? What is the message going to be? What am I thinking?
  • During: Now what do I wonder? What are my connections? How have my opinions, ideas, feelings, and thoughts about the characters, ideas, or problems in the reading change?
  • After: What did the authors want me to learn? What was the theme? How have my ideas, thoughts, and feelings about the characters, ideas, or problems change? What visual images will I remember? What thought will I take with me?

How do I Synthesize/Evaluate?

  • By filling in these blanks:
  1. At first, I thought... but now I think . . .
  2. At first, I felt... but now I feel . . .
  3. I have been changed by this text in this way. . .
  4. From reading this text, I will remember. . .
  5. The theme in this text was. . .
  6. An "aha" I got from the reading was. . .
  7. A light bulb went on in my head and I realized. . .
  8. My opinion on this topic now is. . .
  9. I will remember the visual I built in my mind for. . .
  10. I now agree/disagree with the author because. . .
  11. I feel the author's style is. . .
  • Start by synthesizing fables
  • Use my schema or background knowledge

Nonfiction Text Features

Why do I read Nonfiction?

  • To learn
  • To build a better home/school connection ~ nonfiction resembles parent interests and will spark a conversation between parent and child
  • A great way to learn about the reading strategies

When do I read Nonfiction?

  • To get information
  • When I have questions about the world
  • Start reading nonfiction at a young age!

Examples of Predictable Features of Nonfiction ~ each child should create a journal giving examples of each. Teachers should spend one day on each convention:

  • Table of contents helps reader to find key topics in the text in order.
  • Types of print helps reader by signaling what is important.
  • Headings/subtitles helps reader determine what is important.
  • Maps help reader understand where things are in the world.
  • Cutaways help reader understand something by looking at it from the inside.
  • Comparisons help reader understand the size of one thing by comparing it to the size of something familiar.
  • Captions help the reader understand a picture or photograph.
  • Photographs help reader understand exactly what something looks like.
  • Labels help reader identify a picture or photograph and its parts.
  • Tables help reader understand important information by seeing it listed in a table or chart form.
  • Glossary helps reader understand key words in text.
  • Index helps reader by showing an alphabetical listing with page numbers to find information.
  • Close-ups help reader see details.

How do I read Nonfiction?

  • First, build and activate prior knowledge to get ready to learn/make predictions.
  • Learn the new vocabulary in context ~ through photographs or artifacts and questions, explore through graphic organizers, develop through dramatization and analogies, and apply through a project.
  • KWL charts: what do I know, what questions do I want answered, what have I learned ~ synthesize the information for myself and others
  • Make connections
  • Recognize text structure: problem/solution, descriptive, compare/contrast, sequential, main idea/detail, cause/effect
  • I don't need to read nonfiction in order.
  • Reread and paraphrase.
  • Skim (very rapid reading of whole text in order to grasp sense of main idea and some supporting details ~ goal is to get a quick sense of the entire piece, as the reading progresses concentrate only on key sentences and phases, concentrate on last paragraph which is a summary)
  • Scan (quick location of material, forms a mental image of key words and phrases)
  • Highlight important information to remember/use sticky notes.
  • Start by reading biographies.
  • Take notes of main ideas and details.


Araujo, Judith E., M.Ed, CAGS. "12 Comprehension Strategies." Mrs. Judy Araujo, Reading Specialist

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