STRATEGIES GOOD READERS USE TO IMPROVE COMPREHENSION

   GOOD READERS:
·       Establish a purpose
·       Preview the text
·       Activate/use prior knowledge
·       Make predictions
·       Confirm, revise, or reject predictions
·       Create mental images
·       Identify organizational patterns
·       Determine most important ideas and themes
·       Ask questions
·       Clarify understanding
·       Connect text to self, world, and other texts
·       Draw inferences
·       Summarize and synthesize
·       Monitor own comprehension
·       Use fix-up strategies at point of difficulty
·       Share responses

 

Reading Strategies 
What Do Good Readers Do? 
What Can You Do to Become a Better Reader?

(Based on information in Expanding Expectations: Reading)

Before Reading

• Set a Purpose for Reading ~ Think if you will you be reading to find out what happens in a story or to learn specific information.
• Preview the Text ~ Look at the title, pictures, captions under pictures, headings, bold-faced print and other graphics.
• Activate Background Knowledge ~ Think about what you already know about the content of what you will read.
• Predict ~ Think what might happen in the story, what words may be used, or what information the text might 
  contain.  

During Reading

• Cross-check ~ Check one cue with another. Ask yourself, "Does this word look right, sound right, and make sense?"
• Reread ~ When problems occur, return to the beginning of a sentence or paragraph and read it again.
• Predict and Confirm ~ Ask yourself, "What word do I expect to see?", "What do I think will happen next?", "Did that make sense?", or "Am I finding the answers to my questions about this topic?"
• Skip, Read On, and Go Back ~ Sometimes you can skip an unfamiliar word and read to the end of the sentence or paragraph, thinking about what would make sense. Then, using the context, go back and reread to try to determine the word.
• Connect Background Knowledge to the Information in the Text ~ Think about what you already know about the subject and the kind of material you are reading. Think about how the information is similar to what you already know about the topic, event, or person. If you have many questions about the topic or the kind of book, you may need to ask someone for help.
• Think About Explicit and Implicit Information ~ Think about what information is given directly. Also think about what you know from reading that is not directly stated in words such as how a character's actions show feelings or why things may have happened based on the clues the author gave.
• Stop and Review ~ If you are reading a longer text, stop and think about what has happened in the story so far or what information has been given.
• 
  After Reading
• Retell and Summarize ~ Tell someone or write what happened in the story, including characters, plot, and important events. If you read a nonfiction piece, review what information was presented.
• Use a Graphic Organizer ~ Use a story map, biography wheel, Venn diagram, or other way to show what was included in what you read. (You may need to check with your teacher for suggestions.)
• Draw Conclusions ~ Think about what predictions you made before and during reading. Look back and think about what you have read. Consider how the information read relates to what you already knew about the topic. Were your questions answered? Do you have more questions about the subject?
• Reread ~ Reread the text or a section of the text to help you understand it better.
• Discuss and Respond ~ Talk with someone about what you have read. Ask each other questions. Look back at the book to defend your opinions.
•  Write to Support Understanding ~ Write about what you have read, telling what it made you think of or what you learned.