Successful+Reading+Strategies

Reading Strategies

What Do Good Readers Do?

What Can You Do to Become a Better Reader?

=__**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

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">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?"

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Skip, Read On, and Go Back

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Sometimes you can skip an unfamiliar word and read to the end of the sentence or paragraph, <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">thinking about what would make sense. Then, using the context, go back and reread to try to <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">determine the word.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Connect Background Knowledge to the Information in the Text

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Think about what you already know about the subject and the kind of material you are reading.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">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.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Think About Explicit and Implicit Information

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">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.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Stop and Review

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">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.

=__<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">After Reading __=

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Retell and Summarize

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">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.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Use a Graphic Organizer

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">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.)

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Draw Conclusions

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">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.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Were your questions answered? Do you have more questions about the subject?

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Reread

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Reread the text or a section of the text to help you understand it better.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Discuss and Respond

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Talk with someone about what you have read. Ask each other questions. Look back at the book to defend your opinions.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Write to Support Understanding

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Write about what you have read, telling what it made you think of or what you learned.