STRATEGY 4. Monitoring

• Learners stop and think about the text and know what to do when meaning is disrupted.

Teaching Comprehension Strategies Booklet originally developed as part of the Focus on Reading 3-6 program

STRATEGY 4. Monitoring-Example Questions / Statements:

-Is this making sense?

-What have I / you learned?

-Should I / you slow down? Speed up?

-Do I need to re-read / view / listen?

-What can help me / you fill in missing information?

-What does this word mean?

-What can I use to help me understand what I’m / you’re reading?

Teaching Comprehension Strategies Booklet originally developed as part of the Focus on Reading 3-6 program

STRATEGY 4. Monitoring

• Coding: • As they read, students code the text with

sticky notes. A tick could represent, ‘I Understand’. A question mark could indicate, ‘I don’t understand’ and an exclamation mark could show that the student has either solved a problem that they encountered or that they have come across something that they deem to be astounding.

Teaching Comprehension Strategies Booklet originally developed as part of the Focus on Reading 3-6 program.

STRATEGY 4. Monitoring• Read, Cover, Remember, Retell: • This strategy is designed to help readers slow down and read for meaning. They

begin by reading a fairly small amount of text, then covering the print with their hand. While their hands are over the page, readers take a moment to wonder:

• “What did I learn?”

• “What is important?”

• “What key words and ideas should I remember?”

• Students quickly learn that if they are unsure and need to recheck the content, they follow the strategy used by good readers and reread the section to give themselves another chance to absorb the content. This pause in reading, followed by self-questioning, generates a mid-stream retell and solidifies content understanding. The deliberate steps form a routine in which pausing, thinking, self questioning, and summarising become naturally integrated into reading.

Revisit Reflect Retell Time – Tested Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension Linda Hoyt

STRATEGY 4. Monitoring• Patterned Partner Reading: • Students work in pairs and select a text to read. Before

reading, students choose a pattern to use as they engage in reading:

 • Read – Pause – Ask Questions • Predict – Read – Discuss

• Read, Pause, Retell

• Patterned Partner Reading provides a structure for reading interactively with another and promotes strategic reading.

Guided Comprehension: A Teaching Model for Grades 3-8 (Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen)

STRATEGY 5. Visualising• Learners create a mental image

from a text read / viewed / heard. Visualising brings the text to life, engages the imagination and uses all of the senses.

Teaching Comprehension Strategies Booklet originally developed as part of the Focus on Reading 3-6 program

STRATEGY 5. VisualisingExample Questions / Statements: -What are the pictures I / you have I my /

your head as I / you read / view / listen to this text?

 -Can I / you describe the picture or image

you made while you heard / read that part?

 -How did the pictures in my / your head

help me / you to understand the text?Teaching Comprehension Strategies Booklet originally developed as part of the Focus on Reading 3-6 program

STRATEGY 5. Visualising• Sketch to Stretch: • As a passage / story is read,

students sketch their visualisation. In groups they share their sketches and discuss reasons for their interpretation.

Teaching Comprehension Strategies Booklet originally developed as part of the Focus on Reading 3-6 program.

STRATEGY 5. Visualising• Graphic Organisers / Visual Organisers: • Introduce the Graphic Organiser to the

students. Demonstrate how it works by reading a piece of text and noting key concepts and ideas on the organiser. Have groups of students practice using the Graphic organisers with ideas from an independently read text. Share ideas with the class. Choose organisers that match text structures and thinking processes. Examples include Venn Diagrams, Webs and Story Maps.

Guided Comprehension: A Teaching Model for Grades 3-8 (Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen)

STRATEGY 6. Summarising

• Learners identify and accumulate the most important ideas and restate them in their own words.

Teaching Comprehension Strategies Booklet originally developed as part of the Focus on Reading 3-6 program

STRATEGY 6. Summarising• Example Questions / Statements:

-What things will help me / you summarise this text – list, mind map, note-taking, annotations etc?

-What are the main ideas and significant details from the reading / viewing / listening?

-If you were to tell another person about the text read / viewed / heard in a few sentences, what would you tell them?

-What is the main theme? How is it connected to the world beyond the text?

-In what significant ways does this text relate to / elaborate on the topic that you have been investigating?

-Can you create a metaphor for the text that you have read?

Teaching Comprehension Strategies Booklet originally developed as part of the Focus on Reading 3-6 program.

STRATEGY 6. Summarising• Key Words: • Students highlight words they

believe are key to understanding the passage. These words are written on sticky notes and placed on the page. After reading, the students close the book and arrange the key words in an order that supports a cohesive summary.

Revisit Reflect Retell Time – Tested Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension Linda Hoyt

STRATEGY 6. Summarising

• Partner Retelling: • After reading a story to the students, explain that they will be

working on retelling the story. It is helpful to identify the key points for the reading (e.g. most important events, elements of story structure and so on). Divide the class in half so that there is a storyteller group and a listening group. The storytellers work in teams to reread the selection and remind each other of the focus points for this retell. The listeners also reread and reflect on what they agree to be the most important retell elements of this story. The students are then matched with partners, a story-teller and a listener. While the teller talks, the listener records the elements of the story that are provided without assistance. When the story-teller is finished, it is the job of the listener to give clues about any remaining items that have not been checked off the list.

Revisit Reflect Retell Time – Tested Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension Linda Hoyt

Super Six Puzzle

Super Six Activity Stations

Super Six Activity Stations-You will complete one activity at each ‘station’ related to one of the super six strategies.

-Instructions and materials are available at each ‘station’.

-Please read any accompanying instructions and complete the activity as required.

-You will spend ten minutes at each station.