15 Strategies for Reading

Before, During, and After

5 Strategies, Before Reading

• Skimming• Brainstorming• Building Background• KWL• Prior Knowledge

Skimming

• Search main ideas• Noting organization • Paying attention to detail• Looking for key words or facts

Brainstorming

• Using the title to think up what the book is about• Working in pairs or groups

Building Background

• Help build background knowledge about the book• Help better understand what is happening in the book• Uses the strategy if the students have little knowledge of

the book

KWL

• Graphic organizer• Class discussion• Helps students figure out what they already know• What they want to know• What they learned

Prior Knowledge

• A strategy that helps students discuss what they already know

• Shares knowledge with other students so they are all on the same page

• Helps students better their comprehension

5 Strategies, During Reading

• Context Clues• Partner Reading• Story Maps• Direct Reading Thinking Activity• Reciprocal Teaching

Context Clues

• Reading around the material to better understand a word• Broaden the vocab of students

Partner Reading

• Peer help• More help on reading • Self and peer monitoring on reading

Story Maps

• A graphic organizer • Helps learn the story elements• Mostly focuses on the beginning, middle or end in the

story

Direct Reading Thinking Activity

• DRTA• Comprehension strategy• Help students ask the right questions about the story

Reciprocal Teaching

• Were the students become the teacher in a small group• Comprehension strategy• Summarizes, predicting, question generating, and

clarification

5 Strategies, After Reading

• Question-Answer Relationship• Summarizing • Visual Imagery• Paragraph Shrinking• Exit Slips

Question-Answer Relationship

• Helps understand the different types of questions• Finds out that some questions are “Right There”

questions, “Think and Search”, and “On my Own”

Summarizing

• After reading the students will give a small overview about what they read

• Comprehension strategy• Students work together, alone or in a class group

Visual Imagery

• After reading the students will create a visual picture in their head of what the book was about or a specific scene in the book.

• Comprehension strategy• Students work usually alone

Paragraph Shrinking

• Give the main points of the paragraph• Works with a small group to read, pause and explain what

they have just read• Comprehension strategy

Exit Slips

• Sheets of paper that the students will write on to answer the questions the teacher askes at the end of the class

• Comprehension strategy• Helps the teacher know what level of understanding the

student is at