Middle School Reading Strategies

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READING READING STRATEGIESSTRATEGIES

Thinking About How You ReadThinking About How You Read

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Metacognition:Metacognition:Thinking About How You Thinking About How You

ThinkThinkBefore you can truly improve Before you can truly improve your reading skills, you need your reading skills, you need to understand what happens to understand what happens in good readers’ minds while in good readers’ minds while they read. You may even do they read. You may even do these things already. You just these things already. You just

don’t know it…yet.don’t know it…yet.

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More About MetacognitionMore About Metacognition

Good readers have developed good Good readers have developed good habits when they read. We call these habits when they read. We call these

habits strategies. Strategies help habits strategies. Strategies help readers understand, connect to, and readers understand, connect to, and determine the importance of what determine the importance of what

they are reading. They also visualize, they are reading. They also visualize, ask questions about, and read ask questions about, and read

between the lines of what they read. between the lines of what they read.

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The Reading StrategiesThe Reading Strategies

There are seven reading strategies.There are seven reading strategies.

Ask QuestionsAsk Questions

Determine ImportanceDetermine Importance

Make ConnectionsMake Connections

Infer and PredictInfer and Predict

VisualizeVisualize

SynthesizeSynthesize

Use Fix Up StrategiesUse Fix Up Strategies

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Text to Self (similar events in your Text to Self (similar events in your life)life)

Text to Text (books, movies, T.V., Text to Text (books, movies, T.V., etc.)etc.)

Text to Life (real world events)Text to Life (real world events)

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Ask Yourself:Ask Yourself:What do I already know about this?What do I already know about this?

Has anything similar ever happened Has anything similar ever happened to me?to me?

How would I feel if this happened to How would I feel if this happened to me?me?

Can I relate to the characters?Can I relate to the characters?

Does this story remind me of Does this story remind me of something?something?

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CONNECT yourself to the text!CONNECT yourself to the text!

Go passed the Go passed the OBVIOUS!OBVIOUS!

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Ask QuestionsAsk QuestionsWhat don’t you get?What don’t you get?

What do you get?What do you get?

What words don’t you What words don’t you understand?understand?

What other questions What other questions do you have?do you have?

What do you wonder What do you wonder about as you read?about as you read?

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Why Ask Questions?Why Ask Questions?

Asking questions helps keep you Asking questions helps keep you focused on the text. focused on the text.

If your mind wanders, you will If your mind wanders, you will not understand. Then you will be not understand. Then you will be bored.bored.

If you run into problems, things If you run into problems, things you just don’t understand, then you just don’t understand, then you can check yourself with a you can check yourself with a question.question.

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Determine ImportanceDetermine Importance

Pick and choose which Pick and choose which details are the most details are the most important to remember.important to remember.

•Think about what a teacher Think about what a teacher might ask on a test.might ask on a test.

•Think about what the author Think about what the author hints might be important later hints might be important later on.on.

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Why Determine Why Determine Importance?Importance?

Anything you read contains a lot Anything you read contains a lot of information. You cannot of information. You cannot remember everything. By remember everything. By deciding what is important, you deciding what is important, you don’t have to remember don’t have to remember everything. You can prioritize everything. You can prioritize the information you need in the information you need in order to understand.order to understand.

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Good readers are like Good readers are like detectives.detectives.

They use clues to determine They use clues to determine what is happening in a story.what is happening in a story.

This is called INFERENCE!This is called INFERENCE!

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Good readers also make Good readers also make educated guesses about educated guesses about what may happen later in what may happen later in the story.the story.

They use the author’s They use the author’s hints to PREDICT what will hints to PREDICT what will most likely occur.most likely occur.

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Ask Yourself:Ask Yourself:What isn’t stated that I have What isn’t stated that I have figured out?figured out?

What do I predict will What do I predict will happen?happen?

Why do I think so?Why do I think so?

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REMEMBER:REMEMBER:

KNOWLEDGE + TEXT = KNOWLEDGE + TEXT = INFERENCEINFERENCE

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VisualizeVisualize

Picture in your mind the images Picture in your mind the images the author creates with his/her the author creates with his/her words.words.

Pay close attention to sensory Pay close attention to sensory details. For example, if you were details. For example, if you were there, what would you SEE, HEAR, there, what would you SEE, HEAR, SMELL, TASTE, TOUCH, FEEL?SMELL, TASTE, TOUCH, FEEL?

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Why Visualize?Why Visualize?

If you don’t picture the If you don’t picture the events of the story, you events of the story, you will get bored.will get bored.

The author’s job is to The author’s job is to paint pictures in the paint pictures in the reader’s mind. The reader’s mind. The reader’s job is to visualize reader’s job is to visualize what the author describes.what the author describes.

Why not?Why not?

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Synthesize is a fancy way of Synthesize is a fancy way of saying that you must bring saying that you must bring everything together in the end. everything together in the end. In other words, what is the In other words, what is the meaning of what you are meaning of what you are reading?reading?

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Ask Yourself:Ask Yourself:

o What does it all mean?What does it all mean?oWhat’s the big idea?What’s the big idea?o Are there questions still left Are there questions still left unanswered?unanswered?o What are the lessons I should What are the lessons I should learn?learn?o What do I think about this book?What do I think about this book?

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Make sure you are understanding Make sure you are understanding what you are reading. When you what you are reading. When you run into trouble, (you just don’t run into trouble, (you just don’t get it), use little correction get it), use little correction strategies to help you figure out strategies to help you figure out what went wrong. We call these what went wrong. We call these methods FIX UP STRATEGIES.methods FIX UP STRATEGIES.

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Here are some examples of Fix Up Here are some examples of Fix Up Strategies:Strategies:

☻ Re-read Re-read

☻UnderlineUnderline

☻Use a DictionaryUse a Dictionary

☻Read AloudRead Aloud

☻Ask for HelpAsk for Help

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Why Use Strategies?Why Use Strategies? Strategies create a plan of attack. Strategies create a plan of attack.

Then you can solve any reading Then you can solve any reading problems yourself.problems yourself.

Strategies help you learn Strategies help you learn HOWHOW to to understand. If you know understand. If you know HOWHOW to to understand, then you are more understand, then you are more likely likely TOTO understand. understand.

Strategies help you realize Strategies help you realize HOWHOW you are thinking so that you can you are thinking so that you can think more deeply and more think more deeply and more consciously.consciously.

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From Finding Nemo -- PixarFrom Finding Nemo -- Pixar

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Why Use Strategies?Why Use Strategies?

REMEMBER:REMEMBER:

You may be using some or all of You may be using some or all of these strategies already. You these strategies already. You just may not know it. However, just may not know it. However, as you learn to read more as you learn to read more complicated materials, you complicated materials, you WILL NEED to use these WILL NEED to use these strategies purposefully. strategies purposefully.

SO PRACTICE!SO PRACTICE!

Education

Middle School Reading Strategies