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Reading Strategies |
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Reading Strategies |
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| Getting the most out
of reading with your children begins the moment you pick a book together.
What you do to engage your children before, during, and after reading can have a tremendous impact
on their success as a reader. Have you ever gone to the library or bookstore with your children and asked them why they picked up the book they had in their hands? Or have you ever asked them to tell you what they think the book will be about? Think about a moment when you were reading to your child. Have you asked them to tell you what they think will happen next? How about what their favorite part of the book was? Or better yet, have you asked them to tell someone else what the book was about? Amazingly, this general conversation encompasses the strategies that have been deemed necessary for children to become accomplished readers. The strategies we focus on throughout the year are: Phonics/Decoding; Predict/Infer; Monitor/Clarify; Question; Summarize; Evaluate. My main goals for our year together are that the children become fluent readers, choose to read for both information and pleasure, and develop a passion and love for reading. |
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Phonics/Decoding Decoding is a child's ability to read words in isolation. In order to do this they must learn that speech sounds (phonemes) are represented by the letters of the alphabet. The ability to identify and combine the sounds that make up words is known as phonemic awareness. This is the first step in the reading process and children are taught many skills related to development of phonemic awareness. This strategy is used during reading when the child comes across a word he can't pronounce. Good readers sound out words by covering parts of the word to find the base word, looking for words within the word that they may know, look for word families, and look for prefixes and suffixes. When they think they have the correct pronunciation they try it out in the sentence to see if it makes sense.
To learn more about Phonemic Awareness,
click on the sign below. |
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Predict/Infer When children make inferences they are telling what they think will happen in the story. Inferences can be made before reading by looking at the book cover, illustrations, and title of the book. Based on what they see they can predict what they think the book will be about. While they are reading the book they can predict what they think will happen next based on the details and important information they have read in the story. They relate what they have read to what they already know or want to learn. What makes this tricky, at times, is that conclusions have to be made without the author actually telling directly what has happened. Making predictions helps focus children when they are reading and provides a vehicle for making connections that are so important for reading comprehension. For example, if the story says the boy went to the door to go to his soccer game but then came back to put on his raincoat, the child would infer that it was raining outside and predict that the game could possibly be cancelled due to lightning. |
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Monitor/Clarify Have you ever read an entire page of a book only to realize that you haven't a clue what happened in the story? You've actually gone through the motions of being a great decoder, but missed the most important purpose of reading, which is comprehending what you have read!!! Monitoring involves readers asking themselves if what they have read makes sense. They also may try to clarify whether things that are occurring in the story could really happen. Another way readers use this strategy is when they come to a word they don't know the meaning of. They may try to figure out what the word means based on context clues and illustrations. They may reread or read ahead. They might also refer to a dictionary. For example, in the story Chocolate Fever, by Robert Kimmel Smith, Henry breaks out in huge chocolate bumps from head to toe because he loves chocolate and his parents allow him to eat it morning, noon, and night. A reader may ask themselves if there are any parents that would really allow this! They are stopping to think about what they have read. |
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Question A good reader asks questions before, during, and after reading a text. We as teachers are constantly asking questions to ensure that what has been read has been understood. By asking questions during reading the child is focusing their attention to what is going on in the story. This helps them to deepen their understanding of what they are reading, and in many instances causes them to want to learn more about a topic that they have read about. For example, in the story Muggie Maggie, by Beverly Cleary, Maggie is a third grader who is resistant to wanting to learn how to write in cursive. A reader might wonder why Maggie doesn't want to learn cursive. Readers may ask what happened to cause this problem and then try to find the answer as they read. This causes them to be more focused in their reading of the story, thereby increasing comprehension. |
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Summarize Readers engage in summarizing both during and after reading a story. This is the process by which the reader retells only the most important parts of what they have read. They do so in their own words, focusing on main ideas and details. It is a good way for them to remember what they have read. It is important for readers to engage in summarizing when they are reading a chapter book so that they recall details that have been previously read. Readers are engaged in summarizing when they meet in literature circles to discuss what they have read and when they are recommending books to others. |
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Evaluate Readers are constantly evaluating things in everyday life whether they realize it or not. It requires the use of higher level thinking skills and engages the children in critical thinking. As readers the evaluate strategy is used both during and after reading a selection. Good readers think about the things they liked and didn't like in a story. They also can agree or disagree with the character's actions. It helps them to form an opinion about what they have read. For example, in the book A Toad for Tuesday, by Russell E. Erickson, Warton the toad sets off in the dead of winter to bring his aunt some beetle brittle. His journey turns into an exciting adventure. When asking what a reader liked or didn't like about the story you are asking them to evaluate. They can tell whether they agree or disagree with Warton's decision to take the trip. Expect the answer to be supported with details from the story. |
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Here is a link to great bookmarks
that can be printed for the children to use outlining the strategies of a
strategic reader. It is provided on the Houghton-Mifflin EduPlace site. I recreated these bookmarks in WORD and sent them to my upcoming students to use for bookmarks as they read throughout the summer. I modified the text so that each strategy is in a different colored bold print so that each stands out. I plan on printing and laminating another set for the children to use throughout the school year to keep the strategies in front of them at all times. Click on the books to go to this document.
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