Before, During, and After Reading Strategies
- 1. Before, During, and After Reading Strategies Monica Rickards RED 4348 Critical Assignment #1 Non-Fiction Text: “Nutrition Lesson” (6th Grade)
- 2. Before Reading Strategies • Complete an Anticipation Guide • Scan the Text • Conduct a Think-Pair-Share session • Complete a K-W-L Chart • Pre-Teach Vocabulary Words
- 3. Strategy #1: Complete an Anticipation Guide • Anticipation Guides helps students anticipate what the subject or topic of a text is going to be about, by asking students to formulate their opinion on key ideas from the texts. • A common way for students to complete anticipation guides is through the traditional paper and pen method, where key ideas and statements are listed in a survey manner and students check off “agree” or “disagree”. However, there are many ways in which educators can differentiate the usage of anticipation guides in order to relate to the learning styles of your students. Examples include the completion of the guides in an oral manner (state key ideas aloud; have students say stances aloud) or in a kinesthetic manner (state key ideas aloud; have students move to a certain part of the classroom to answer).
- 4. Strategy #2: Scan the Text • Before actually reading a text in full, have students “scan” or “skim” the text as a way to preview the text. Giving students the opportunity to preview a text helps activate their background knowledge and prepares them for what they are about to read. • As part of scanning the text, first have students identify and read the title, paragraph headings, and picture captions (if applicable to the text). Then, have students scan the body of the text and take a mental note of any unfamiliar words, bold or italicized print, and details from the text that stand out.
- 5. Strategy #3: Conduct a Think-Pair-Share Session • After being introduced to a topic, give students the opportunity to collaborate amongst one another through a Think-Pair-Share session. These short, collaborative sessions help students build insight on a topic, share ideas, and exchange thoughts, based off of their pre-existing knowledge. • To conduct a think-pair-share session, simply ask students a question or make a statement, and give them an allotted time to think about it. Then, pair the students up with a fellow peer. Finally, have students share their thoughts and insight with their partner, and possibly with the entire class, as time permits.
- 6. Strategy #4: Complete A K-W-L Chart • K-W-L charts are usually completed in a whole-group setting. The teacher acts as the facilitator and the students actively participate by sharing their input. The “K” stands for what students already know, the “W” stands for what students want to know, and the “L” stands for what students want to learn. • K-W-L charts are beneficial to both the teacher and students. The teacher can gain insight on how much background knowledge students already have on the topic of the text, what students are most curious to learn about from the text, and what new knowledge students took away from the text. Students are given the opportunity to practice their public speaking skills and reflect on what they know and would like to learn. • K-W-L charts can be conveniently completed on a white board, smart board, or an anchor chart. To make a K-W-L chart, simply write a title for the chart and draw three columns. Use the columns to categorize the students’ thoughts.
- 7. Strategy #5: Pre-Teach Vocabulary Words • Students often need instruction in key vocabulary to make sense of what they are reading (Bursuck & Damer, 2015). Before reading a text, teach students the key vocabulary of the text. Key vocabulary should include the words that are important to the story, useful in reading and comprehending the story, and difficult or unfamiliar words. • The teacher can pre-select the vocabulary from the text that they would like to teach to their students. An alternative method would be to allow students to share words they found from scanning the text (see strategy #2) that they seem fit for the teacher to instruct on and clarify. • When teaching definitions of unfamiliar words, easy-to-understand definitions should be chosen that are clear and precise for students.
- 8. Implementation of Before Strategies in Non-Fiction text • Strategy #1- State these five key ideas from the text aloud to the class to serve as an Anticipation Guide: 1. Most of our foods contain protein, 2. Protein helps protect us from diseases, 3. Food from animals gives you more protein than food from vegetables, 4. The amount of protein you need is based off of your weight, 5. The grams of protein in a food can be found on the food label. After each idea has been read, have students move to the right side of the classroom if they agree with the statement or the left side of the classroom if they disagree. • Strategy #2- Have students independently scan the text taking a mental note of the title, unfamiliar words, and details that stood out to them. • Strategy #3- Conduct a Think-Pair-Share session. Have students reflect on their responses from the anticipation guide and the mental notes they took from the scanning of the text. Pair students with a partner and have them share their insights and thoughts with each other. Then, allow pairs to share with other pairs at their table. Walk around the room to help facilitate discussions and assist students who are struggling to find things to talk about. • Strategy #4- Complete a K-W-L chart as a whole group. Use anchor chart paper with three columns drawn and each column headed with either a K, W, or L. Call on students to share with the class what they already know about protein and fill in the chart with their responses. Complete the W column in the same manner. Hold off filling in the L column until the end of the lesson or text. • Strategy #5- Pre-teach Vocabulary Words. Allow students to share with the class words they found while scanning the text that they found to be unfamiliar or difficult to understand. Have students use dictionaries to look up definitions and collaboratively come up with easy-to-understand definitions as a class. Write terms and definitions in a visible place for students to see.
- 9. During Reading Strategies • Conduct a Whole Class Choral Reading • Have Students Monitor their Comprehension • Conduct Think-Alouds • Ask Questions • Question the Author
- 10. Strategy #1: Conduct a Whole Class Choral Reading • During a Whole Class Choral Reading, both the teacher and class read a piece of text at the same time (Bursuck & Damer, 2015). The Choral reading procedure can be implemented in a small group or whole group setting. Grade level passages that are at the independent level of most of the students participating, should be used for the choral reading. • Whole Class Choral Readings benefit students of all ages in multiple ways. Students who are normally reluctant to read aloud are more likely to want to participate as a whole group. Students of all reading levels also have the opportunity to hear the teacher model accurate and fluent reading. • To conduct a Whole Class Choral Reading, give each student a copy of a passage or text. The teacher reads aloud the text first. Then, students join in with the teacher the second time around to read aloud the text as a whole group.
- 11. Strategy #2: Have Students Monitor their Comprehension • Students can be taught how to monitor their comprehension when reading a text. When readers are self-monitoring, they are consistently asking themselves, “Is what I am reading making sense?” (Bursuck & Damer, 2015). • Teach students to monitor their comprehension by 1. Identifying parts of the text they are having difficulty with, 2. Restating difficult sentences in their own wording, 3. Looking back in the text to recall key details, and 4. Looking forward in the text to reveal helpful information or missing information in the text.
- 12. Strategy #3: Conduct Think Alouds • During the reading of the text, the teacher can conduct think alouds to model their own thinking, and application of comprehension strategies, for their students. Struggling readers benefit from observing what skilled readers think about while reading, and teacher modeling through think-alouds provides that insight (Bursuck & Damer, 2015). • Some common think-aloud starters could include, but are not limited to: • “I think this next paragraph will be about…because…” • ”I am curious to learn more about…” • “I am picturing what ____ might look like in my mind”
- 13. Strategy #4: Ask Questions • During the reading of the text, teachers should ask a variety of pre-planned questions that involve various forms of responses. The two main categories of questions that are most commonly asked to students are literal and inferential questions. • Literal questions have answers that can be found directly in the text and are more close-ended, meaning the responses are made up of just a few short words. Inferential questions have answers that are not stated directly in the text. These questions require students to use their own knowledge, and supporting details from the text, to answer the question.
- 14. Strategy #5: Question the Author • Questioning the Author was developed to get students thinking from the author’s perspective. To help guide the students’ thinking, the teacher gives students a series of questions to ask themselves while reading a paragraph or more. The goal of this strategy is for students to be able to eventually ask themselves the questions when reading, without being reminded or told to do so. • The questions students should be asked include, but are not limited to, “What is the author trying to tell you”, and “How could the author have said things more clearly”. (Bursuck & Damer, 2015).
- 15. Implementation of During Strategies in Non-Fiction text • Strategy #1- Conduct a Whole Class Choral Reading. Read the first paragraph, serving as a model of reading a text accurately and fluently. The class will re-read the paragraph as a group. Repeat this process for each paragraph. For a different approach, call on tables of students to read certain paragraphs, so students are expected to follow along and be ready to be called on. • Strategy #2- Have students monitor their comprehension during the reading of each paragraph and throughout the reading of the entire text. Prompt students to locate sentences they are having difficulty with, go back in the text to recall details as necessary, and look forward in the text for needed information. Paragraph two has multiple sentences with words that may be difficult to decode and/or understand. Use that paragraph as a teaching tool to have students restate sentences in their own words aloud for the class, to help students better understand the information in the paragraph. • Strategy #3- Conduct Think Alouds. Before, during, and after the reading of each paragraph, take time to model aloud comprehension strategies for students. For example, after the first paragraph tell students, “I predict that the second paragraph will talk more about the muscles and organs that protein makes up.” Another example could be to tell students after reading the last paragraph, “I know what a food label is, because I’ve seen food labels on some of my food that I’ve purchased from the grocery store.” • Strategy #4- Ask questions. Ask students literal and inferential questions throughout the reading of the text. Ask students literal questions such as, “What is cardiac muscle” and ”How much grams of protein does an adult need”. Ask students inferential questions such as, “What health effects might one experience if they aren’t consuming enough rich protein foods” and, “How are food labels beneficial to consumers”. • Strategy #5- Question the Author. Ask students to keep the questions listed in mind when reading the text (see slide 14). Stop and periodically call on students to share their thoughts and hear their opinions on the author’s perspective. For example, after reading the third paragraph ask students why they think the author felt it was important to mention the difference between complete and incomplete proteins. After the last paragraph, tell students that the author could have explained more about how to locate the grams of protein on a food label. Ask students how they could better explain this process to the reader if they were the author.
- 16. After Reading Strategies • Graphic Organizers • Vocabulary Grid • Summarizing • Journal Responses • Exit Slips
- 17. Strategy #1: Graphic Organizers • Graphic organizers are visual representations of information that aide students in recalling specific details, facts, and ideas, from a text. • Graphic organizers can be completed by students with guidance from the teacher or independently. • Graphic organizers are especially helpful in aiding students with limited working memory and learning disabilities. • Graphic organizers include tables, timelines, flow charts, and diagrams.
- 18. Strategy #2:Vocabulary Grid • Vocabulary Grids are simple tables consisting of two columns. They can be created via electronically using a word processing program, or can even be created on notebook paper with pencils by students. • In the first column, students should list all vocabulary words pertaining to a given text. In the second column, students should list corresponding synonyms and/or antonyms for each word. • Utilizing a vocabulary grid can help students better remember the meaning of difficult words and sentences from the text.
- 19. Strategy #3: Summarizing • Summarizing is the process of condensing a text by identifying the key points and details from the text. • Summarizing helps students identify the main ideas in an expository text and recognize important story elements in narrative texts (Bursuck & Damer, 2015). • Summarizing also helps students evaluate their understanding of what they have read, tell important and unimportant information apart, and better remember what they have read, (Bursuck & Damer, 2015). • To have students summarize a text of multiple paragraphs, first have them identify the main idea. Then, have students identify the details that support the main idea.
- 20. Strategy #4: Journal Responses • Journal Responses (also referred to as Reader Responses) give students the opportunity to find ways to relate to a text by finding connections and sharing their personal opinions. The connections students make can be text to text (finding connections between the text and another text), text to world (finding connections between the text and the world) , or text to self. (finding connections between the text and the student’s personal self) • Supplies needed for Journal Responses are minimal, as notebook paper and a pencil is all that is needed.
- 21. Strategy #5:Exit Slips • Exit slips are an informal way for teachers to access what their students learned from a text or lesson. Exit slips also serve as a valuable opportunity for students to practice self-reflection. • To utilize an Exit Slip, simply hand out a small notecard or slip of paper to each student. Give students a prompt or a question that relates to the text, and an allotted time for students to complete the slip. Have students turn in the slip before leaving class or moving on to the next lesson. • Examples of prompts for Exit Slips include, but are not limited to: • Name an interesting fact you learned from the text. • Describe how this text relates to the world. • Write a question you have that the text didn’t answer.
- 22. Implementation of After Strategies in Non-Fiction text • Strategy #1- Graphic Organizers. Create a Graphic Organizer worksheet and give one to each student. Project the same graphic organizer on the board, and have students help facilitate with filling in responses. The Graphic Organizer for this particular Non- fiction text should have a box for the main idea and three boxes for supporting details. • Strategy #2- Vocabulary Grid. Since the vocabulary was defined before the reading, and students have now read the text to gain a deeper understanding of the words, have students identify synonyms for each vocabulary word independently. Students will need to fold a sheet of notebook paper vertically down the center. On the left side, have students write the identified vocabulary words. On the right side, have students write corresponding synonyms for each word. Once all students have finished, allow students to share their synonyms with their table partners or with the class. • Strategy #3- Summarizing. Using their graphic organizer as a guide (see strategy #1), have students summarize the text into one paragraph. Students’ paragraphs need to be at least 5-7 sentences long. • Strategy #4- Journal Responses. Have students connect the text to their self, by writing a journal response to the question, Do you feel as though the foods you eat provide your daily need for protein? Why or why not? Use evidence form the text to support your response. • Strategy #5- Exit Slip. Have students complete an Exit slip that explains how to figure out how much protein one needs based off of evidence from the text. Then, have students calculate their own daily needed intake of protein and write their answers under their responses.
- 23. References Bursuck, W.D. & Damer, M. (2015). Teaching reading to students who are at risk or have disabilities: A multi-tier, RTI approach. Boston: Pearson. Center for Urban Education at DePaul University (2005). Nutrition Lesson. Retrieved from http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents/NutritionLessonnonfiction6thgrade.pdf. Felazzo, L. & Sypnieski, K. (2018). Activating Prior Knowledge with English Language Learners. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/activating-prior-knowledge-english-language-learners. Texas Education Agency (2002). Key Comprehension Strategies to Teach. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/key-comprehension-strategies-teach