Comprehension Strategies

By: Rebekka MillerRED4348

Critical Assignment #1

Before You Read…These strategies should be done

PRIOR (before) you read the text.

These strategies will help give you an idea of what the text is about.

It will also get your mind thinking about the text which will help to make reading the passage easier to comprehend.

Read The Title, Headings, and Look At The Pictures…

Think to yourself: What is this story going to be about?

Decide the Text structure. Ask yourself:

Is this story a biography (about a person’s life)

a letter (something that was written to a certain person for a specific reason)

or a textbook (structured informational text)

What information is given in the headings of the text?

Look for clues that will give you an idea of what the text is about.

Look at the pictures.

Who do you think the main characters in the story are? Can you tell anything about them by the pictures that are in the text?

Activate Prior Knowledge

Based on the topic, headings, and the pictures, what information do you already know about the topic of the text?

Make Predictions…

Step 1

• Think about the topic and headings.

Step 2

• Think about the pictures, and what you already know about the topic.

Step 3

Look For Unknown Words… Skim through the reading

selection to identify unknown or hard words.

Use context clues to try and determine the meaning of unknown words, or ask your teacher/peers for help.

Think to yourself “why am I reading this material?”

Try to determine the author’s purpose for writing the text.

Make a personal connection. Try to relate the reading material to your life.

Think: “Why Am I Reading This???

During ReadingThese are

strategies that you should practice while you are reading the text.

Coding Text… While you are reading, underline or

highlight parts of the text that:

You don’t understand

Surprised you (Maybe a sudden change of events in the story.)

Something that reminds you of a similar situation (Make a connection to your life, or activate prior knowledge.)

If the text does not belong to you, place a post-it next to it and write your thoughts down on the post-it note.

Say Something…

After each paragraph or section of the text, turn to your partner and summarize what you just read about.

Use Your Imagination…

Visualize the people, places, and events that you are reading about.

Use your imagination and picture yourself as a character in the story. How would you respond to some of the conflicts that you are reading about?

This is a type of graphic organizer that will help you take notes and track the important information while you read.

Story Mapping…

Question and Predict…Ask yourself what you think will

happen next and make predictions about what you are reading.

Ask yourself “What will happen next and why?”

After Reading…

These are things that you do after you finish reading the material to ensure that you understood what you read.

Summarize…Think about what you read. Recall

the main parts of the text such as the:

Main Characters

Setting

Main Idea

Conflict Resolution

Any Other Important Information

Self Questioning…Reflect on what you read by asking

yourself:

What is the author trying to tell me?

Why is the author telling me that?

Does the author say it clearly?

How could the author have said it more clearly?

What is something that I would have said instead?

Think-Pair-Share…Think about the text that you just

read.

Identify important details and characters in the story.

What was your favorite part of the story?

How did the story end?

Find a partner and share your information. Listen to your partner’s answers too!

Response Journal…Write about what you just

learned.

Connect it to your own life

Create an alternate ending

Write a letter to a character in the story

Create a timeline with the important dates from the text.

Interviews…Create a list of questions that you

would ask a character in the story.

If possible, find someone who knows about the content that you read and use them to conduct a real interview.

For example: If the reading selection was on WWII, ask a grandparent or great grandparent your interview questions.

References: http://

teachingasleadership.org/sites/default/files/Related-Readings/SL_Ch4_2011.pdf

http://eworkshop.on.ca/edu/pdf/Mod21_after_read_strgs.pdf

Bursuck, W., & Damer, M. (2011). Teaching reading to students who are at risk or have disabilities: A multi-tier approach (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.