Miss Scott

STRATEGIES TO BECOME A BETTER READER

*please encourage your child to use these strategies when reading to you*
*you can also model these strategies when reading to your child*

Here are important reading strategies students can use before, during and after reading:

Before Reading

Predict what the book is about from the title.  Set a purpose for reading.  Ex.  I am going to read this book because I want to learn more about animals. Take a picture walk through the book.  Ask, What is happening in the pictures?

During Reading

• Visualize - make a movie in your head just like you do when listening to a story.
   
• Question - think about the story, asking yourself who, what, when, where, why, how.
   
• Clarify - understand new words - figure out words using print strategies
  • Use finger to point under each word to keep track of where you are reading
  • Use beginning sounds to figure out words
  • Use ending sounds to figure out words
  • Use pictures on the page to help figure out a word
  • Use word chunks (group of letters in a pattern like _ack, _ight)
  • Look for a smaller word within the word
  • Read to the end of the sentence.  Sometimes the word that makes sense pops right up!
  • Reread the sentence or passage to increase understanding
     
• Make predictions - "What happens next?"
   
• Make connections
  • What other story is like this one? (Text to Text Connection)
  • Have you felt the same away as a character in the story?  Did something similar happen to you? (Text to Self Connection)
  • Does it help you think about something in real life not directly connected to you?  (Text to World Connection)

 After Reading

• React - What did you think of the story?
  • How did it make you feel?
     
• Summarize
  • What was most important in the story?  One way to do this is to think:
            ~ Someone
            ~ Did something
            ~ But (there was a problem)
            ~ Then (the problem gets solved)
            ~ Finally (what happened at the end?)