Plan for the Year
Reading Notebook
First 20 Days
Reading as Thinking Strategies - click here to see examples
- Prior Knowledge and Making Connections - Connecting new and known information; text to text, text to self, and text to world
- Questioning the Text - Proficient readers are always asking questions while they read. Sticky notes (post-its) have become a large aid because they are such a useful tool for teaching students to stop, mark text, and note questions as they read.
- Drawing Inferences - Proficient readers use their prior knowledge about a topic and the information they have gleaned in the text thus far to make predictions about what might happen next. When teachers demonstrate or model their reading processes for students through think-alouds, they often stop and predict what will happen next to show how inferring is essential for comprehending text.
- Determining Importance - In the sea of words that is any text, readers must continually sort through and prioritize information. Teachers often assist readers in analyzing everything from text features in nonfiction text like bullets and headings, to verbal cues in novels like strong verbs. Looking for these clues can help readers sift through the relative value of different bits of information in texts
- Creating Mental Images/Visualization - Readers are constantly creating mind pictures as they read, visualizing action, characters, or themes. Teachers are using picture books with students of all ages, not necessarily because they are easy to read, but because the lush and sophisticated art in these books can be a great bridge for helping students see how words and images connect in meaning-making.
- Synthesizing information - Synthesis is the most sophisticated of the comprehension strategies, combining elements of connecting, questioning, and inferring. With this strategy, students move from making meaning of the text, to integrating their new understanding into their lives and world view.