Reading Comprehension Strategies

Strategy Definition Question/Activity Stems

Making
Connections
Good Readers make links between their own
knowledge and experience and what they are
reading in the text
Have you seen that word/phrase before? Where?
What do you already know about? Think about what you already know as you
read the text and see if the text helps you expand your thinking?
Is there anyone in the text who reminds you of yourself? What have you read to
help you make this connection?
Reread the first ! paragraphs to see if you can find a link about what the author
says there and what is in this later part of the text?
"ou will need to think a bit deeper about this# $an you remember when we
discussed%%%%?
This text seems a lot harder than the one we had last week# Who can remember
what we already know about %%%%%%%% that will help us understand this new
text?
Forming and
Testing
Hypotheses
about Texts
Good readers make predictions and
hypotheses about the text using clues such
as the cover& the blurb& language features
and prior knowledge# They test and revise
their hypotheses as they encounter new
information
'et(s use the clues& such as the cover& blurb& language features and our own
knowledge to form a hypothesis about the text#
)ow we can test this hypothesis by reading the text#
*xample+ ,uring the introduction the author uses a lot of ad-ectives that imply
sadness# ,o you think that there will be a sad outcome for the characters?
What clues are there about the text type that is being used?
What do we expect when we look at this title?
)ow we have made our hypotheses lets look for clues to support this within the
text#
Asking Questions
Good readers .talk to themselves( about
what they are reading and ask /uestions to
help work out the meaning& content and
language features#
Teacher models this strategy during reading e#g#0While I am reading this& I(m
wondering what the significance of the newspaper cutting may be(
The author appears to have strong views on %%%%%# I wonder how he will try to
affect our thinking as we read#
1ood readers read for meaning first and then using skimming and scanning to
answer the /uestion# What techni/ues have you used?
Tell me a /uestion that you have asked yourself before you read this part of the
text# How did you try to find an answer?
'et(s think of some here/hidden or head /uestions we can ask about the text 2
before& during and after we read#
Visualising
Good readers connect the ideas in the text& 'et(s find all the descriptive words within the text# How do they help us visualise
using their prior knowledge and experience&
to create mental images in their minds# They
use their imagination and senses to see&
hear& taste& feel or smell parts of the text#
the content?
When we look at all of these ad-ectives I can connect them in my mind to a big
storm that I saw last week# What connections have you made?
What mental image do you think the author is trying to create in this section of
text?
Talk about the setting with your partner# Talk about what you can hear& feel& taste
or smell 2 not -ust what you see# 3hare the parts of the text that gave you those
ideas#
$reate mind maps or graphic representations to support the strategy of
visualisation#
n!erring
Good readers use content in a text& together
with existing knowledge& to come to a
conclusion about something that is not
written# They use the author(s clues to find
answers
Reading involves more than -ust literal meaning# I am going to model while I read
how I make inferences about the text#
4ind the words that suggest that the character is %%%%%%%%#
What do you think is really happening here? What did you have to do to make
those inferences?
3ometimes the writer doesn(t state their opinion# "ou have inferred that
%%%%%%%# Write down your examples that helped you come to this conclusion#
Think about how the images in this explanation help us to form ideas about the
characters& setting etc
denti!ying the
"riter#s $urpose
and $oint o! Vie%
1ood readers recognise that every piece of
text has an author with a purpose for writing
and a particular point of view# They think
about the intended audience of a text and
how the text is written for this audience
We have gained an idea of the author(s point of view from the examples of
%%%%%% language in the introduction# 5eep this in mind as you read on##
What do you think the writer(s purpose was in writing this text?
Who do you think is the intended audience of this text? How do you know?
What strategies is the author using to manipulate us into agreeing with him/her?
What are some examples of this?
Think about the information that the author has included in the text# What has
she/he also left out?
denti!ying the
Main dea
1ood Readers work out what is central to a
text what the writer most values or wants to
emphasise# They will be able to identify the
themes& key information or the main idea of
what they are reading#
Imagine that you are the writer# What is the main thing that you want the reader
to think about?
6ake a prediction about what the main idea of this text is7Why do you think
this?
8re you right? What language/sentences prove this?
Track the subheadings and see if there is a pattern developing to help you work
out what the writer thinks is more important?
The main idea has changed## how did you work that out?
What do you think we are meant to be wondering about at the end? How did you
come to this conclusion?
We have come up with one/two .main ideas( for this text# 'et(s go back through
the text and find evidence for our thinking# $ould both of them be right? 4or
example
.I think that the text is giving us a message about %%%%%%%%%# To work this out I
have thought how the writer portrays the character and uses %%%%%%% type of
language#
Summarising
1ood readers identify the important
information and events within a text and
retells them in a shortened form# They use
their own words with details and main points
from the text#
What can you tell me about the beginning/middle/end of the story?
$an you remember what the author stated about7?
'et(s create a story map to identify the main events9
$an you use the visual features or diagrams of the text to list five important
points :e#g# bold print;?
$an you write& in your own words7 :e#g# a paragraph that best explains what the
author stated;?
When you read that paragraph what is the key sentence?
,oes your summary give you a clear overview of the text? Has anything been
missed out or repeated?
Analysing and
Synthesising
1ood Readers take apart a text they have
read& looks and understands it from their own
viewpoint& and puts it back together again in a
different way
Work with a partner to identify the part of the story where for example the mood
changes# 4ind out how the author has created this change in mood#
Think about how that character acts and speaks# How has the author written
him? What are your feelings about that character?
$ompare the two texts and how they use information for different purposes and
audiences# 'ook for the clues#
How does this text inform your thinking about this concept or topic? What are
your new ideas?
&'aluating deas
and n!ormation
1ood readers read using their own personal
ideas and experiences to -udge the text# They
may -udge the writing style& the messages of
the text or the reliability and usefulness of the
information
,oes this information that the author is giving us fit in with what we already know
about%%%%%%?
Would you like to read another book by this author? Why or why not?
Think of your views about %%%%%%%%# 8fter you have read this article think about
how your views may have changed# Why have they changed? What from the text
has changed them?
If you were the author& what part of the text would you feel most proud of having
written? Why?
,o you agree of disagree with the messages that the author is giving through the
text?