Reading

Reading Strategies

Here are some sentence starters for each strategy. Encourage your student to use one or two of these every time they read.

Visualizing (picturing what happened in the story)

*I made a picture in my mind when...

*These words helped create a picture in my mind...

Making Connections (connecting what was read to something that happened in their life, or something they read in another book)

*This story reminded me of...

*The character reminded me of...

*I began to think of...

*If I were...

Inferencing (combining what they know with something they read in the book to come up with a new idea)

*I think...

*It seems like...

*It said...I think...

Asking questions (during and after reading)

*i wonder...

*I didn't understand...

*I'm not sure...

*I was surprised...

Determining Importance (finding the most important things that happened in the story)

*These important words stuck with me...

*I think I should remember...

*The big ideas were...

Synthesize (what they learned or how the story changed what they think)

*My thinking changed when...

*I learned that...

*This story teaches me that...

*Before, I thought...Now I think...

Comprehension Questions

These are some questions you can ask your student to help improve their comprehension. Some of these questions can be asked in the middle of the story and some at the end.

Character

*Who was the main character?

*What did you learn about him/her?

*In what ways are you similar/different from the main character? Explain.

Author

*Why do you think the author wrote this story?

*What questions would you ask the author if you could?

Plot

*What is the problem in this story? How do you think it will be solved?

*What do you think was the best part of the story? Why?

Reflection

*What do you admire most of the main character? Why?

*What do you think is most important about what you read? Why?

*How did your thinking change as you read the story? Explain.

Nonfiction

*Turn to the glossary. What does the word _____________ mean?

*Look at the map. What is it showing you?

*What do you think the author put a heading on this page?