"One of the ultimate goals for teachers (regardless of grade or content) is to prepare students to read deeply and critically on their own, just as adults do."-- Rebecca Alber, Editor at Edutopia
Here are a handful of strategies to build those active reading skills:
1. Previewing Text and Vocabulary
Before reading, look at any titles, subheadings, charts, graphs, and captions
make predictions about what they are going to read
Scan the text and ask them to point out words or phrases that are new to them, confusing or they wonder about at first glance
Look at the structure of the text: Is it funny, sad, realistic? How do we know? Is it fiction -- a poem, a story? How do we know? Is it non-fiction -- a letter to someone, a newspaper article? How do we know?
The text structure and its features will help them with comprehension and to identify the author's goals or intent. Ask, "Why would an author write this?" "Why do you think the author included a certain page or paragraph?"
2. Reading with a Purpose
This strategy confronts the passive reading approach.
Say, "Here's your mission as you read. Look for..." They can be reading closely in search of: humor, author's purpose, use of literary devices (such as foreshadowing, imagery), facts, confusion, problem and context clues for new words.
3. Marking Text
These steps for marking the text come from AVID:
number paragraphs,
circle words, phrases, names, dates that stand out, and
underline important information
teach them how to write in the margins (asking questions, for example)
4. Making Connections
Teach them the text-to-self, text-to-text or text-to-world strategy.
model it often: This reminds me of (my birthday party, a poem we read, that snowstorm last year).
5. Summarizing
Readers identify key elements and condense important information into their own words during and after reading to solidify meaning.
Sum it Up (click on the link for an explanation)/ Reading Rockets Sum It Up (for a sample print out)
This content was taken from edutopia.org/MaineContentLiterarcyProject/ Reading Rockets/Into The Book Student Resources