Reading Strategies

ANTICIPATION GUIDE: An anticipation guide is a tool that can be used before learning. The teacher creates a set of statements about the content - some are accurate the some are not. Students read through the list before beginning the lesson and either agree or disagree with each statement based on their prior knowledge. Then, during the lesson students revisit their responses and determine whether each is true or false based on what they've learned.

ATTRIBUTE CHART: An attribute chart is a tool that can be used before, during, or after learning content. The chart lists items or components of a lesson (characters from a novel, study strategies, shapes, animals, etc.) and characteristics. The characteristics that apply to each item are checked off, and the purpose of the chart is to compare and contrast the attributes of each item

CAROUSEL: Carousel brainstorming is a great way to get students involved and moving! The teacher posts 3-5 pieces of chart paper around the classroom with different topics on them. Then, the students are divided into groups and they move around with their groups to each piece of chart paper. As a group, they discuss the topic and brainstorm ideas to add to the paper. Then they move on to the other sheets. Each group is assigned a different color marker so that it's clear in the end which group wrote each comment. This can be modified in any way and used before to assess prior knowledge, during is measure progress, or after learning as an assessment tool. Ideas for topics listed on the chart paper include vocabulary terms, mathematical equations, types of governments, parts of a cell, parts of speech, etc. This can also be extended by having students take a "Gallery Walk" after the carousel is finished. Here, they take a clipboard and pencil, read the ideas on each sheet, and summarize the ideas on each for themselves in a sentence or two. 

INSERT CODES:  This strategy is used during reading or learning. A set of codes is used to mark-up the text or in the margins so that the learner can make quick notes without having to stop reading. The codes are simple to use and consistent within a classroom so that the teacher and other classmates understand the comments that the reader has made

Q.A.R: The Question Answer Relationship strategy is meant to give students a "way in" to answer questions based on a given text. It divides questions into categories and helps students to be strategic about the way that they search for answers.

SPLIT-PAGE NOTES: Split-page notes divide the paper into two columns. On the left side, students record the main ideas or key points, leaving white space between each topic. On the right side next to each main idea, students record the more specific details about each topic. The most important component of split-page notes is the summary at the end, where students synthesize their thinking by summarizing the contents of the notes. These notes are also meant to be interactive, meaning that the student can revise the notes at any point in the learning process

T.H.I.E.V.E.S: THIEVES is a previewing strategy that is used for non-fiction text. This strategy asks students to look at the lesson or chapter before learning and use the THIEVES acronym to pay close attention to the Title, Headings, Introduction, Eye-Catchers, Vocabulary, End of chapter resources, and Setting purpose. Using THIEVES to preview encourages students to "steal" as much information as possible from the text before reading.