As teachers, we have little say about pre-reading activities when it comes to our pupils' individual silent reading. But when it comes to reading identical copies of a book or other text together in class, we're able to control these more. Why should we provide these activities though? Isn't it more natural to simply dive into a book together and discuss certain themes that arise as we go along? Research shows that when pupils engage in reading, their enjoyment in the reading process increases.

In general, teachers use pre-reading activities to:

• set the context and purpose for the reading.
• introduce new words and phrases that pupils may struggle with in the book.
• highlight main ideas and key points.
• activate prior knowledge.
• discuss the title, cover, pictures, author, and illustrator.
• make connections (to self, text, world).
• predict what the story might be about. Use titles and pictures or put words on board.

For dynamic pre-reading ideas, see: Pre-Reading Activities

The reasons we require pupils to respond to the material they've read are much more obvious. After all, if they can respond to reading in oral or written forms, we, their teachers, can check if they've understood what they've read and of course, require them to actually communicate what they've read in an understandable and effective manner.

Post-reading activities help us check if our pupils have succeeded to:

• identify main ideas
• make connections to their own lives
• compare their own culture to those of others
• express their points of view
• draw conclusions

For dynamic post-reading ideas, see: Post-Reading Activities