Reading Strategy Index
Beginning Reading:
Reading Vocabulary:
Terminology Trade allows a unique way to define and identify vocabulary (Jacobson, 1995).
Figure is a mnemonic strategy that enables students to use context clues to identify unknown words in the text (Thompson, 1994).
Pre-Reading:
TELLS, Fact or Fiction is a pre-reading strategy which allows students to become familiar with the story they are about to read (Sorrell, 1990).
Reading Comprehension:
ReQuest is a strategy that helps students to engage in reciprocal questioning (Bos & Vaughn, 1994).
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Snatch It
Appropriate Grade Level: Primary-1st
Procedures/Steps:
This activity requires that the teacher prepare a shoe box for each group of students, that contains an object for each letter of the alphabet. For example, acorn, button, crayon, dime, egg, fork, etc. The complete alphabet should be represented in each box.
1. Divide the class into small groups of four. The groups should sit on the floor with enough space to spread all of the objects out.
2. Distribute a box of objects to each group.
3. One of the students should take the objects out of the box and lay them on the floor.
4. The teacher will call out a letter and all players will attempt to find the object that begins with that letter.
5. The first student to stand up and hold the object over their head will win a point for that group.
6. The teacher keeps score.
7. The object is then placed back in the box, play continues until all of the letters have been called.
8. The team with the most points wins.
Source:
Bell,I.W. & Wieckert, J.E. (1980). Basic classroom skills through games. Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Word Box Cards
Appropriate Grade Level: Pre K-5
Procedures/Steps:
Depending on the activities that you incorporate with the word box it could be good for anyone from age four to ten.
| 1. | Create a word bank for the word box. This can be done by having children write the words they can identify on a 3x5 index card. |
| 2. | Have children put their words in the word box. The word box can be made out of an old Kleenex or shoe box. Have the children decorate their individual box with contact or construction paper. |
| 3. | Once you
have steps one and two done you can have the children participate in some of these activities depending on their age. *Organize the word banks into complete sentences. *Locate words with various endings. *Alphabetize words in word banks. *Match the word with the same word as it occurs in a magazine, book, or any other reading. *Have each student make a personal dictionary or picture dictionary. *Have the students make a train with their words. They can only match cards that have the same ending and beginning letters. For example: poT could be matched next to Tom and ToM could be matched to Mouse |
Comments and/or tips:
This strategy teaches students initial skills in reading and helps with the recognition of sight words.
Source:
Bos, C.S. & Vaughn, S. (1994). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Paramount.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: List-Group-Label
Appropriate Grade Level: Any
Procedures/Steps:
1 List vocabulary words from a text search. In groups or as a class, find vocabulary words that are both familiar and unfamiliar.
2. Group those words chosen by at least one common characteristic.
3. Label the groups according to the categories determined while grouping. For-example, a label that should always be an option is "We don't know yet." This label allows the students to feel free from pressure to guess at the meanings of unfamiliar words which may make it more difficult to remember the actual meanings. (Note steps 2 & 3 take place at the same time.)
4. Discussion of the groupings and labels will provide students with background knowledge for subsequent readings of the text.
5. Optional: It is an option to go back after further instruction to re-group the original list and discuss the differences between old and new groupings and labels.
Comments and/or tips:
-Encourages students to organize knowledge, make connections, and think analytically.
-Useful in all areas of study.
-Good for text with extensive vocabulary.
-Little need for teacher preparation.
-Little materials needed.
Source:
Jacobson, J. M. (1995). Content Area Learning and Teaching: Integration with Language Arts.
Delmar Press.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Terminology Trade
Appropriate Grade Level: 4 and up
Procedures/Steps:
| 1. | Teacher prepares a set of cards with one word or term that are being studied. (There should be four to six terms for each group). | ||||
| 2. | Separate students into groups. Groups can be anywhere from two - six students. Each group receives four - six term cards. | ||||
| 3. | Instruct
students to look over cards and make three decisions or
piles concerning the cards. Give a time limit of 2-3
minutes. Students can use notes and books to help them.
|
||||
| 4. | Now a round begins! The first group defines a term. | ||||
| 5. | Teacher gives corrective feedback, clarifies any mistakes or questions. | ||||
| 6. | First group passes their cards. | ||||
| 7. | Teacher quickly defines the term passed to him/her. | ||||
| 8. | Second group continues the same process. | ||||
| 9. | You may use as many rounds as you wish, but this strategy works best when there are enough cards to make decisions about. |
Comments and/or tips:
- This activity allows for vocabulary to be defined quickly and accurately while teacher is present to give immediate feedback.
- Terminology Trade involves students in useful and intellectual sorting skills.
- Students see the importance of indexes.
- Students are continually listening, reading, and speaking during this activity
Source:
Jacobson, J. M. (1995). Content Area Learning and Teaching: Integration with the Language Arts. Delmar Press
Reading Strategy
Strategy: IT FITS
Appropriate Grade Level: 3 and up
Procedures/Steps:
A systematic procedure should be used each time new vocabulary is introduced. On one card the vocabulary word is written on one side while a keyword on the backside is written. The words, their definitions and an interactive illustration of the keyword and the vocabulary word are then all displayed on another card which is 81/2 x 11 inches. The teacher then uses the cards to help the student remember- the vocabulary term. In order to teach students to do this strategy on their own an introduction to the strategy IT FITS should occur. The same material should be provided to them that were originally used. (index cards)
Identify the term.
Tell the definition of the term.
Find a key word. For example in biomes the imposed keyword could be homes.
Imagine the definition doing something with the keyword.
Think about the definition doing something with the keyword.
Study what you imagined until you know the definition.
Comments and/or tips:
-Because the image and relations are the most powerful when students independently develop the keyword and illustration, allowing students to share with each other may help students to develop further insight as well.
-Use a small vocabulary list.
-This may be done in any content area.
Source:
King-Sears, M.E., Mercer, C.D., & Sindelar, P.T. (1992). Toward independence with keyword mnemonics: A strategy for science vocabulary instruction. Remedial and Special Education, 13(5), 22-33.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: 3 R's
Appropriate Grade Level: 3 and up
Procedures/Steps:
The 3 R's strategy is a keyword mnemonic method that allows students to systematically look at unknown vocabulary terms and define them. The 3 R's consist of:
Recoding an unfamiliar word using a keyword.
Relating the keyword to the unfamiliar word's definition.
Retrieving the definition of the previously unfamiliar word by seeing the keyword's relation to the new words definition.
For example: The term artery is recorded as tree, then it is depicted by a picture which demonstrates its relationship. This interactive illustration could have the tree's branches as blood vessels carrying the blood away from the heart. Thus when the student is asked to retrieve the definition of artery, tree the recoded keyword is a prompt for the student to recall their illustration and the definition of artery.
Comments and/or tips:
-This strategy can be used with any number of content areas.
-This strategy may be very effective to have students with disabilities use with low-usage vocabulary words. This due to the fact that these words not encountered very often are difficult to remember. The 3R's provides students with a visual image of what the word means.
Source:
King-Sears, M.E., Mercer, C.D., & Sindelar, P.T. (1992). Toward independence with keyword mnemonics- A strategy for science vocabulary instruction. Remedial and Special Education, 13(5), 22-33.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: FIGURE
Apprppriate Grade Level: 1-5
Procedures/Steps:
FIGURE is a strategy that enables students to use context clues to identify unknown words in text.
Finish the sentence without the word.
Inspect the picture, if there is one on the page.
Glance at the beginning of the word, see if you know the sound.
Use your brain to think of a word that makes sense.
Reread the sentence with the word.
Employ another word if you need to.
Comments and/or tips:
-This strategy can be taught after students know many sight words and are familiar with phonics.
-FIGURE steps should be practiced by having the students use their own sentences as well as passages from the current reading or content lesson.
Source:
Thompson, K.L. & Taymans, J.M. (1994). Development of a reading strategies program: Bridging the gaps among decoding, literature, and thinking skills. Intervention in School and Clinic, 30(l), 17-27.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Anticipation Guide
Appropriate Grade Level: 1 - 12
Procedures/Steps:
This strategy will activate students ideas and opinions about a topic that is going to be discussed in class.
1. After establishing the major points of what your students will be reading write-five statements students can react to. Their reaction should be based on their beliefs or opinions. For example:
Calories help you lose weight.
2. To see what the students reactions are have them write a "+" for agreement with the statement or a "-" for disagreement. They should be reminded that they may be asked to defend their opinions.
3. Have a discussion about the items listed.
4. Have students read the required selection. Did any of their opinions or ideas change about the statements that they made?
Source:
Dubois, L. & Steckel, M. (1992). Comprehension strategies. The reading instructional handbook. Learning.20, 31-34.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: What's in your backpack? (prereading)
Appropriate Grade Level: 2-5
Procedures/Steps:
1. Choose a topic that your class will be reading about (i.e., dolphins).
2. Divide the class into two teams.
3. Each team will receive index cards. They should be told to write any words or phrases that they know about dolphins.
4. Each team is asked to read their lists aloud.
5. Ideas should be written on the board and then they should be discussed.
6. The teacher should point out ideas that will directly relate to what is in the required reading.
Comments and/or tips:
-This strategy for prereading will increase student interest and will help you assess prior knowledge.
Source:
Dubois, L. & Steckel, M. (1992). Comprehension strategies. The reading instructional handbook. Learning.20, 31-34.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: FLASH
Appropriate Grade Level: 3-8
ProcedureslSteps:
FLASH is a strategy that prompts students to activate their prior knowledge before reading.
Focus on the topic at hand.
Look for familiar information either in titles, pictures or the text itself.
Activate knowledge and ask questions. Think about what you already know about the topic, then ask questions you may have.
See what is connected. What do you know that could be related to what you are about to read in the text?
Hypothesize what will happen in the readings.
Comments and/or tips:
-This strategy should be modeled by using the think aloud technique.
-Incorporate FLASH into your daily vocabulary so that it will become part of your students vocabulary as well, for example: "Let's FLASH on this a second. Think about what you already know about ......."
Source:
Ellis, E.S. (1993). Integrative strategy instruction: A potential model for teaching content area subjects to adolescents with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26(6), 358-383.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: PreP (Pre-Reading Plan)
Appropriate Grade Level: 4th and up
Procedures/Steps:
1. Discuss prior knowledge of content.
2. Have students look at the organization of the text.
3. While students are looking at the organization of the text, they will skim the text by reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph and the entire first and last paragraphs.
4. Next, students should survey the text analyzing graphics, titles, and bold face or italic words to help generate predictions.
5. Students will work as a group to do PReP to call upon prior knowledge that is relevant to the content area. Students will verbalize associations that come to mind about the concepts in the text they have scanned. This engages students' content schemata.
6. The final step of PReP is looking at the vocabulary related to the content. Students should look at the words that they are encountering and discuss these as a class.
Comments and/or tips:
-By using this strategy, students are better able to learn new content matter.
-Older students could work on this strategy by themselves.
-Younger students can work in groups with the teacher guiding the strategy.
-Pre-reading activities like this one enable students to tackle difficult content in a thorough manner.
Source:
Holbrook, H. (1984). ERIC/RCS: Pre-reading in the content areas. Journal of Reading, 27, 368-370.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Semantic Mapping
Appropriate Grade Level: 4th and up
Procedures / Steps:
1.Teacher identifies a content area or text.
2. As a whole class or in groups, students are instructed to make a long list of related words and terms. While brainstorming all ideas are accepted without judgment.
3. When a list is compiled, students work in groups to organize the terms into a web-like pattern, with the main ideas attached to a core(the topic), and subsidiary concepts arranged under the main ideas to represent their relationships.
Comments and/or tips:
-This strategy allows students to share and compare ideas and information, while organizing them.
-Semantic Mapping can be a creative, yet useful study guide as well.
-This strategy works well proceeding a Terminology Trade activity because the terms or concepts have been clearly defined for students.
Source:
Jacobson, J. M. (1995). Content Area Learing and Teaching: Integration with the Language Arts. Delmar Press.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: TELLS Fact or fiction
Appropriate Grade Level: 2-8
Procedures/Steps:
TELLS, Fact or Fiction is a prereading strategy which allows students to become familiar with the story they are about to read. With each step, the teacher probes the student by asking questions. Doing so will model to the students the types of questions they will eventually ask themselves.
Title- the title should be found and examined
Examine the pages to find out what the story is about.
Look for important words.
Look for difficult words, find their pronunciation and meaning.
Setting- the setting should then be identified.
Finally decide if the story is fact or fiction.
Comments and/or tips:
-Once students are competent with this strategy the teacher may give them a chart listing of the steps to TELLS Fact or Fiction, helping them to follow along independently.
-This strategy provides a basis for discussion of the students' prior knowledge on the subiect of the story.
Source:
Sorrell, A. L. (1990). Three reading comprehension strategies: TELLS, story mapping, and OARS. Academic Therapy, 25(3), 359-367.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: K-W-L
Appropriate Grade Level: 1-6
ProcedureslSteps:
This strategy has three steps:
K- what I Know
W- what I Want to Learn
L- what I did Learn
1. During the KNOW stage students will use brainstorming. The teacher and students should discuss what categories they will find as they read.
2. During the WANT TO LEARN stage students discuss what they want to learn and then they begin reading. Before they read they should write down questions regarding what they are most interested in.
3. During the what was LEARNED stage the students write down what they learned from their readings. This is also when students can check questions they created before they began reading.
Comments and/or tips:
-It is found that students remember more when they use K-W-L.
-Mapping and summarizing activities can be added to K-W-L.
Source:
Bos, C.S. & Vaughn, S. (1994). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Paramount.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Paraphrasing
Appropriate Grade Level: 3-6
Procedures/Steps:
When children are using a text for information they should be aware of the correct way to take that information and put it on paper using their own words. This strategy will help children understand how to do that.
1. When paraphrasing it must be a complete thought with a subject and a verb.
2. Information must be accurate.
3. New information must be added.
4. It needs to make sense.
5. It must contain useful information.
6. What is written must be in your own words.
7. Remind students that paraphrasing is like rapping or talking to yourself.
Comments and/or tips:
-Paraphrasing is needed in order to answer comprehension questions.
-Try having students orally repeat their paraphrasing into a tape recorder instead of writing.
Source:
Bos, C.S. & Vaughn, S. (1994). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems. Needham Heights, Massachusetts- Paramount.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: POSSE
Appropriate Grade Level: K-12
Procedures / Steps:
Predict what ideas are in the story, make a list of them.
Then have students ask questions such as: What does it look like?and Where does it live?
Organize your thoughts into categories using a semantic web.
Search for the structure by finding main ideas, then make another web to show your findings.
Summarize the main idea in your own words
Evaluate, compare what you predictions were to what happened, clarify, predict what would happen next.
Comments and/or tips:
-Posse can be a strong scaffolding technique to help beginning readers as well as older readers who have reading difficulties.
Source:
Bos, C.S. & Vaughn, S. (1994). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Paramount.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: ReQuest (Reciprocal Questioning)
Appropriate Grade Level: 3rd and up
Procedures / Steps:
In order to be successful rules must first be established.
1. The answer "I don't know" is not allowed
2. Unclear questions are to be restated.
3. Uncertain answers are to be justified by using the text and other sources.
The process consists of:
1. Silent Reading: Have the students read silently either a sentence or a small section
2. Student Questioning: Close your book and allow students to ask you questions. Model appropriate answering techniques.
3. Teacher Questioning: Students close their books and you ask questions.
4. Integration of the Text: After completing the first three steps continue reading, then integrate the new section with the old by asking relevant questions.
5. Predictive Questioning: When the class has read a sufficient amount of text, have the students predict what will happen.
6. Silent Reading: Read the end of the passage and compare it to your predictions.
Comments and/or tips:
-An important skill is seen in this strategy when the teacher models appropriate questions.
Source:
Bos, C.S. & Vaughn,'S. (1994). Strategies for teaching students with learnina and behavior 12roblems. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Paramount.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: SPOT
Appropriate Grade Level: 2-5
Procedures/Steps:
Setting- Who, what, when, and where
Problem- What is the problem to be solved?
Order of Action- What happened to solve the problem? The correct logical order should be used.
Tail end- What happened at the end of the story?
1. Motivate students to learn the strategy.
2. Describe the components in a story.
3. Model how to use the strategy by reading a story and labeling each component such as the setting as you are able to identify them.
4. Practice together as a class then in small groups.
5. Have the students read stories independently and retell them by using the SPOT strategy.
Comments and/or tips:
-This strategy will help students to identify, recall and retell the key parts of a particular story.
-An improvement in reading comprehension may be seen with this strategy since you are giving students a way to recall information in an organized
Source:
Bos, C.S. & Vaughn, S. (1994). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Paramount.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: SQ4R
Appropriate Grade Level: 4th and up
Procedures/Steps:
The S04R is a six step technique that enables students to learn information from text.
Survey: Preview the text by looking at the titles.
Question: Make a question for each heading.
Read: To answer the question.
Recite: Take notes after answering the question or take part in self-recitation.
Review: This step requires that students review the main points taken down in notes or said when reciting information.
w R ite: Write the information.
Comments and/or tips:
-One difficulty associated with the SQ4R method is the complexity of the process.
Source:
Bos, C.S. & Vaughn, S. (1994). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior groblems. Needham Heights, Massachusetts- Paramount.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: A-Qu-A (ah-QUA) Answer-Question-Answer
Appropriate Grade Level: 3rd and up
Procedures / Steps:
1 Teacher selects a well written, fact-packed section of a text or write one for use.
2. Two sets of cards are used.
b. Each question card contains a well-constructed question that can be directly answered from one of the text cards. All of the question cards should also ask "Who read the card that gives the answer this question ?". One question must be written for every text card issued.
3. Distribute cards and have fun!
Comments and/or tips:
-A-Qu-A is a great group activity that requires active listening and reading while allowing interaction among students and staff.
Source:
Jacobson, J. M. (1995).Content Area Learning and Teaching: Integration with the Language Arts. Delmar Press.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Provide Evidence
Appropriate Grade Level: 2-4
Procedures/Steps:
1. Split students into groups of 6-8 people.
2. Each player gets six cards, three will have descriptive words and three will have the names of story characters.
3. When a student matches the correct character with the descriptive word they have to explain their opinions on their match and give evidence from the story to support their thinking.
4. The game ends when all the possible matches are made. Not all the cards need to link together.
Comments and/or tips:
-This game provides a teacher the opportunity to observe a student's growth in cognitive, verbal, and social skills, as well as oral language and comprehension.
Source:
Richards, J.C. (199a). Teaching reading. The Reading Teacher.,47(2 )170-171.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Picture Mapping
Appropriate Grade Level: 1-3
Procedures/Steps:
This strategy uses pictures instead of words. It involves the children sequencing the major events of a story without words.
1. Have children work in small groups or individually to determine if an event in the story they read was a main idea or a detail. When they have decided on the major events in the story they should think about how they could draw it.
2. A picture map usually includes no more than ten to twelve pictures. It can be drawn in a circular form where the first event is drawn at the top of the circle and the proceeding events follow around the circle in a clockwise direction.
3. Picture maps are acceptable as long as the student can support theirdecisions from the text.
Source:
Routman, R. (1991). Changing as teachers and learners K-12. Concord, Ontario: Irwin Publishing.
Reading Strategy
Strategy: Circle of Questions
Appropriate Grade Level: 3 and up
Procedures/Steps:
The circle of questions is a strategy teachers may use to prompt their students to collaboratively find meaning from text.
1. Have the students read a selected story for example about lightening bugs.
2. Divide the class into groups of five. Have the students sit in their groups at a table, each group being at a different table.
3. Have the students draw straws to designate the roles of each person. These roles include timekeeper, reporter, recorder, encourager and leader.
4. Announce the topic that you will be focusing on for the circle of questions.
5. Students brainstorm questions about the topic for three minutes.
6. The teacher then draws a circle on the chalkboard and invites each group to share their questions. In the center of the circle the teacher writes the topic then around it, as spokes of wheel, the teacher records the questions that were developed.
7. The questions are examined by the whole group and placed into categories. Colored chalk can be used to identify where each question belongs.
8. Each group then chooses a category in which they would become an expert.
9. The group is then in charge of locating the areas in the text that relate to their category and to answer the questions that were developed by the class. The recorder writes down all the information found.
10. After each group has completed their task of finding all the information about their category that is in the text, the reporter from each group shares their findings.
Comments and/or tips:
-Prior to using this strategy, group roles should be introduced and discussed.
-Some questions developed by the students may be left unanswered by the text.
These unanswered questions could provide a means of having the students do research.
Source:
Sampson, M., Sampson, M.R. & Linek, W. ( 1994/1995). Circle of questions. The Reading Teacher, 4a(4), 364-365.
Bell,I.W. & Wieckert, J.E. (1980). Basic classroom skills throuah games. Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.
Bos, C.S. & Vaughn, S. (1994). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Paramount.
Dubois, L. & Steckel, M. (1992). Comprehension strategies. The reading instructional handbook. Learning.20, 31-34.
Ellis, E.S. (1993). Integrative strategy instruction: A potential model for teaching content area subjects to adolescents with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26(6), 358-383.
Holbrook, H. (1984). ERIC/RCS: Pre-reading in the content areas. Journal of Reading, 27, 368-370.
Jacobson, J. M. (1995). Content Area Learning and Teaching: Integration with the Language Arts. Delmar Press.
King-Sears, M.E., Mercer, C.D., & Sindelar, P.T. (1992). Toward independence with keyword mnemonics: A strategy for science vocabulary instruction. Remedial and Special Education, 13(5), 2233.
Richards, J.C. (1993). Teaching reading. The Reading Teacher.47(2), 170-171.
Routman, R. (1991 ). Changing as teachers and learners K-1 2. Concord, Ontario: Irwin Publishing.
Sampson, M., Sampson, M.R. & Linek, W. ( 1994/1995). Circle of questions. The Reading Teacher, 48(4), 364-365.
Sorrell, A. L. (1990). Three reading comprehension strategies: TELLS, story mapping, and QARS. Academic Therapy, 25(3), 359367.
Thompson, K.L. & Taymans, J.M. (1994). Development of a reading strategies program: Bridging the gaps among decoding, literature, and thinking skills. Intervention in School and Clinic, 30(l), 17-27.
Compiled and Edited by Dr.
Elizabeth Whitten
Western
Michigan University
Department of Educational Studies
(616) 387-5940
Other strategies in this notebook include classroom and behavior management strategies, math strategies, and written expression strategies.