Teaching Strategies for Reading

Use these strategies to improve your students' reading skills. Included are articles to teach you about each concept and lesson plans with which you can implement the strategies. These are great professional development resources and are an excellent resource to ensure that you are improving your professional skill set.

Articles Literacy Glossary A list of terms pertaining to literacy and reading. Activating Prior Knowledge Help your students be good readers: those who constantly try to make sense out of what they read by seeing how it fits with what they already know. This method will make an excellent addition to your literature curriculum, but is also useful in science, social studies, and other subjects. Running Records A running record is a way to assess a student's reading progress by creating a graphic representation of a student's oral reading, identifying patterns of effective and ineffective strategy use. Think Aloud Strategy The think-aloud strategy asks students to say out loud what they are thinking about when reading, solving math problems, or simply responding to questions posed by teachers or other students. This strategy makes an excellent addition to the learning methods taught in your curriculum. Literacy Centers At literacy centers, students work alone or interact with one another using instructional materials to explore and expand their learning. Using "KWL" in the Classroom KWL ("Know", "Want to Know", "Learned") charts encourage students to use prior knowledge and personal curiosity while researching a subject or a topic. This strategy is especially useful in reading classes, but is also useful in plenty of other subjects, like science and social studies. Questions Before, During, and After Reading To encourage critical reading, teachers should ask students questions about the text before, during, and after they read. This method is useful for most subjects, from reading to social studies, and is an excellent way to structure literature homework. Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) is a teaching strategy that guides students in making predictions about a text and then reading to confirm or refute their predictions. This is an excellent method of teaching to introduce to your students. Inferences Making an inference involves using what you know to make a guess about what you don't know, or reading between the lines. Teaching your students to use this technique will encourage more critical reading and better understanding and enjoyment of the text. Question-Answer Relationships Question-Answer Relationships, or QAR, is a reading comprehension strategy developed to encourage students to be active, strategic readers of texts. Literature Circles In literature circles, students come together to discuss and respond to a book that they are reading at the same time. Students use their experiences to create meaning, make connections, and have lively discussions about the book. Establishing the Main Idea An important task of reading comprehension is to determine the importance and meanings of individual words, sentences, paragraphs, sections, chapters, and entire texts. This article will help you teach your students about finding the main idea while they are reading. Focused Mini Lessons Teach your students smaller concepts with focused mini lessons; they will later be able to relate this smaller idea to a larger concept or skill. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable. Predicting Predicting involves thinking ahead while reading and anticipating information and events in the text. After making predictions, students can read through the text and refine, revise, and verify their predictions. Reading Aloud When we read aloud to students, we expand their imaginations, provide new knowledge, support language acquisition, build vocabulary, and promote reading as a worthwhile, enjoyable activity. Reading Buddies Set up a "reading buddies" program with your students by pairing older and younger students together to read aloud to each other, benefiting both students' reading and listening skills. Reading Carnival Host a reading carnival at your school -- it will give your students a chance to demonstrate the reading skills they've acquired and their parents a chance to be a more integral part of their education. Reading Workshop This strategy gives students the opportunity to choose the books they read and to discuss their reading individually and in small groups. Repeated Reading Use a variety of repeated reading activities to improve reading skills. Sequencing Sequencing refers to the identification of the components of a story, such as the beginning, middle, and end. Learn here how to apply the concept of sequencing to reading and literature when teaching. Story Elements The ability to identify the elements of a story (plot, characters, setting, and theme) aids in reading comprehension, leads to a deeper understanding and appreciation of stories, and helps students learn to write stories of their own. Summarizing Summarizing is more than retelling; it involves analyzing information, distinguishing important from unimportant elements and translating large chunks of information into a few short cohesive sentences. This article outlines how the act of summarizing can be used in your classroom. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable. Visualizing Visualizing refers to our ability to create pictures in our heads based on text we read or words we hear. It is one of many skills that makes reading comprehension possible. This method is an ideal strategy to teach to young students who are having trouble reading. Cause and Effect A cause and effect analysis is an attempt to understand why things happen as they do. Use this resource to help your students understand the effects of various events and actions, so they have a better grasp on the way the world operates. Metaphors and Analogies Metaphors and analogies are comparisons between unlike things that have some particular things in common. You can use metaphors and analogies to make new and unfamiliar concepts more meaningful to students by connecting what they already know to what they are learning. Related Lesson Plans Prior Knowledge: The Popcorn Book Encourage your students to activate their prior knowledge with this lesson plan on The Popcorn Book. Prior Knowledge: A House is a House for Me Encourage your students to activate their prior knowledge with this lesson plan on A House is a House for Me. Prior Knowledge: The Three Little Pigs Encourage your students to activate their prior knowledge with this lesson plan on The Three Little Pigs. What Do You Know About Bugs? This science lesson plan uses a KWL chart to investigate students' knowledge of bugs and to gain further information.

Making Inferences, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing Use a lesson that is designed to teach primary students to make inferences as a reading comprehension with a strategy. The lesson uses the book Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett. Making Inferences, Too Many Tamales Use a lesson that is designed to help primary students establish the skill of making inferences as a reading comprehension with a strategy. The lesson uses the book, Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto. Making Inferences, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears Use a lesson that is designed to expand primary students' skill of making inferences. The lesson uses the book, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema. Introducing Questioning, The Mitten Use a lesson that is designed to introduce primary students to the importance of asking questions before, during, and after listening to the story The Mitten. Establishing Questioning, Koko's Kitten Use a lesson that is designed to establish primary students' skills in asking questions before, during, and after they listen to the story Koko's Kitten. Questioning, Frog and Toad Together In this lesson, you will teach students how to use Question-Answer Relationships by reading from Frog and Toad Together, by Arnold Lobel, and modeling QAR questions as you read. Further Expanding Questioning, Grandfather's Journey Present this lesson plan for the strategy of asking questions before, during, and after reading using the book Grandfather's Journey by Alan Say. Primary Question-Answer Relationships Use a lesson that introduces the Question-Answer Relationship strategy to primary students. Students should be able to differentiate between a question and a statement, and to generate questions before, during, and after reading. Intermediate Question-Answer Relationships Use a lesson that introduces the Question-Answer Relationship strategy to intermediate students. Students should be able to differentiate between a question and a statement, and to generate questions before, during, and after reading. Asking Pre-Reading Questions Students will learn about asking questions before reading and will make predictions based on the discussion of the questions. Book Discussions Encourage your students to read for pleasure with book discussions. Students can share with the class or a small group a book that they have recently read in a variety of fun, creative ways. Asking Questions When Reading In this lesson, the teacher will read The Wall by Eve Bunting with the purpose of focusing on asking important questions. Main Idea: Chrysanthemum Teach your students how to find the main idea of a story by reading the book Chrysanthemum with your class. Main Idea: Animals Born Alive and Well Continue your study on how to find the main idea of a story by reading the book Animals Born Alive and Well with your class. Main Idea: The Great Kapok Tree Finalize your lessons on how to find the main idea of a story by reading the book The Great Kapok Tree with your class. Predicting: The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear Use the prediction strategy while reading aloud the book The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear to your class. Predicting: Strega Nona Use the prediction strategy while reading aloud the book Strega Nona to your class. Predicting, DR-TA: The Garden of Abdul Gasazi Use the prediction strategy while reading aloud the book The Garden of Abdul Gasazi to your class. Sequencing: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Present this lesson plan for the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar to help students practice story sequencing. Sequencing: Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Use a lesson that is designed to establish the skill of sequencing for primary students, using the text Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. Sequencing: The Hare and the Tortoise Use a lesson that is designed to expand the skill of sequencing for primary students, using the text The Hare and the Tortoise. Story Elements: Danny and the Dinosaur Use a lesson that introduces primary students to the elements of a story that is read aloud. Students begin by identifying the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and then use a story map to organize the story elements. Summarizing: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Use a lesson that is designed to expand primary students' summarizing skills using the book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Summarizing: Nate the Great Use a lesson that is designed to establish primary students' skills in summarizing a story using the book, Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Summarizing: Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia Use a lesson that is designed to introduce primary students to summarizing a story using a part of the book Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia. Summarizing an O. Henry Short Story During this high school language arts lesson, students will summarize, verbally and in writing, the short story "Confessions of a Humorist" by O. Henry. Summarizing a John F. Kennedy Speech During this high school language arts lesson, students will summarize, verbally and in writing, a speech that John F. Kennedy gave about the need for America to land a man on the moon. Visualizing: Follow the Drinking Gourd Use a lesson that is designed to establish the skill of visualizing for primary students, using the story Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter. Visualizing: Hill of Fire Use a lesson that is designed to expand the skill of visualizing for primary students, using the book Hill of Fire by Thomas Lewis. Understanding Metaphors In this lesson, students are introduced to using metaphors in writing and daily conversations, and discuss the meanings of various metaphors.   More Professional Development Resources for Teachers