Reading Strategies
Reading strategies are designed to help you become a better reader and have a better understanding of what you're reading. Strong readers will use these strategies automatically and people who struggle with reading will need to work a little harder. Below you will find a list of reading strategies that you should use in order to help you while you're reading in ALL classes.
1. Visualize: This is where you picture what you're reading in your mind. When you have a picture in your mind, it can help you understand the material a little better. If you think about books you've read in the past and then they made a movie out of the book, you might find yourself saying something like, "Hey! That's not what I thought it looked like!" or "That character looked way different in my mind." This is a GOOD thing! It means you're using this strategy as you read.
2. Connections: There are three types of connections to make while you're reading; text to text, text to self, and text to world. The first one, text to text, is where you make a connection between what you're currently reading with something you read in the past or in another class. Example: The main character in your book is mad at her mom and you just finished a previous book where the main character also had an argument with her mom and you compare how the two resolved their issues. The second one, text to self, is where you make a connection from what you're reading to yourself. Example: If the main character is struggling with self esteem and you have some similar feelings so you can relate with what he/she is saying. The third one, text to world, is where you make a connection between what you're reading and something in the outside world, such as a movie, TV show, etc. Example: The main character of your book just made a big mistake and it reminds you of the movie you just watched where the main character also made a similar mistake.
3. Predict: Predictions are made when you take an educated guess about what's going to happen in the book based on the hints that are given throughout. This is NOT a guess out of the blue. It is based on evidence in the book. When you find out if your prediction was correct, you confirm your prediction. If your prediction was off, then you adjust based on new evidence.
4. Question: This can be a number of things. It can be a question that you have about something that is confusing. It can be a question that you have for a character in the book about what they did or said something. It could also be a question that you have for a teacher or an adult about something that happened in the book. If you have a question that you know someone can help you with then go out and find the answer!
5. Inference: When you make an inference, you read between the lines to figure things out. These are often times questions that are called "implicit" because the answer is implied. This is NOT a guess out of the blue. When you make an inference, you use the material that you read to figure out the answer. For example, if you were reading a book and the character came storming out of the kitchen pointing her finger and yelling you could imply that she was upset and mad.
1. Visualize: This is where you picture what you're reading in your mind. When you have a picture in your mind, it can help you understand the material a little better. If you think about books you've read in the past and then they made a movie out of the book, you might find yourself saying something like, "Hey! That's not what I thought it looked like!" or "That character looked way different in my mind." This is a GOOD thing! It means you're using this strategy as you read.
2. Connections: There are three types of connections to make while you're reading; text to text, text to self, and text to world. The first one, text to text, is where you make a connection between what you're currently reading with something you read in the past or in another class. Example: The main character in your book is mad at her mom and you just finished a previous book where the main character also had an argument with her mom and you compare how the two resolved their issues. The second one, text to self, is where you make a connection from what you're reading to yourself. Example: If the main character is struggling with self esteem and you have some similar feelings so you can relate with what he/she is saying. The third one, text to world, is where you make a connection between what you're reading and something in the outside world, such as a movie, TV show, etc. Example: The main character of your book just made a big mistake and it reminds you of the movie you just watched where the main character also made a similar mistake.
3. Predict: Predictions are made when you take an educated guess about what's going to happen in the book based on the hints that are given throughout. This is NOT a guess out of the blue. It is based on evidence in the book. When you find out if your prediction was correct, you confirm your prediction. If your prediction was off, then you adjust based on new evidence.
4. Question: This can be a number of things. It can be a question that you have about something that is confusing. It can be a question that you have for a character in the book about what they did or said something. It could also be a question that you have for a teacher or an adult about something that happened in the book. If you have a question that you know someone can help you with then go out and find the answer!
5. Inference: When you make an inference, you read between the lines to figure things out. These are often times questions that are called "implicit" because the answer is implied. This is NOT a guess out of the blue. When you make an inference, you use the material that you read to figure out the answer. For example, if you were reading a book and the character came storming out of the kitchen pointing her finger and yelling you could imply that she was upset and mad.