Active Reading Comprehension Strategies

MAKE CONNECTIONS
What connections do I make as I read? Good readers notice pieces of text that relate to or remind them of: - Their lives, past experiences, and prior knowledge - Other books, articles, movies, songs or writing - Events, people, or issues Text-Text; Text-Self; Text-World Remember that connections/comparisons include finding similarities and differences Can these be used to create empathy?

VISUALIZE
Good readers create mental pictures while reading. While reading, take the time to create clear pictures in your mind that help you clarify the text.

VOCABULARY
Literally, the building blocks for language. Good writers choose words carefully, so pay attention to being specific about meaning. Figure out if your word(s) is a sight, everyday, or topic-specific word and treat it appropriately. Use the context (word around it) to make meaning Use synonyms and antonyms as clues Understand how your word can take on various forms (noun, adjective, verb clarity, clear, clarify)

Use all of your senses to build and solidify your men- tal images of characters, places events, and ideas. I can see, hear, smell, feel, taste. If youre having a hard time envisioning/imagining things, write specific questions about the piece (s) that dont make sense.

ASK QUESTIONS Asking the right question(s) is a clear and safely approachable method for individuals, groups and/or whole classes to enter and process a text.

Questions ought to range across the DOK spectrum Great learning can be driven by students asking each other good questions

- Questions create entry points for the other strategies - Questions can cover topic, theme, craft, or students reaction

Backwards design allows differentiation to happen when students use individualized methods of approaching the same essential question. INFERENCES DETERMINE IMPORTANCE What is this saying? Why should anyone care?

ACCESS PRIOR KNOWLEDGE What you know about content and author helps you understand the authors point(s). What else has this author created? Does he/ she tend to work on similar themes? What do you know about what else is going on where and when the text is set? What else have you read/seen about this topic?

What meaning can I reliably take from the text, even though its not explicitly stated or shown.

Logical assumptions based on connecting known facts. Use background knowledge and clues from a variety of places in the text. Weak inferences are guesses. Strengthen with the amount of connected details.

What can be found that helps to identify the main idea and its supportive thinking. This isnt what the reader feels; its best expressed without I statements. Historical and biographical context, titles, repetition, referenced materials can all help identify the big idea.