Reading Strategies
READING STRATEGIES
MAKING INFERENCES WHEN READING TEXTBOOKS
Putting together what you know and what you find out.
What do you know about the topic?
Use the words, photographs, graphs, and diagrams to learn new ideas.
Why are the facts and events, and main ideas important?
PREDICT, SUPPORT, ADJUST
Use what you read to guess what will happen.
Know what details support your prediction.
As you learn new things change your prediction.
MAKING CONNECTIONS TO YOUR LIFE
Thinking about how people handle problems, change, conflict, joy, sorrow, and dreams helps you to understand and be a part of your family, community, and world.
VISUALIZING
Use the details and information to form pictures in your mind.
Imagine the characters and setting.
How do they dress and talk?
What are their surroundings - what you see, hear, smell, taste, feel.
Pay attention to what the descriptive words say. (hands tremble, fish glide)
MAKING INFERENCES WITH FICTION – Reading between the lines.
Some things we are told, others we must find out for ourselves.
Follow the clues to understand the conflicts, decisions, characters, and setting.
What are the thoughts of the characters?
What do their actions and decisions show?
Why does the setting matter? What are the big ideas?
CAUSE/ EFFECT/ INFERENCES
Learn to spot causes and the effects they have.
Fiction and biographies
What is the main decision, conflict or problem, interaction with others?
What happens because of these things?
How do things that happen change, help, or harm life and relationships?
ASKING YOURSELF QUESTIONS
ASK YOURSELF -WHY DO -
ACTIONS HAPPEN AND CHARACTERS DO WHAT THEY DO
CHARACTERS THINK AND SAY WHAT THEY DO
DECISIONS GET MADE
PROBLEMS GET SOLVED A CERTAIN WAY
EVENTS OCCUR
HOW ARE THESE THINGS LIKE OR DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU KNOW OR WHAT YOU WOULD DO? DISCUSS ALL THESE QUESTIONS WITH A PARTNER OR GROUP
THINKING & UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU ARE READING
What is it that you do and don’t understand?
Improve your understanding by using strategies such as
- reread & retell the passage - read to a partner and discuss it
- ask questions about words, phrases, or confusing sentences
- Look at illustrations, diagrams, and captions
- Look at the sentence words are in and unlock their meaning
