Cultivating our Reading Strategies!

During Independent Reading, we have been spending lot of time practicing ACTIVE READING STRATEGIES. These strategies help to keep us engaged in the text and cause us to think while we read. We are learning that reading isn't just knowing the words on the page, it is thinking deeply about those words. So far we have focused on three reading strategies. Last week as I walked around during Reader's Workshop, and I asked the students to share their thinking with me. I wanted to know how they were using these strategies.

1. The first strategy we learned is QUESTIONING. Asking questions while you read is important because it helps readers set a purpose for reading. It also helps hold our attention and and keeps us focused.

The student below was reading a non-fiction book about the Aztecs. He showed that he was thinking about what he was learning by questioning the effects of strangers entering the Aztec city. What a deep thinker!

2. The second strategy we learned is PREDICTING. To use this strategy you must stop while you are reading and use clues to guess what is going to happen next.

The student below is reading Ralph S.Mouse by Beverly Cleary. She told me that one of the main characters, Brad, had broken Ralph's (the little mouse) motercycle. She was thinking that he might buy him a new one. She is one strategic reader!

3. The third strategy we have learned is CLARIFYING. It means to go back and reread. This is a very important strategy to practice because it helps us clear up any confusion we may have as we read. As you Clarify, you may have to reread a word, a paragraph, or a couple of pages to make sense of something that confuses you.

The student below was reading Masterpiece, by Elise Broach. This book is one of our Battle of the Books Titles!

She was clarifying an event in the story that she had read previously. This strategy may help her once the Battle of the Books comes around because she will certainly understand what she has read!

Next week we will practice our summarizing strategy. Keep up the good work! And remember, you aren't READING if you aren't THINKING!