General After Reading After reading, encourage students to: • Apply what they’ve read • Talk about it • Study or organize notes • Review objectives • Answer questions • Study new vocabulary Yes No Game Draw a “T” chart on the board, label the left “Yes” and the right ”No.” Write a word or phrase in the left column that is an example of the concept you want the students to understand; write a non-example in the right column. Continue adding to each column until the students know the answer. A movie sample, for Sean Connery fans: __________YES_____________ To Russia, With Love Raiders of the Lost Ark III ____________NO_____________ Live and Let Die Raiders of the Lost Ark I Sentence Starters Sometimes a simple worksheet of sentence starters can prompt students’ thinking after they’ve read. This doesn’t always have to be teacher-created; students can create these starters for each other. Multiple Intelligences This is not really a strategy, but it so influences reading comprehension that it deserves a place here. Becoming more aware of multiple intelligences and looking for creative ways to include other intelligences in your teaching can enhance student learning and reading comprehension. This site is a great start to exploring this area: Multiple Intelligences Response Journals / Learning Logs These forms of responsive writings are used more frequently with fiction reading. However, students can be guided to use response journals or learning logs with non-fiction reading as well. It is helpful if they have a separate notebook for their log. They can be prompted with sentence starters on the board. For example, “One thing I learned from today’s assignment was…” or they can write in a more general way. Some teachers use journals to help students reflect on their “free reading” as well as their assigned reading. Double Entry Diary Double entry diaries are a form of guided notes (Tovani, 2000). Students divide a paper in two, lengthwise. The left column is for either direct quotes or brief summaries from the text; it may be helpful to note page numbers here. The right column is to collect students’ inferential and critical thinking about the text. Some starters for the right column may be: This reminds me of…, I wonder…, I am confused because…, or This is important because…. Using starters is a way of easing students into this strategy. Games Games are a great way to see what students have gotten out of their reading and expand their understanding. Teachers do not always have to be the creators of these games; students may take on the creation of a game for extra credit or as an assignment. Jeopardy is a favorite, but the format of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” works well, too. Basically it is a matter of putting traditional questions in a more interesting format. It really heightens student interest. General After Reading | Yes No Games | Sentence Starters | Multiple Intelligences | Response Journals / Learning Logs | Double Entry Diary | Games Vocabulary | Before Reading | During Reading | After Reading | Combinations | Internet | Promote Reading
General After Reading After reading, encourage students to: • Apply what they’ve read • Talk about it • Study or organize notes • Review objectives • Answer questions • Study new vocabulary
Yes No Game Draw a “T” chart on the board, label the left “Yes” and the right ”No.” Write a word or phrase in the left column that is an example of the concept you want the students to understand; write a non-example in the right column. Continue adding to each column until the students know the answer. A movie sample, for Sean Connery fans:
Sentence Starters Sometimes a simple worksheet of sentence starters can prompt students’ thinking after they’ve read. This doesn’t always have to be teacher-created; students can create these starters for each other.
Multiple Intelligences This is not really a strategy, but it so influences reading comprehension that it deserves a place here. Becoming more aware of multiple intelligences and looking for creative ways to include other intelligences in your teaching can enhance student learning and reading comprehension. This site is a great start to exploring this area: Multiple Intelligences Response Journals / Learning Logs These forms of responsive writings are used more frequently with fiction reading. However, students can be guided to use response journals or learning logs with non-fiction reading as well. It is helpful if they have a separate notebook for their log. They can be prompted with sentence starters on the board. For example, “One thing I learned from today’s assignment was…” or they can write in a more general way. Some teachers use journals to help students reflect on their “free reading” as well as their assigned reading.
Double Entry Diary Double entry diaries are a form of guided notes (Tovani, 2000). Students divide a paper in two, lengthwise. The left column is for either direct quotes or brief summaries from the text; it may be helpful to note page numbers here. The right column is to collect students’ inferential and critical thinking about the text. Some starters for the right column may be: This reminds me of…, I wonder…, I am confused because…, or This is important because…. Using starters is a way of easing students into this strategy.
Games Games are a great way to see what students have gotten out of their reading and expand their understanding. Teachers do not always have to be the creators of these games; students may take on the creation of a game for extra credit or as an assignment. Jeopardy is a favorite, but the format of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” works well, too. Basically it is a matter of putting traditional questions in a more interesting format. It really heightens student interest.
Vocabulary | Before Reading | During Reading | After Reading | Combinations | Internet | Promote Reading
