Good readers think about what they are reading.

Comprehension means that readers think not only about what they are reading but what what they are learning. When readers construct meaning, they are building their  store of knowledge. Along with knowledge must come understanding. (Strategies That Work, page 9)

Students should be using active reading strategies every time they read.

Making Connections

"That reminds me of......"

"I have a connection......"

"That makes me think about....."

Text-to-Self Connections   the reader connects his or her own life to the text

Text-to-Text Connections   the reader connects the one piece of text to another, a book, article, movie, song...anything that is written down

Text-to-World Connections  the reader connects an event, person or issue to the text

 

Questioning

Readers ask question before, during and after reading.

"I wonder how....."

"I wonder why......"

"How come......"

"I'm confused about...."

 

Visualizing

Readers use the words to make pictures in their mind. These pictures enhance the reader's understanding of the text.

"I get a picture in my mind......"

"I can see......"

"I visualized........."

"I can see a movie in my head......"

 

Inferring

Inferrential thinking while reading is reading between the lines, thinking about the characters body language, feelings, exrpressions, and tone.

"I think......"

"Maybe it means......"

"I predict................."

"I am guessing that............."

 

Determining Importance

Indetifying text that is important for you to remember, text that give important ideas or information. Important ideas are often identified with text clues.

"This is really important....................."

 

Synthesizing

New ideas surface or confusion is clarified. The evolving thinking of the reader.

"I get that..........."

"Now I understand..............."