Tapping into a student's schema is one of the most important things to do before starting a lesson or unit. Teachers must quickly assess where her students stand, knowledge-wise, and what background or pertinent information they are missing or have misconceptions about. In order for students to start building new knowledge, they must first have a sturdy and complete foundation. This "foundation" is their background and previous experiences and knowledge. For this reason, "before" reading strategies are necessary before any real learning can take place.
A "before" reading strategy is strategy that is used before students jump into a text with ties to a lesson or content-area unit. The purpose is to mentally prepare the students for the lesson or assignment ahead, giving them the tools to begin to start to think critically about the topic. It also introduces the lesson little by little, generating excitement from students as to what the next unit or lesson may be.
K-W-L Chart
These charts are a quick and effect way to assess student understanding about a topic before the unit has begun. The students begin by sharing information they already know about the topic. This can give educators great insight as to how much knowledge they already have about a topic, either from experiences or past knowledge, and if this information is indeed correct.
The K-W-L chart also provides students with a chance to set their own purposes for reading. In this chart, they list what they hope and want to learn by the end of the lesson or unit. This gives students a goal that they personally set, giving them the desire to find the answers to their questions.
For a full explanation on K-W-L charts, as well as photo examples, click the K-W-L Chart link above.
Word Sort
Word sorts can also be used to introduce a lesson or unit. Teachers can quickly assess whether the students have previous experiences with these words. By having the students sort words into categories, they begin to see the "bigger" picture. Not only do they begin to make connections between words they know in comparison to the category, they make connections between words they know and words they did not know. Having the students work in groups on word sorts is a great way to have students share their knowledge, making it a collective effort to complete the sort as well as a collect effort to learn.
For a full explanation on Word Sorts, as well as photo examples, click the Word Sort link.
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"During" Reading Strategies:
As educators, we expect a lot out of our students. "During" reading strategies help students meet those expectations by aiding students in comprehension. To read is to actively search for, decode, and comprehend content; it is the active search for knowledge. However, students need help in determining what is important in the text and what "big" ideas they should pay attention to. "During" reading strategies also aid students in monitoring their comprehension and understanding; it lets students know if they are indeed learning. For this reason, reading strategies that take place while students are reading are very important to the ultimate goal of gathering and transforming text into knowledge.
Venn Diagram
Venn diagrams serve as a graphic organizer that highlight the differences and similarities of two or more topics. Students can complete this graphic organizer while reading, making it easier to compare and contrast information after reading for review. While students are reading, they may jot down words or short phrases that are key to the main idea. For example, students may write down: "many neck bones, can see at night, sharp talons, flies" when they are reading a section of the text about owls. Next, they may be reading about eagles. After doing the same exercise but this time, they find what eagles have in common with owls by reviewing the information they wrote down.
When students take notes as they read, they begin to compile key information on their own, making sure they are understanding the information and its big ideas.
For more information on Venn diagrams, click the "Venn Diagram" link above.
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"After" Reading Strategies:
Reading strategies that take place after reading are used to summarize, wrap up, and finalize the information that has, or should have been, learned and understood while reading. It further strengthens the main ideas as well as offers students a chance to think deeply and critically about the information they have read.
For this purpose, "After" reading strategies are just as important as the strategies that should take place before and during reading. "After" reading strategies also demonstrate to the student what they are capable of doing and learning if they are sincere about their efforts to do so.
Story Boards
Story boards are a good strategy to use to strengthen sequencing, order, plots, and chronology. These types of activities not only give the students a reason to listen to the story being read, it gives them a purpose and role to fulfill. As the story is being read, the student can examine their page and think about the events and text as a time-line. They must decide where their page fits into the time-line via the pictures, diagrams, text, and ideas being presented in their page.
This strategy helps students see the overall mental picture of the text and chunks important information in references to chronology. Students must be able to understand that the text has meaning, ideas, and information and that these elements are intentional and should make sense.
For more information on how to use story boards, click the Story Boards link above.
Explore these other examples of "After" reading strategies:
