Reading Comprehension Strategies

Make Connections What connections do I make as I read? Good readers notice pieces of text that relate to or remind them of: ·      Their lives, past experiences, and prior knowledge ·      Other books, articles, movies, songs, or pieces of writing ·      Events, people, or issues Tips: ·      That reminds me of… ·      This made me think of… ·      I read another book that… ·      This is different from… ·      I remember when…	Visualize Good readers create pictures in their minds while they read. While reading, note places where you get a clear picture in your mind that helps you understand the text: ·      I can picture… ·      I can see the… ·      I can visualize… ·      The movie in my head shows… ·      Use your senses to connect the characters, events, and ideas to clarify the picture in your head. ·      I can taste/hear/smell the… ·      I can feel the…	Ask Questions Good readers ask questions before, during, and after reading to better understand the author and the meaning of the text. Ask questions of the author, yourself, and the text: ·      What is the author trying to say? ·      What is the message of this piece? ·      Do I know something about this topic? ·      What do I think I will learn from this text? ·      How could this be explained to someone else? ·      What predictions do I have about this reading?
Infer How do I read between the lines? When the answers are “right there,” good readers draw conclusions based on background knowledge and clues in the text. Ask yourself: ·      I wonder why… ·      I wonder how… ·      I wonder if… ·      Find information from the text that might be clues to the answers and use these with your background knowledge for possible answers.	Determine Importance What’s the big idea? So what? Good readers look for things that help them identify big ideas and why they are important. Look at text features for clues: Titles and headings ·      Bold print ·      Pictures and captions ·      Graphs and charts ·      Chapter objectives and questions Tips: ·      The big idea is… ·      Most important information is... ·      So far I’ve learned… ·      The author is saying… ·      This idea is similar to…	Synthesize How do I use what I’ve read to create my own ideas? Good readers combine new information from their reading with existing knowledge in order to form new ideas or interpretations. Synthesis is creating a single understanding from a variety of sources. Tips: ·      Compare and contrast what I’m reading with what I already know or other sources of information. ·      Think of new ways to use this information. ·      Can connections I make across this text help me to create new generalizations or new perspectives?