Reading in the Upper Grades Good Readers Reading in the Upper Grades

Good Readers Make connections Good readers relate what they read to their own lives by connecting it to prior knowledge, looking for similarities between the text and what they have experienced.

Good Readers Ask questions Good readers are engaged by clarifying understand and making meaning out of what they are reading. Why is this happening? What does this mean?

Good Readers Visualize Good readers create pictures in their mind as they read.

Good Readers Draw inferences and predict Good readers take what they already know, gather clues from text, make a judgment, and predict what will happen next.

Good Readers Determine important ideas Good readers focus on essential ideas and important information or key ideas.

Good Readers Synthesize information Good readers combine new information with existing knowledge to form an original idea of text gaining new insights.

Good Readers Monitor comprehension and clarify Good readers know when they understand what they read and when they do not, trying to correct the misunderstandings as they arise.

Good Readers Ask These Questions Before They Read What do I need to know before I read? What do I already know about this topic? How is the text organization going to help me? What is the reason I am reading this text? What is the author’s purpose? Good Reader Bookmark What do I need to know before I read? What do I already know about this topic? How is the text organization going to help me? What is the reason I am reading this text? What is the author’s purpose? Am I reading for my own pleasure? Am I reading for school? Does the title tell me what I am going to read about? Are there pictures, graphs, maps, titles, or headings that can help me? Can I create a graphic organizer that will help me organize the text?

Good Readers Ask These Questions Before They Read Am I reading for my own pleasure? Am I reading for school? Does the title tell me what I am going to read about? Are there pictures, graphs, maps, titles, or headings that can help me? Can I create a graphic organizer that will help me organize the text?

What Good Readers Do As They Read ---Text Processing How does this connect to what I know? How does what I am reading compare to what I thought I knew? Does what I am reading make sense? Do I need to code the text and note what is important, what I don’t understand, and what I need to reread? Do I need to mark important words with highlight or sticky notes?

What Good Readers Do As They Read ---Text Processing Do I need to go back and reread any part of the text? Do the pictures, charts, graphs or visuals help me understand what I am reading? Do I agree with the way the problem was solved? Am I surprised about the information? Are there clues to help me make predictions?

What Good Readers Do As They Read ---Text Processing What is the plot or theme? What mental pictures do I see? What connection can I make What or who is this story about? When and where does the story take place? How and why do the events happen? Is there a specific problem that is solved? Do I see words I don’t understand?

What Good Readers Do After They Read -- Reflection Did I find answers to the questions? Did I learn what I wanted to learn? Were there other questions I found? Where there questions or problems I didn't find? What do I know now that I did not know before? What is the most surprising or interesting think I read?

What Good Readers Do After They Read -- Reflection What new vocabulary did I learn? What do I remember? How do I feel about what I’ve read? Does my graphic organizer make sense? Can I restate the main points in my own words? How can I apply what I read to my schoolwork and life? Is there a lesson in the story?

Myths About Good Readers Good readers skip letters and words. Good reader look at all of the words and almost all of the letter in words to seek familiar letter patterns in words.

Myths About Good Readers Hearing inner voices is bad. Good reader have an inner voice in their heads that helps them create meanings. Different characters have different voices.

No Inner Voice? Students who do not hear inner voices should think first when the teacher asks a question and not blurt out answers. They should pause and then ask a partner the same question. Then respond when the teacher calls on one of the partners for an answer.

No Inner Voice? Students must be trained to think of an answer in their heads before blurting it aloud. Students who have no inner voice often read out loud when others read silently.

Myths About Good Readers Good readers always use context. Good readers recognize words without using context. When the reader has to sound words out letter-by-letter, they may have no chance of figuring out the word. Good reader self-correct their misunderstanding by using content.

Myths About Good Readers Spelling patterns help all reader decode words. Good readers use spelling patterns and words they already know to help figure out new words (chunking – breaking big words into manageable parts).