Strategies Good Readers Use

Use Decoding Skills to Figure Out Longer Words I don’t know this word. I’ll try blending sounds. This word is unfamiliar. I’ll look for prefixes and suffixes. I will look for smaller words in this big word. I don’t know this word, but it looks like__.

Re-read to Clear Up Confusion I don’t remember this character. I will go back and review. I am confused. I’ll go back to find the answer. My mind started to wander. I better read this page over.

Make and Confirm Predictions I predict that_____. Reading this part makes me think that _____. I wonder if _______. At first I thought _______ but now ___________.

Ask Yourself Good Questions as You Read Why did______? What’s this part about? What would happen if ____? Who is ______? What does this section mean? How does this story compare with others I’ve read?

Use Text Structure and Format I see these words are in bold print. They must be important. I read the picture captions to get information. This paragraph is easy. The main idea is stated and the details follow. The order is important because the author uses words like first, next, last. I use the headings and other text features to comprehend.

Adjust Reading Rate When a passage is difficult, I will slow down to help me understand. I notice there is a lot of information about ______.I am going to read this section slowly to make sure I get all the ideas. Many of the ideas are difficult for me. I am going to re-read at a slower pace.

Use Context to Confirm Meaning I used the words in the sentence to help me figure out the meaning of _____. I found other words in the passage that have a similar meaning to ____. I think about what the whole sentence is saying and then know that ____ means ________. I found words in the passage that means the opposite of _______.

Create Mental Images I picture in my head what I am reading. I see_______. I think it looks like ______. It reminds me of _______. I feel ________.

Read Ahead I will keep reading to try to see if the confusion becomes clear. I don’t understand why ____ said ___. Maybe it will be clear if I keep reading. On page _____it says_____. I’m going to keep reading to see if that idea is explained further.

Summarize I can write or tell the main points of the selection. The main character is_____. The problem seems to be_____. In my own words, this is about ___. The author wants me to remember_____. The main point was __________.