What is Reading? To understand reading, you need to compare it to something you already know. Reading is a lot like a number of things.

A Tool Reading is like a tool because it helps you perform a number of jobs. Like a hammer, reading is versatile. With “the reading tool,” you can do many jobs, like figuring out the instructions for a game or checking the weather.

A Skill Reading is a skill, like swimming or driving. Reading is something you learn to do by practicing. The more you read, the better you’ll get at it.

An Ability Reading gives you “thinking power”. It increases your ability to: communicate, learn, enjoy, and imagine. It makes your life fuller, richer, and more fun. Reading helps you make sense of the world.

Why You Read?

Enjoyment “Great Entertainment” SportsNovels MysteryMagazines

Information Helps you understand what is going on in the world and your life. Current EventsComputers GuitarsScrapbooking

Meaning Reading brings meaning to the world around you. Letters New Facts Great Ideas

Depth Reading: Expands your mind. Develops your thinking processes. Stretches your imagination. Helps you answer questions about what you believe.

Beauty Creating Art with words.

Fun and Ease Reading is a habit. You read all of the time. Street signsInternetFood labels

If reading is so important, how can we help students get better at it? By teaching them to be active readers. What do active readers do? They use strategies like thinking about what they know already, or making pictures in their minds as they read, or connecting with what they’re reading.

Good readers naturally use strategies without even realizing it. We can teach students about the strategies by telling them about the strategies and modeling how and when to use them.

Who owns the strategies? The students do!

2-Column Notes: Comprehension Strategies StrategiesNotes

ABC Brainstorming A _____________ B______________ C______________

Making pictures in your mind

Connecting Text-to-self Text-to-text Text-to-world

Picture Maker Student draws summary of what they read. Could be cartoon, sketch, stick figure, chart, flow charts or diagrams--a visual. It could be about a character, problem, tensions, setting, a prediction, a surprise.

Summarizing What’s the big idea?

Begin with oral summaries of everyday events. The basketball game was so exciting because the score was so close!

One Sentence Summary/Paraphrase What/Who?Did what?Where?When?Why? Summary: (Write a sentence that summarizes the chapter using words.) __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

Limited Summaries Can be challenging and fun. Words cost $1 each. Write the cheapest summary sentence possible. Select two words from the text as your summary. Be ready to explain how these two words summarize the passage.

Story Frames Used for understanding narratives. A summary of the plot and the setting. It contains the following key elements: characters, setting, problem, goal, main events of the story and resolution.

Monitoring Comprehension Does your reading make sense? Or does it not? It is your job to know!

Clinks or Clunks? When you read, pay attention. When something does not make sense, stop. Maybe you weren’t paying attention and you just need to reread. Maybe you are confused about something and you need to reread a few sentences or read ahead a sentence or two and see if this clears up your comprehension.

Partner Clinks & Clunks Have students read, recording their clinks and clunks in two-column notes. After they read, have them go over their clinks and clunks together, trying to clear up any clunks for each other. After partners solve as many clunks as they can, have students work in small groups to gain a better understanding of the text.

Sometimes you might be confused because you don’t know a word. If that happens, try: -- Sounding out the word. --Chunking the word. --Linking the word to a word you know. --Looking for smaller words in the word. --Using context clues. --Thinking about what would make sense. --Asking someone else. --Looking it up.

In the BookIn My Head Right ThereAuthor and You Think and SearchOn My Own