Cortney Steffens

2009

Proficient Readers Make connections between prior knowledge and the text.

Text-to-self connections

Text-to-text connections

Text-to-world connections

Ask questions

Visualize

Infer

Determine important ideas

Synthesize

Use “fix-up” strategies Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2000). Strategies that work. York, Main: Stenhouse.

How do you teach strategies? The Gradual release of responsibility approach

1. The teacher models the strategy by explaining and demonstrating it using a think aloud approach.

2. Guided practice – the teacher and student practice it together . The teacher provides support as the student attempts the strategy.

3. Independent practice- the student tries it on their own.

4. Application to real reading situations- the student applies the strategy when reading .

Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2000). Strategies that work. York, Main: Stenhouse.

The Goal We want our students be monitoring their

comprehension. This means they:

Are aware of their thinking while reading

Are aware when they are confused

Know what strategies to use to support meaning.

This requires developing our student’s

metacognition!

(Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)

Monitoring and Repairing Understanding In order to develop metacognition we need to teach

them to:

Track their thinking through coding, writing, or discussion.

Notice when they lose focus.

Stop and go back to clarify thinking

Reread to enhance understanding

Read ahead to clarify meaning

Identify and articulate what’s confusing or puzzling

(Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)

Continued… Recognize that all questions have value

Develop the disposition to question the text or author.

Think critically about the text and be willing to disagree with its information or logic

Match the problem with the strategy that will best solve it.

(Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)

Making Connections Text-to-self connections- the reader connects the text

to something to his/her experiences or schema

Text-to-text connections- the reader connects two or more texts

Text-to-world connections- the reader makes connections between the text and bigger issues, events and concerns of society

http://kids.nypl.org/reading/Childrensebooks.cfm

(Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)

Questioning Proficient readers ask questions before, during, and

after reading

Questions we develop can be categorized as

T= In the text

BK= Background knowledge

I= Answers can be inferred

D= Answered by further investigation

RS= Requires further research

Huh?= Questions that signal confusion

(Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)

Questioning Web

Why did grandma not know how to

read?

Visualizing When we visualize we make movies or pictures in our

minds (mental images). These pictures are affected by our schema.

We use all our senses at times to visualize the text.

A reader can say: I see …

I smell …

I taste …

I can feel …

I can hear … (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)

Visualizing (mental images)The room was warm and clean, the

curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight-hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket.

(excerpt of Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl)

Inferring The reader must take what is known (taking clues

from the text), think ahead (prediction) to make a judgement or discern a theme (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)

Why were his parents not laughing?

Riddles I live in a bowl.

I can swim.

I have a tail.

I also have fins and big eyes.

I am a...

Determine Important Ideas Overviewing Activating prior knowledge

Noting text length and structure

Noting important headings and subheadings

Determining what to read and in what order

Determining what to pay careful attention to

Determining what to ignore

Deciding to quit because the text contains no relevant information

Deciding if the text is worth careful reading or just skimming (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000, p. 119)

Determine Important Ideas Highlighting

Look carefully at the first and last line of each paragraph. Important information is often contained there

Highlight only necessary words and phrases

Don’t get thrown by interesting details

Make notes in the margins to emphasize pertinent highlighted words or phrases

Use nonfiction features that signal importance

(Fonts and effects, cue words and phrases, photographs, text organizers, text structures, etc)

Pay attention to text cues that signal important information

(since, this led to, consequently, similarly, however, before, next, then, one reason, etc.)

Harvey & Goudvis, 2000, p.p. 120-121)

Synthesizing Information We take individual pieces of information and combine

them with our prior knowledge and begin to see a pattern emerge.

Like a jigsaw puzzle our thinking evolves as more pieces come together and we have a new perspective (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000).

Or think of a water ripple

Two Column NotesWhat the text is about What it makes me think

about

Direct quote Personal response

Opinion before reading New ideas

Quote or picture from text New idea

Information from the text New insight

Content Process

What’s Interesting What’s important

Three Column Note FormsContent Process Craft

Facts Questions Response

Topic Details Response

Thinking New Information New Thinking

Concept Similarities Concept