STRATEGIES AND

ACTIVITES

Margarita B. Enerio

1.Types of Comprehension Strategies

2. Teaching Strategies
3. Sample Shared Reading Lesson
4. Sample Small-Group Reading
Lesson

OVERVIEW

A.

Make Connections- readers connect

the topic to what they already know about
themselves, text and the world.
E.g. This reminds me of a time when I
B. Ask Questions- readers ask themselves
questions about the text, their reaction to
it, authors purpose for writing.
E.g. Before I read this text, I wonder
about

Types of Comprehension Strategies

C. Visualize- readers make the printed word real and

concrete by creating a movie of the text in their
mind
D. Determine Text Importance-Readers (a) distinguish
between what's essential versus what's interesting,
(b) distinguish between fact and opinion, (c)
determine cause-and-effect relationships, (d) compare
and contrast ideas or information, (e) discern themes,
opinions, or perspectives, (f) pinpoint problems and
solutions, (g) name steps in a process, (h) locate
information that answers specific questions, or (i)
summarize

continuation

E. Make Inferences-Readers merge text

clues with their prior knowledge and
determine answers to questions that lead
to conclusions about underlying themes or
ideas
F. SynthesizeReaders combine new
information with existing knowledge to
form original ideas, new lines of thinking,
or new creations.

continuation

Teaching Strategies
Modeling

through think-alouds (Wilhem 2001)

Create a record of the strategic decision-making process

of going through text
Report everything the reader notices, does, sees, feels,
asks, and understands as she reads
Talk about the reading strategies being used within the
content being read
There are many ways to conduct think-alouds:
The teacher models the think-aloud while she reads
aloud, and the students listen.
The teacher thinks aloud during shared reading, and the
students help out.

Revisit

the same text to model more than one strategy.

For example, on Monday, use a text to model what's
important versus what's interesting. On Tuesday, use the
text to model how to identify big ideas. On Wednesday,
use the big ideas to summarize and synthesize.
Extend the text as a reader-response activity. For
example, on Monday, use a text as a shared reading
lesson to model how cause-and-effect relationships help
determine text importance. On Tuesday, extend
thinking: map the cause-and-effect relationships onto
graphic organizers, synthesize big ideas, and draw
conclusions.

Additional tips

Sample Shared Reading Lesson

Strategy:

Determine Text Importance

(Main Idea/Supporting Details)
Text: greeting card, Benchmark
Education Company's Comprehension
Strategy Poster Safety Signs

Say:

Sometimes when we read a piece of text, we have a hard time

choosing the most important parts. This lesson will help us learn to
do that. Here is a card that I received. First I'll think of the main
idea about the card, and then I'll think of some details that help to
prove the main idea. This isn't a playing card or a note cardit's a
greeting card. That is the most important concept. I'll write This is a
greeting card on the graphic organizer where it reads Main Idea.
Read the card aloud to students.
Use the following think-aloud to model how to determine
details: Now I'll think of some details about the card. These details
describe the main idea and let people know that the main idea is
true. I'll look for details that prove that this is a greeting card. First,
I see that the card has a picture on the front. I'll write It has a
picture in the first Supporting Details box. Next, I notice that the
card is signed by the person who sent it. I'll write It has a
signature in the next Supporting Details box. Can you think of
another detail about the greeting card? Let's add that to the graphic
organizer.

continuation

Strategy:

Determine Text Importance

(Implied Main Idea/Supporting Details)
Text: Benchmark Education Company's
text PlantsLevel 12 (G)
Part 1
Use a real-life example to model how
to infer.

Sample Small-Group Reading Lesson

Sample Small-Group Reading Lesson

Part 2
Model

how to determine the implied

main idea utilizing a graphic
organizer.
Remind students that to infer means to
understand clues and evidence that the
author has provided for us in the text.
Implications are not directly stated.

The

first part of the book (pages 211) gives me

many details about the parts of a plant. One
detail is that roots help a plant stay in the
ground. The book also tells me that roots help a
plant get water. I'll write these facts in the
first Supporting Details box. Now I'll look for
other details to add to my chart. Leaves make
food for the plant. Stems take water to the
leaves and flowers. Flowers make seeds. New
plants grow from seeds. All these details tell me
how the parts of a plant help it grow and stay
alive. Even though the author didn't directly state
this as the main idea, the clues and evidence
imply it. I'll write this on the chart where it
reads Main Idea #1.

Main

Idea/Supporting Details
Topic: Plants
Part 3
Guide students to identify the second implied
main idea.
Briefly review pages 1216. Then ask students to select
the most important details and use those as clues and
evidence to find the implied main idea. If students need
additional modeling and think-alouds, complete the
remainder of the graphic organizer together. If they
seem to understand the concept, allow them to
complete the graphic organizer in small groups, pairs,
or individually. Monitor their work and provide guidance
as necessary. Allow time for students to share their
recorded information.

BenchmarkE

www.benchmarkeducation.com.www/1.u
mn.edu

References: