The Active Reading Strategies Lesson includes strategies and handouts that work with any text! UPDATE: Dec 19, 2022 Improve reading comprehension with just the click of a button! (No, obviously not. But, Evaluating is one of the reading strategies explored in the “Say Something” handout.) FREE until Dec 19, 2022 at 11:59 PM Part 1….
Finding the Main Idea is more than just figuring out what general point the author is trying to make.
It’s about recognizing that we can come up with several main ideas, but the “best” main idea has strong support from the entire article.
How to EVALUATE and FIND THE BEST MAIN IDEA (4 PRO TIPS):
1. Focus on the BIG PICTURE (the entire article). Summarize the entire article in a word or phrase. What general point is the author trying to make?
2. Look for clues in key spots. (How is the text organized?)
3. Think about each paragraph. What is this paragraph about? (Where is the main idea in the paragraph? Beginning? Middle? End?) What role does this paragraph play?
4. Find the “best” main idea. The main idea is NOT always directly stated. The best idea has strong support from the beginning, middle, and end of the entire article.
Teach students HOW to monitor understanding and clarify thinking when reading.
There’s more to figuring out what’s going on in a text than just simply re-reading.
4 PRO TIPS: How to Monitor and Repair Comprehension
1. Read a paragraph and SAY SOMETHING: Ask a question, Make a connection, Make an inference, Form an opinion
2. Does your SAY SOMETHING make sense with stuff you know about the world? If not, re-read the paragraph. Use PEEP to clarify your thinking.
3. Does your SAY SOMETHING make sense with stuff you already read in this text? If not, re-read the paragraph. Re-read the other stuff you already read.Use PEEP to figure out why it doesn’t make sense.
4. Use PEEP: Point, Evidence, Explanation, Point
High-interest reading article about COMMUNICATION. Reading comprehension article handout (differentiated Gr 4, 6, 8) about Rosa Parks focusing on her conversation with the bus driver as an example of assertive communication. Includes sample answers. Want to see exactly what you get before you buy this product? Quiet Courage in Communication Rosa Parks was arrested because…
High-interest reading article about CHARACTER. An airplane wheel falls off the landing gear during take-off and the pilots are able to successfully land the plane with no injuries! The implied takeaway message to infer is that although it’s scary being up in the air with a missing landing wheel, the pilots were able to stay…
High-interest reading article about CREATIVITY. This article is about creativity and innovation. During a heatwave in Australia, a man cooks a pork roast in his car as an “experiment for fun.” The creativity mini-lesson and discussion questions focus on trying something new and then observing what happens. This article goes well with the ASKING QUESTIONS…