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Below are some of the thinking strategies of effective readers. I have adapted this list from a wonderful text entitled, Subjects Matter: Every Teacher’s Guide to Content-Area Reading, written by Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman. This text, along with another by the same authors are wonderful resources for teachers. You will find more information about these books under the “Resources” tab.
Thinking Strategies of Effective Readers:
· Visualize: make a mental picture of what you are reading
· Connect: connect what you are reading to another reading, to the world around you, or to yourself
· Question: actively question the text, ponder, speculate
· Infer: predict, decode, read between the lines, draw conclusions
· Evaluate: what is important here and why? Judge, rate
· Analyze: notice aspects of the text such as vocabulary, word choice, theme, point of view, and how it affects the text
· Recall: retell, summarize, remember information, highlight main points
· Self-Monitor: recognize your own confusion, attention span, uncertainty, and do something about it
· Activate Prior Knowledge: what do I already know about this topic that can help me understand what I am reading?
You and your students likely use at least some of these strategies while reading, either consciously or unconsciously. The following activities make use of these strategies, so that students can develop them into conscious habits.
Thinking Strategies of Effective Readers:
· Visualize: make a mental picture of what you are reading
· Connect: connect what you are reading to another reading, to the world around you, or to yourself
· Question: actively question the text, ponder, speculate
· Infer: predict, decode, read between the lines, draw conclusions
· Evaluate: what is important here and why? Judge, rate
· Analyze: notice aspects of the text such as vocabulary, word choice, theme, point of view, and how it affects the text
· Recall: retell, summarize, remember information, highlight main points
· Self-Monitor: recognize your own confusion, attention span, uncertainty, and do something about it
· Activate Prior Knowledge: what do I already know about this topic that can help me understand what I am reading?
You and your students likely use at least some of these strategies while reading, either consciously or unconsciously. The following activities make use of these strategies, so that students can develop them into conscious habits.