Comprehension Strategies for Before, During, and After Reading.

1. Comprehension
Strategies
By: Rebekka Miller
RED4348
Critical Assignment #1

2. Before You Read…
These strategies should be done
PRIOR (before) you read the text.
These strategies will help give you
an idea of what the text is about.
It will also get your mind thinking
about the text which will help to
make reading the passage easier to
comprehend.

3. Read The Title, Headings, and Look At The
Pictures…
Think to yourself: What is this story going to be about?
Decide the Text structure. Ask yourself:
 Is this story a biography (about a person’s life)
 a letter (something that was written to a certain person for a specific reason)
 or a textbook (structured informational text)
What information is given in the headings of the text?
 Look for clues that will give you an idea of what the text is about.
Look at the pictures.
 Who do you think the main characters in the story are? Can you tell anything about
them by the pictures that are in the text?

4. Activate Prior Knowledge
Based on the topic,
headings, and the
pictures, what
information do you
already know about
the topic of the text?

5. Make Predictions…
Step 1
• Think
about the
topic and
headings.
Step 2
• Think
about the
pictures,
and what
you
already
know
about the
topic.
Step 3

6. Look For Unknown Words…
 Skim through the reading
selection to identify unknown
or hard words.
 Use context clues to try and
determine the meaning of
unknown words, or ask your
teacher/peers for help.

7. Think to yourself “why am I reading
this material?”
Try to determine the author’s
purpose for writing the text.
Make a personal connection. Try to
relate the reading material to your
life.
Think: “Why Am I Reading This???

8. During Reading
These are
strategies that
you should
practice while
you are
reading the
text.

9. Coding Text…
 While you are reading, underline or
highlight parts of the text that:
 You don’t understand
 Surprised you (Maybe a sudden change
of events in the story.)
 Something that reminds you of a similar
situation (Make a connection to your
life, or activate prior knowledge.)
 If the text does not belong to you, place
a post-it next to it and write your
thoughts down on the post-it note.

10. Say Something…
After each
paragraph or
section of the
text, turn to
your partner
and summarize
what you just
read about.

11. Use Your
Imagination…
 Visualize the people, places,
and events that you are
reading about.
 Use your imagination and
picture yourself as a character
in the story. How would you
respond to some of the
conflicts that you are reading
about?

12.  This is a type of graphic organizer
that will help you take notes and
track the important information
while you read.
Story Mapping…

13. Question and Predict…
Ask yourself what you think will
happen next and make predictions
about what you are reading.
Ask yourself “What will happen next
and why?”

14. After
Reading…
These are things
that you do after
you finish reading
the material to
ensure that you
understood what
you read.

15. Summarize…
Think about what you read. Recall
the main parts of the text such as
the:
 Main Characters
 Setting
 Main Idea
 Conflict Resolution
 Any Other Important Information

16. Self Questioning…
Reflect on what you read by asking
yourself:
 What is the author trying to tell me?
 Why is the author telling me that?
 Does the author say it clearly?
 How could the author have said it
more clearly?
 What is something that I would have
said instead?

17. Think-Pair-Share…
Think about the text that you just
read.
Identify important details and
characters in the story.
What was your favorite part of the
story?
How did the story end?
Find a partner and share your
information. Listen to your partner’s
answers too!

18. Response Journal…
Write about what you just
learned.
 Connect it to your own life
 Create an alternate ending
 Write a letter to a character in
the story
 Create a timeline with the
important dates from the text.

19. Interviews…
Create a list of questions that you
would ask a character in the story.
If possible, find someone who knows
about the content that you read and
use them to conduct a real interview.
 For example: If the reading selection
was on WWII, ask a grandparent or
great grandparent your interview
questions.

20. References:
 http://teachingasleadership.org/sites/default/files/Related
-Readings/SL_Ch4_2011.pdf
 http://eworkshop.on.ca/edu/pdf/Mod21_after_read_strgs.p
df
 Bursuck, W., & Damer, M. (2011). Teaching reading to
students who are at risk or have disabilities: A multi-tier
approach (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.