Before, During & After: Reading Strategies

1. Before, During & After
Strategies for Reading
Critical Assignment 1
RED4348
By: Ashley Leslie

2. Want to develop good reading habits?
It is important to learn and
implement strategies at all
stages of reading:
before, during and after.

3. BEFORE Reading
Strategies

4. List-Group-Label
Students participate in a three-step
process to organize their thoughts and
knowledge of particular vocabulary and
concepts related to the content area. First,
students brainstorm words that they think
may relate to the topic. Small groups can
then cluster the words into subcategories,
which can then be labeled based on their
reasoning for the grouping.

5. Brainstorm
Students brainstorm
(independently or in a
group) to identify what
they already know
about a particular
subject. In doing so,
the student activates
prior knowledge.

6. Pre-load Vocabulary
Pre-loading vocabulary is a strategy
used to teach students important words
that they will read about in certain
passages. Teaching these words
ahead of time, allows the students to
have a deeper understanding of the
text meaning. Students may find the
definitions, synonyms, or use a word
map to study the new words.

7. Anticipation Guide
Students can be provided with a list of generalized,
simple statements prior to reading, which is called an
anticipation guide. Some of the statements are factual
and some are false. Students are to read the statements
and determine which statements are true or false. This list
is revisited after reading, to try to find information in the
text to support their original predictions. Students should
write page numbers that the information was found on
and a brief reflection for all statements (Crawley, 2012,
p.142).

8. Think Sheet
(Crawley, 2012, p.143)
Students should identify the reading
selection and then create different
sections based on the heading and
subheading titles. Students should
then predict what they think each
section would be about. Then,
students should read the material
and compare their predictions with
what really occurred in the text.

9. DURING Reading
Strategies

10. Highlight Unknown Words
Students may find it
beneficial to highlight or
underline words that are
unknown, while they read. To
determine meaning, students
may reread the sentence to
see if they can use context
clues to determine the
meaning. A dictionary may
also be used if the meaning is
still unclear.

11. Pointers
Students may use pointers
(objects used to point at
words) or their fingers to
follow the text as they are
reading. The pointer or finger
should glide under the words
as they are read. This helps
to keep students on track
while reading.

12. Sticky Notes
Sticky notes are a great
resource to use while
reading. Not only can
students write down any
questions they may have, but
they can also write down any
vocabulary words that they
feel are important. Thoughts
and main ideas can also be
written on these sticky notes,
to review later.

13. Forming Images
Teachers should
predetermine where they
should stop the students to
allow them time to “describe
what they see in their minds”
(Crawley, 2012, p. 193).When
they pause, students should
then predict what may
happen next.

14. Structured Note-taking
Structured notes act like a
guide to help students
while reading. It helps
students learn how to
organize their thoughts
and ideas and become
better note takers.

15. AFTER Reading
Strategies

16. Summarizing
Summarizing can be
completed by individuals,
small groups or whole
classes. Summarizing helps
students to find key words,
main ideas and process
information in smaller chunks.

17. Exit
Slips
Exit Slips allow teachers to
assess what the student
knows, after the lesson or
reading. It can be guided by
specific questions or
guiding prompts.

18. Frame Routine
The Frame Routine helps to organize
details about reading assignments. It is
a graphic organizer that helps to identify
main ideas and supporting details.
Students are responsible for
determining the main ideas, discussing
the details, and developing the “Big
Idea” (in the form of a summary,
conclusion drawn or real-world
connection). Finally, the information is
evaluated through discussions, debates,
journal writing, etc..

19. Re-Reading
Comprehension can be
improved by re-reading
passages to look for
additional context clues to
help students understand
more deeply.

20. Discussion (Grand
Discussions)
Students can participate in a
grand discussion after reading
to share thoughts and ideas.
This type of collaboration is a
great way for students to build
upon each other’s ideas.

21. References
Beatty, R. (2012, November 29). Strategies for Struggling
Readers. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from
http://mytowntutors.com/2012/11/strategies-for - struggling-
readers/
Bursuck, W.D., & Damer, M. (2015). Teaching Reading to
Students Who Are At Risk or Have Disabilities: A Multi-
tier, RTI Approach. Boston: Pearson.
Classroom Strategies. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from
http://www.adlit.org/strategy_library/
Crawley, S.J. (2012). Remediating Reading Difficulties. New
York: McGraw-Hill.
*Images from BING