This document discusses strategies to use before, during, and after reading to improve student comprehension. Some strategies discussed include concept sorts, anticipation guides, and Frayer models to activate prior knowledge before reading. During reading, students can use monitoring and clarifying, selective highlighting, and prediction relay to check comprehension. After reading, summarizing, exit tickets, photo captions, and downgrade activities allow students to demonstrate their understanding and ask remaining questions. The document provides examples and instructions for implementing many reading comprehension strategies at different points in the reading process.

1. Critical Assignment #1
RED4348
Amanda DeFrancisco

2.  BDA strategies help to ensure maximum comprehension during lessons.
 “The most productive comprehension instruction occurs when a teacher asks a
percentage of questions requiring thought before, during, and after the reading”
(Bursuck & Damer, 2012, p. 298).

3. Before reading activities are essential for activating prior knowledge and preparing
the students for what they are about to read. Before reading activities help students
to connect new topics to information they already know.

4. Concept sorts are used to introduce new vocabulary or ideas that students need to
know about a given topic or reading selection. The teacher gathers a list of terms or
concepts from the reading, and students place the words in different categories
based on the meaning of the word. Concept sorts can be used to show the teacher
what students already know about the topic, as well as to test comprehension and
understanding after reading. Concept sorts also help build oral vocabulary.
BEFORE
READING

5. How To:
 Introduce a list of preselected terms.
 Discuss the terms and teach the students how to say them.
 Have students sort the terms into categories.
BEFORE READING
Parts of a Tree Types of Trees Where Trees Grow What Trees Need to Grow
Leaves Evergreen Forests Water
Bark Deciduous Mountains Sunlight
Branches Rainforest Soil
Roots

6. Anticipation Guides are used to activate prior
knowledge as well as motivate students to get excited
about new topics. “Before reading a selection, students
respond to several statements that challenge or support
their preconceived ideas about key concepts in the text”
(All About Adolescent Literacy). An Anticipation guide
gives a purpose for reading, and can be used again after
reading to determine how well students understood the
selection. They challenge students to think critically
about what they know or think they know about a topic.
BEFORE READING

7. How to:
 Create a list of general statements about the given topic.
Include main ideas from the reading as well as statements
that will challenge the students’ beliefs.
 Give the list of statements to the students before reading.
 Have them read each statement, marking them “YES” if
they agree, or “NO” if they don’t.
 Have students discuss their opinions about the statements
with each other, then read the selection.
BEFORE READING

8. A Frayer Model “requires students to define target vocabulary words or concepts,
and apply this information by generating examples and non-examples” (All About
Adolescent Literacy). Frayer models also encourage critical thinking and help
students understand new vocabulary. Whole class, small groups, or individual.
While using this strategy, students use prior knowledge to make connections with
new concepts and ideas. By doing this before reading, students will be able to make
connections while reading.
BEFORE READING

9. How to:
 The teacher reviews a list of key
vocabulary/concepts from the
reading with the class.
 Students define the
vocabulary/concepts using the
model.
BEFORE READING
ChristmasTraditions
Specials things
families do
around
Christmas
Done around Christmas.
Can be on or before
Christmas.
Caroling
Decorating the tree
Baking Cookies
Trick-or-Treating
Coloring Easter
Eggs

10. During a Think, Pair, Share, students work together to answer questions about a
reading selection. This strategy “requires students to think individually about a
topic or answer a question and share ideas with classmates” (All About Adolescent
Literacy), and gives time to activate prior knowledge, as well as enhances oral
communication skills.
BEFORE READING

11. How to:
 THINK – Teacher asks a question about a
topic pertaining to the reading material
(What do you know about hummingbirds?)
and students think about what they know.
 PAIR – Students are paired up.
 SHARE – Students share what they know
with their partner, then the whole class
shares.
BEFORE READING

12. ABC Brainstorming is a fun and challenging way for students to activate prior
knowledge.
How to:
 The teacher tells the
students a main topic
 The students work
together to come up with
words or phrases that are
associated with the topic
for each letter of the
alphabet.
Main Topic: America’s Independence
BEFORE READING
Alexander
Hamilton
Boston Tea Party
Chesapeake
Bay
DDeclaration of
Independence

13. During reading strategies and activities help students to maintain comprehension
when reading while helping the teacher determine how well the students are
absorbing new information.

14. Monitoring and Clarifying is used to help students “learn to be actively involved
and monitor their comprehension as they read” (All About Adolescent Literacy).
During Reading
How to:
Students begin reading, and when they come across a
difficult part of the text, they stop and follow these
steps:
• Think about what they read.
• Slow down and read again.
• Try to connect it to prior knowledge (another book,
something in the world).
• Visualize it.
• Use print conversions (key words, bold print,
italicized words, punctuation).
• Look for patterns in text structure.

15. Selective Highlighting is used to help students understand what is important about
the reading (key words, phrases, main ideas, etc.). Selecting Highlighting is a very
flexible strategy that can be used with different info/reading selections and across
different skill-levels. 5
How To:
 Read the selection, then reread and
highlight the main ideas and details.
 Do not highlight the entire sentence.
 After reading a second time, use what
is highlighted and write a summary
paragraph.
During Reading

16. Prediction Relay is used to monitor comprehension. Done in pairs, prediction relay
“allows each student to make predictions about the text, take turns reading for 5
minutes, check their predictions, and summarize the main points” (All About Adolescent
Literacy).
During Reading

17. How to:
 Teacher assigns the reading and breaks into pairs, putting a fluent reader with a
non-fluent reader.
 Students take turns being “coach” and “player.”
 Before reading each page, the students predict what the next page will be about.
 Then the “player” reads half the page, and stops to summarize the main points.
They give the who or what pf the paragraph, the most important thing about the
who or what, and the main idea of the paragraph.
 If the “player” is wrong, the “coach” has them reread to find the correct answer.
 Together, they correct any errors in their predictions, thus monitoring
comprehension.
During Reading

18. The Text Detective is a fun activity to help students stay engaged
while reading. Students are given short-answer worksheets to fill out
while they read. The questions should be key wh- questions, such as,
“When does this even take place?” or “What or who is the text about?”
(Bursuck & Damer, 2012, p. 332).
During Reading

19. Concept Maps are used to help students organize new information and make
meaningful connections within the reading. They are easy to make and can be used
in multiple content areas.
During Reading
How to:
 While there are many
approaches to concept maps, a
simple method is to have
students write main idea in
the center box and connect
supporting details and facts in
the smaller boxes.
 After reading, have students
use the concept map to write a
summary of what they read.

20. After reading activities allow students to show what they have learned from the
reading and to ask questions about things they still do not understand.

21. Summarizing is used to teach students how to break reading down to just the main
points and important details. Summarizing helps build comprehension while
reducing confusion.
After Reading
How to:
 After reading, have students
write a summary with guiding
questions such as “What are the
main ideas?” or “What are the
important details that support
the main ideas?”
 Encourage students to use key
words and phrases.

22. Exit Tickets are used to document learning and evaluate the
effectiveness of instruction. Exit Tickets are great for
incorporating writing into content areas. This activity allows
students to review what they learned and express what they
think about it. Exit Tickets give the teacher insight to how well
students understood the lesson, and are very easy to conduct.
Simply ask a question or two, whether orally or in writing, and
have the students respond. The questions used are usually,
“What is one think you learned today?” or “What is a question
you still have about today’s reading?”
After Reading

23. The 3-2-1 strategy is similar to the Exit Ticket strategy. 3-2-1 is a way for students
to show what they learned and a chance to ask questions. 3-2-1 can be modified to
match the reading content.
General Example
3 facts you learned in the reading
2 questions you have
1 thing you found interesting.
Specific Example
3 facts about weapons in WWII
2 battles that were fought during the war
1 way the war impacted the home front.
After Reading

24. Photo Captions are used to show understanding of a subject or concept. The teacher
gives photos or illustrations connected to the reading, and students write captions to
show their understanding. A variation would be to allow the students to draw
something based on the reading and have partners write captions for each other’s
drawings.
After Reading

25. Downgrade is another form of summarizing and is used to show comprehension. If
students can successfully teach another student, they have understood and retained
the information. For this activity, students will take the information learned in the
reading and write a short story for younger students, teaching them the main ideas
and supporting details of the reading.
After Reading

26. 103 Things to Do Before/During/After Reading. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2016, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/103-things-do-beforeduringafter-reading
All About Adolescent Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2016, from http://www.adlit.org/strategies/
Bursuck, W. D., & Damer, M. (2011). Teaching reading to students who are at risk or have disabilities: A multi-tier approach. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
C. (n.d.). Before Reading. Retrieved November 13, 2016, from
http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/curriculum/AcademicCore/LanguageArtsandReading/SecondaryReading/BeforeReading.aspx
Concept Maps. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2016, from http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/concept_maps
Pilibarrera Follow. (2009). Before, During And After Reading Strategies. Retrieved November 13, 2016, from
http://www.slideshare.net/pilibarrera/before-during-and-after-reading-strategies