This document provides guidance for making teaching reading more effective for middle school and older students reading nonfiction text. It recommends that students predict what they will learn, ask questions about the text, and anticipate the topic before reading. While reading, students should determine new learning, ask questions, connect information, and identify important details. After reading, students should assess their initial predictions, review answered and unanswered questions, discuss what they learned, and summarize the main ideas.

1. How to Make Teaching Reading
More Effective!
A Guide for Middle School and
Older
Nonfiction Text

3. • These are the first steps:
• 1. PREDICT what you will learn from the
text.
• 2. ASK questions about the text.
• 3. ANTICIPATE what the text is about.

4. • Read the headlines and subtitles
• Look at the pictures
• Skim and Scan the pages for clues
• From this information, PREDICT what the
information is about

5. • What is the PURPOSE of this information?
• What will I LEARN from reading this?
• What do I already KNOW about this topic?

6. • Write down what you EXPECT to LEARN
• Write down QUESTIONS you think will be
ANSWERED
• THINK about what will INTEREST you about this
topic
• THINK about VOCABULARY you already KNOW

7. • NOW YOU ARE READY TO START READING!

8. • DETERMINE NEW LEARNING
• ASK QUESTIONS
• CONNECT INFORMATION
• IDENTIFY IMPORTANT INFORMATION

9. • THINK about what makes SENSE
• PUT into your own WORDS what you have already read
• WRITE down any new VOCABULARY words
• WRITE down any new INFORMATION

10. • WHAT do you THINK about as you read this information?
• WHAT is the AUTHOR trying to tell you?
• Have you DISCOVERED anything NEW?
• Do YOU UNDERSTAND the information?
• Are any of YOUR PREDICTIONS correct?
• What other QUESTIONS do YOU need to ask?

11. • VISUALIZE the PEOPLE, PLACES, AND
EVENTS you are reading about
• IMAGINE talking with the AUTHOR
• What CHARACTERS, IDEAS, and CONCEPTS
do you CONNECT with? (What is familiar to
you?)

12. • What is the IMPORTANT INFORMATION?
• Does it make SENSE?
• Are there any WORDS you do not UNDERSTAND?
• Are there any QUESTIONS that have not been
answered?

14. • After READING the information…
• ASK QUESTIONS
• SHARE NEW LEARNING
• IDENTIFY MAIN IDEA
• SUMMARIZE INFORMATION

15. • REVIEW your PREDICTIONS/ WHAT was RIGHT?
• REVIEW your QUESTIONS/ WERE they ANSWERED?
• WHAT did you NOT UNDERSTAND?
• HOW did you FIX the PROBLEM? / DID you have to
READ it AGAIN?

16. • TALK ABOUT the NEW INFORMATION you have
learned!
• WRITE or SPEAK ABOUT a topic related to the new
information!

17. • WHAT is the MAIN IDEA of the information you just read?
• How did you get that answer?
• How does the information RELATE to what you already
KNOW?

18. • What PICTURE did the AUTHOR paint in your HEAD?
• OUTLINE the TEXT
• EVALUATE the QUALITY of the information
• SUMMARIZE the most IMPORTANT parts of the
information

20. • Bursuck, W. & Damer, M., Teaching Reading to Students Who Are at Risk or Have
Disabilities, A Multi-Tier Approach
Strategies Chart, Retrieved from
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T-76CB0zd-
o/TrhL05WwoVI/AAAAAAAAArY/e17H8DnD_I0/s1600/Slide2.PNG
April 1, 2015