This document outlines reading strategies that teachers can use before, during, and after reading with students. Some strategies to use before reading include having students preview the text, activate their prior knowledge, make predictions, and review vocabulary. During reading, students should identify important information, make connections, monitor their comprehension, ask questions, and visualize. After reading, students can identify the main idea, write a summary, generate questions, fill out a KWL chart to reflect what they've learned, and complete an exit slip assessment. The goal is to help students engage with and comprehend texts at all stages of the reading process.

1. Non-Fiction Reading
Strategies
Chelsea Cooley
RED4348
Critical Assignment 1

2. Reading Strategies
Before During After
1. Preview the Text 1. Important Information 1. Identify Main Idea
2. Prior Knowledge 2. Make Connections 2. Summarize
3. Make a Prediction 3. Monitor Your Reading 3. Write Questions
4. Anticipation Guide 4. Ask Questions 4. KWL
5. Vocabulary 5. Visualize 5. Exit Slip

4. (1) Preview the Text
• Students will take a
moment to look over the
text features (title,
headings, pictures, etc.).
• In doing this, the students
will be able to recognize
themes and get more
comfortable with the article
or story before reading it.

5. (2) Prior Knowledge
• Activating your background
knowledge is important to do before
reading in order to understand the
text.
• Ask students what they already
know about the topic.
• At this point, the “K” in the KWL
chart can be filled out. Students
have two minutes to jot down
everything they already know about
the topic given. Also known as a
quick write.
• This skill/step strongly influences
comprehension.

6. (3) Make a Prediction
• Students will be asked to make predictions about
the text before reading.
• They can simply write their thoughts on a piece of
paper and save it for the end of the story to see if
any of their predictions were correct.

7. (4) Anticipation Guide
• These are great for many reasons:
 Set a purpose for reading
 Activate that prior knowledge, again.
 Help make connections with the text.
• These guides challenge students to think
critically about what the know or think they know
about a topic.

8. (5) Vocabulary
• The teacher will review
and define certain words
from the text that they
think may be too difficult
for the student to
understand.
• Just a few new words
would be sufficient (1-2).

10. (1) Important Information
• Students will take time to highlight, underline,
circle, and mark up the text in any way to
ensure important information is recognized.
• This will make it easier to recognize crucial
facts and main ideas when re-reading the text
later.

11. (2) Make Connections
• Making personal connections to the
story as you read can help spark
interest as well as ensure
comprehension.
• Students can think about things like
What does this remind me of?
Can I relate to what is happening?
Is this text similar to something I've read
before?

12. (3) Monitor Your Reading
• It is essential each student
knows what they are reading
as they are reading it. Remind
them to ask the question “Do I
understand this text and what I
have read so far?”
• If the answer is ever “no”, they
will be encouraged to go back
and re-read some areas.
• Continue filling in that same
KWL chart while reading.

13. (4) Ask Questions
• Asking questions throughout the reading can help
the teacher readily determine whether they are
accurately comprehending the information the
author intends to convey.
• These questions should clarify
the story and vocabulary.

14. (5) Visualize
• Creating mental images while reading
can really help students comprehend
what is being read.
• These visualizations will help make
mental connections to the story that will
make remembering easier in the long
run.

16. (1) Main Idea
• Students will identify the main idea or idea of the story read.
• Remind the students to think about such things as what is
being said about the person, thing, or idea? That will most
likely be their main idea or topic.

17. (2) Summarize
• Students will write a short summary (about 1
paragraph) about anything they learned or found
interesting from the story/article.
• The summary could answer such things as:
• What was the main purpose?
• What did I learn?
• What was the most interesting part?
• Who is the main character? What did they do?

18. (3) Write Questions
• Students will take a few minutes to write down any
questions they still have as well as questions they
think we be good for an assessment.
• Having the students write down possible test
questions will allow them the opportunity to really
think about the story and, in writing questions, they
will be processing and comprehending the text at the
same time.

19. (4) KWL Chart
• Students now have read
and understood the
passage so at this point
they will pull back out their
KWL charts and fill in the
last column- the “L”.
• To do this, they will have to
ask themselves “what did I
learn from this story
today?”
↵

20. (5) Exit Slip
• The exit slip will be given at the end of class and it
will really allow the students to reflect on the
lesson.
• Exit slips don’t have to be long, up to three
questions is appropriate.
• Example:
1. *Teacher will ask one specific question about the text*
2. What is one thing you learned today?
3. What is one thing you still don’t understand?

21. References
"All About Adolescent Literacy." AdLit.org. WETA Washington, D.C., 2018. Web.
23 Mar. 2018. <http://www.adlit.org/strategies/19712/>.
“Chapter 7.” Teaching Reading to Students Who Are at Risk or Have Disabilities:
a Multi- Tier, RTI Approach, by William D. Bursuck and Mary Damer, Pearson,
2015.
KIages, C. Before - During - After Literacy Strategies. N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF.