Strategic teaching uses literacy strategies before, during, and after reading to maximize student understanding and retention of content. It is necessary because student performance declines in middle and high school without explicit comprehension instruction. The strategic teacher plans engaging lessons with clear outcomes in mind and uses strategies like activating background knowledge, questioning, summarizing, and graphic organizers. Some example strategies discussed are quick writes, exit slips, marking texts, and partner discussions to connect with texts. The goal is to benefit all students through purposeful planning and use of multiple strategies.

1. Using Strategic
Teaching
in the Middle and High
School to Promote
High Levels Of Active
Engagement And
Student Learning
Shelby County Schools Strategic Teaching Overview 2.18.10

2. Strategic Teaching Defined…
Strategic teaching is the process of using a variety of
literacy strategies.
It maximizes the understanding and retention of content
material.
It incorporates before, during, and after reading strategies.
It incorporates a variety of vocabulary development and
writing strategies.
The strategies a teacher chooses will depend on the purpose
of the lesson and the nature of the material being studied.

3. Why is Strategic Teaching Necessary?
• The student performance drops off in the middle
school and high school years (International Reading Association
and National Middle School Association, 2002).
• Research has shown that many children who read
at grade level in grade 3 will not automatically become
proficient comprehenders in later grades. Therefore,
teachers must teach comprehension explicitly,
beginning in the primary grades and continuing
through high school (RAND Reading Study Group, 2002).

4. It benefits ALL of our students.
Struggling Readers
Striving Readers
Expanding
Readers

5. The Strategic Teacher
The strategic teacher plans lessons with the outcome
in mind. The outcomes of strategic lessons move the
students toward mastery of content standards.
The strategic teacher plans and facilitates engaging
lessons. Students in strategic classrooms have the
opportunity to talk, listen, read, write, and investigate
everyday while actively involved in the learning
process.
The strategic teacher builds assessment into every
lesson. The lesson contains elements that allow the
teacher to know which students have and have not
met the stated outcome(s).

6. Connection to Comprehension
The following six strategies appear to have a firm scientific basis for
improving text comprehension. These findings are from Put Reading First:
The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, 2001.
 Monitoring comprehension
 Using graphic and semantic organizers
 Answering questions
 Generating questions
 Recognizing text structure
 Summarizing
The following strategies have received some support from the research.
 Making use of prior knowledge
 Using mental imagery

7. Before Reading Strategies
activate background knowledge
establish a purpose for reading
generate questions
make predictions about text
encounter new vocabulary
connect writing to reading

8. During Reading Strategies
engage with the text
use cognitive process
verify and reformulate predictions
integrate new information with prior knowledge
self-monitor comprehension
construct graphic organizers
summarize text

9. After Reading Strategies
reflect on what they read
evaluate predictions
examine questions that guided reading
respond to text through discussion
respond to text through writing
retell or summarize

10. Strategic Teaching Involves
 Purposeful Planning- Make before, during, and after literacy
connections by choosing strategies depending on the purpose of the
lesson, student’s needs, and the nature of the material being studied.
 Multiple Strategies - Incorporate strategies that support various
learning styles and preferences.
 Connected Strategies – Incorporate before, during, and after
reading strategies that include a variety of vocabulary development
and writing strategies.
 Explicit Instruction – Maximize the understanding and retention of
content material through direct explanation, modeling, guided
practice, and independent application. (I do, we do, you do.)

11. Strategic Teaching Should Include…
The Five Literacies in Every Lesson
Reading
Writing
Talking
Listening
Investigating

12. Strategic Lesson Example
Topic: Survival Course of Study
Objectives: N/A
Lesson Objectives: to
use comprehension
skills
Before Reading
Outcome: activate prior
knowledge and build
vocabulary.
Strategy: Interview and
response
Teacher Activity:
Teacher will model the
interview and response
strategy .
Student Activity:
Students will interview
three people with the
question: What does
survival mean to you?
Write responses on note
card. Then turn note card
over and write a
statement that includes
interviews as well as
personal response.
During Reading
Outcome: Students focus
on skills needed as one
reads.
Strategy: Grand
Conversations
Teacher Activity:
The teacher reads aloud
article (Hiker Resorts to
Self-Amputation)
encouraging students to
use cards.
Student Activity:
Respond to the reading
with
Wonder, Notice, Prior
Knowledge, or Spark card.
After Reading
Outcome: To reflect on
article and respond to the
reading through writing.
Strategy: Reflection Circle
Teacher Activity:
Model the use of the
reflection circle graphic
organizer (Venn diagram)
Student Activity:
Respond to each phase of
the circle about how this
man’s survival affected
him, his family, his
community, and other
hikers.

13. Wonder, Notice, Prior Knowledge, or Spark card
Grand Conversations Strategy
Grand conversations are discussions held by the entire class
community. This strategy allows for dialogue among
students that is student directed and each one has the
opportunity to critique, debate and extend upon each
other’s ideas.
Objectives -To provide a skillful strategy to students that
helps them focus on comprehending and thinking as they
read
-To develop deeper understanding.

14. Wonder, Notice, Prior Knowledge, or Spark card
Procedure:
1. Hand out the think aloud cards to students and a
reading passage such as an article, a text or a novel.
2. The teacher or a fluent reader from the class
reads aloud. As the reading takes place, the
students are directed to use the cards as follows:

15. W – “I Wonder” card- use when you have a
question about what is being read or “wonder” about
the information.
N – “I Notice” card – use when you notice
something interesting about the text or pictures, any
connections or incongruence’s.
P – “Prior Knowledge” card – use when you have
any prior knowledge to share about the topic.
S – “Spark” card – use when someone else says
something that makes you think of something else
related to the text. This can only be used during a
discussion.
Wonder, Notice, Prior Knowledge, or Spark card

16. 3. As each student uses a card, the card is turned
over. All students must use
their cards before starting over.
4. When all students have used their cards, turn
them back to front and start
the process over.
Wonder, Notice, Prior Knowledge, or Spark card

17. N S
WP
Wonder, Notice, Prior Knowledge, or Spark card

18. Venn Diagram

19. Literacy Strategies to Promote Students
Engagement
Quick Write
Purposes: (1) introduce a concept and connect this concept
with prior knowledge or experiences and (2) allow students to
discuss and learn from each other
Procedure:
1. Introduce a single word or phrase to the class
2. Students copy the concept on index cards.
3. Students are given two minutes to write whatever comes to
their minds relative to the concept. They may write freely using
single words, phrases, sentences, etc.
4. After time is called, students may volunteer to share their thoughts
on the subject.

20. Exit Slips
Purpose: (1) reflect on content of lesson
The exit-slip strategy requires students to write responses to questions
you pose at the end of class. Exit slips help students reflect on what
they have learned and express what or how they are thinking about the
new information. Exit slips easily
incorporate writing into your content area classroom and require
students to think critically.(Fisher & Frey, 2004)
Literacy Strategies to Promote Students
Engagement

21. X Marks the Spot
Purpose: engage with the text
Procedure:
1. Teacher puts key on the board:
X = Key point ! = I get it! I can explain this! ? = I
don’t get this.
2. Teacher models the procedure for students using first
chunk of text.
3. Students practice using this procedure independently
* copied text may be written on directly, but sticky notes
work well in books.
Literacy Strategies to Promote Students
Engagement

22. Say Something
Purposes: (1) make connections with texts during reading
and (2) enhance comprehension of written material through
short readings and oral discussions
Procedure:
1. Choose a text for the students to read and have them work
in pairs.
2. Designate a stopping point for reading.
3. Have students read to the stopping point and then “say something”
about the text to their partners.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until they finish reading the text.
Source: Short, K., Harste, J., & Burke, C. (1996). Creating classrooms for authors and inquirers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Literacy Strategies to Promote Students
Engagement

23. References
 http://lc3.littlechute.k12.wi.us/literacy/Grand%20Conversations.pdf
 http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/2nd/more/graphic_organizers.htm
 https://sites.google.com/site/mrsbegleycom/GOs-and-Paperwork
 http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/Exit
%20Slips.pdf
 http://www.thoughtfulclassroom.com/PDFs/TheStrategicTeacher-
BetterInstruction.pdf
 http://www.shelbyed.k12.al.us/instruction/doc/StrategicTeaching.pdf