Caroline Elizabeth Hall
Before Reading:
KWL Charts
KWL Charts are great to use throughout the entire reading process. They quickly assess prior knowledge and allow for great group discussions before reading the text.
Begin by dividing the chart into three categories: K, W, and L.
Before reading the story, ask your students what they know about the story OR topic and what they want to know about the topic. This can also be what they hope to learn through reading the story!
For example, if I was reading a story about astronauts in space, I might ask children what they know about outer space. This will help the students better understand the story that they are reading.
You will finish the chart after reading the story, filling in what you have learned.
I Can Statements
"I can" statements are becoming more common as a reading strategy among young children. These statements give children a purpose for their reading and allow them to gain confidence that they will need to become successful readers!
"I can" statements can come from your standards or objectives, or you can make them based off of goals you have set for your readers.
For example, "I can read with my partner without getting distracted"
Although it might not go with a standard for your grade level, it does provide a challenge for readers if you see that this is an area where your class struggles.
Preview Vocabulary
Previewing the vocabulary in a story before reading is very important for the success of your readers.
Although we want students to learn strategies to use when they don't know the definition of a word, you don't want your readers to get discouraged or overwhelmed with difficult vocabulary words in the text.
To preview the vocabulary words, you could have students make predictions about their meaning with a partner, provide pictures that help students better understand a word or group of words, act out vocabulary words, or draw pictures that are meaningful to the definition of a word.
The best way to help students understand the vocabulary in a story is to be creative in how you introduce the words!