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Use Pre-reading Strategies
Examples include:
- Brainstorming with the class to check/add
background information prior to making a reading assignment.
- Anticipation Guides. A series of questions that
students try and predict the answers to and then read to see if they are
correct.
- Problematic Situation. Students are given a
problem to try and resolve and then do their reading to see how well they
did on their initial try and then go back and make appropriate changes based
on their reading.
Assign Reading Guides
Selective Reading Guides. Instructor previews the text
chapter and selects only specific pages (or paragraphs) for the students to
read. Students are then given question that specifically relate to the selected
reading(s).
Easy to Check Reading Guides
- Instructors develop questions related to the assigned
reading in which students make choices concerning correct answers (similar
to a multiple choice test format). The students put check marks next to
their choices and instructors determine if the answers are correct.
Example 1. Which of the following are the top three factors that
contribute to students' academic success in college?
___ High College Board scores
___ Time spent in class and on study
___ Learning from peers
___ Quality professors
___Parents education level
Example 2. Which of the following statements does the text material
support?
___ Caffeine 50-200mg per day increases alertness and reduces feeling of
fatigue
___ Weight training is the most preferred form of exercise to maintain
overall good physical condition
___Prayer is an effective form of stress reduction
___ Stress is actually a really helpful part of daily living
Traditional Reading Guides
Instructor prepares specific questions that the reader answers as a result of
their interaction with the text. Questions can be at many different cognitive
levels.
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Level 1 Knowledge--facts
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Level 2 Comprehension--why
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Level 3 Application--use the information
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Level 4 Analysis--finding the important parts
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Level 5 Synthesis-- combine to make new
information
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Level 6 Evaluation--which is best
Summary Writing as a Reading Guide
Have students write brief summaries at the end of each unit of the chapter in
order to promote better comprehension. This also promotes better meta-cognition
(ability to monitor their comprehension).
Summary is a powerful learning tool because it requires students to do five
different activities with the material:
- Read it (which means understand it).
- Write about it.
- Prioritize it--summary only include the most important information--this
forces analysis thinking.
- Organize the information to follow the way it is given in the reading.
- Translate the information into their own words which is required for a
summary.
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