Reading Success Strategies
Reading
Before Reading Strategies:
- Tap Prior Knowledge
- Ask students to free write what they know about different topics/concepts you list for a chapter.
- Ask students to write statements in response to the KWL strategy:
- What do I Know?
- What do I Want to learn?
- What have I Learned? (during or after reading- see "react to the text" below)
- Pre-teach Important Concepts What's the most central thing students should take from this reading? What's difficult about it? Why?
- Provide overviews using visual aids/visual data tools.
- Ask students to create a glossary or wiki of keywords (BB tools have both).
- Read with a Purpose Readers who approach a text with a clear purpose may be more successful in making sense of what they read and obtaining relevant information. How?
- Ask students to post a "reading focus" statement or prediction.
- Ask students to create an annotation guide which includes supporting details.
During Reading Strategies:
- Find the big picture Ask students to
- Skim the chapter noting headings and subheadings.
- Create an idea map of main idea and major supporting details.
- React to the text Reacting to a text is one of the most effective ways to understand and retain information from a reading. How? Ask students to:
- Connect ideas with something already known or previously experienced. How does this relate to your life? Something you've seen, heard or read before?
- Make a simple comments, "How could this happen?" "How amazing that they figured this out"
- Make a complex comment, "What would happen if... "
- Annotate for comprehension more than "taking notes" - there's strategy behind good annotation. How? Ask students to:
- Turn headings and subheadings into questions to answer as they read.
- Restate main ideas in their own words using complete sentences.
- Find support for those main ideas.
- Summarize paragraphs or sections in their own words.
- Read with class- or instructor-created annotation guide.
- Create visual aids as they read.
After Reading Strategies:
- Ask students to answer simple follow-up questions, and then put in groups to compare/contrast
- What was surprising to you?
- What was confusing to you?
- What was important?
- What vocabulary words are essential to your understanding of the material?
- Provide follow-up discussions Ask students to make connections to the text.
- How does this relate to your life?
- What was confusing to you?

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- Active Learning
- Active Viewing Strategies
- AI in your Classroom
- 50 Alternatives to Lecture
- Authentic Assessment
- Collect Feedback from Students - Why, When, and How
- Design Strategy - Chunking
- Design for Findability
- Designing Classroom and Online Activities
- Hybrid Course Tips
- Introduction to RSI
- Instructional Strategies and ESL Audiences
- Introduction to Accessibility in Online Materials
- Introduction to Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT)
- Introduction to UDL
- Key Strategy - Group Work
- Key Strategy - Online Discussions
- Key Terms and Concepts - Instructional Design
- Making Assignments work for Students
- OER - Open Educational Resources
- Plan your Course Assessments and Feedback
- Reading Success Strategies
- Scaffolding Online Student Learning
- Using Videos Online
- Vary Instructional Delivery
- Varying Assessments
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