Reading Strategies

Predict/Infer

Use this strategy before and during reading to help make predictions

about what happens next or what you’re going to learn.

1. Think about the title, the illustrations and what you have read so far.

2. Tell what you think will happen next or what you’re going to learn. Thinking about what you already know about the subject may help.

3. Try to figure out things the author does not say directly.

Phonics/Decoding

Use this strategy during reading when you come across a word you don’t know.

1. Look carefully at the word.

2. Look for word parts that you know and think about the sounds for the letters.

3. Blend the sounds to read the word.

4. Ask yourself if this is a word you know. Does it make sense in the sentence?

5. If not, ask yourself if there’s anything else you can try. Should I look in the dictionary?

Monitor/Clarify

Use this strategy during reading whenever you’re confused about what you are reading.

1. Ask yourself if what you’re reading makes sense – or is you are learning what you need to learn.

2. If you don’t understand something, reread, look at the illustrations or read ahead.

Question

Use this strategy during and after reading to ask questions about important ideas in the story.

1. Ask yourself questions about important ideas in the story.

2. Ask yourself if you can answer the questions.

3. If you can’t answer the questions, re-read and look for answers in the text. Thinking about what you already know and what you’ve read in the story may help you.

Evaluate

Use this strategy during and after reading to help you form an opinion about what you read.

1. Think about how the author makes the story come alive and makes you want to read it.

2. Think about what was entertaining, informative or useful about the selection.

3. Think about how well you understood the selection and whether you enjoyed reading it.

Summarize

Use this strategy after reading to summarize what you read.

1. Think about the characters

2. Think about where the story takes place.

3. Think about the problem in the story and how the characters solve it.

4. Think about what happens in the beginning, middle and the end of the story.