Reading

**TV. **  ** If kids are entertained by two letters, **   ** imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. **  ** Open your child's imagination. **  ** Open a book. **  ** ~Author Unknown ** Within my classroom I use the Making Meaning program where reading comprehension strategies are taught through read-alouds and the students learn to use strategies to make sense of their own reading through guided and independent reading practice. I will also be incorporating the Daily 5 and CAFE Menu into our literacy block. Daily 5 consists of Read to Self, Read with Someone, Work on Writing, Spelling/Word Work, and Listen to Reading. The CAFE Menu will be a list of reading strategies that students will be encouraged to use as they are reading that relate to Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding vocabulary (CAFE).

The best way to become a better reader is to: read, read, read!!! Our reading program focuses on the following components: __Using schema (background knowledge)/Making Connections__ (the process of using what I know to help me understand the text) Good readers think: Text to Self: How can I use past experiences and background knowledge to help me better understand the story or article? Text to Text: How can I use other pieces of text that I have read to help me better understand the story or article? Text to World: How can I use my knowledge of what is happening in the world to help me better understand the story or article? That reminds me of... It makes me think of... I read another book where... This is different from... __Visualizing__ (the process of creating mental images while reading) Good readers form mental images to help them understand, remember, and enjoy texts. Mental images can include sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, and emotions. Good readers think: How do the author’s words help me create a mental image of what is happening in the story? How do my past experiences combined with the author’s words help me picture the story in my head? What is the movie in my mind as I am reading the text? I visualized... I could hear (smell, taste, feel)... I could picture... A mental image I had was... __Inferring__ (the process of using prior knowledge and information in the text to understand implied meanings that are not directly stated in the text) Making inferences helps readers move beyond the literal to a deeper understanding of texts Good readers think: What can I figure out? What are the characters feeling and how do I know? Why did the characters make that choice? Is the author trying to tell me something? What is the author’s message? Can I determine the meaning of unknown words? I'm guessing that... I predict... It would be better if... I really liked how... If I were the main character... What I didn't like was... __Asking Questions/Wondering__ (the process of asking questions and searching for answers before, during, and after reading) What am I wondering while I read? What am I trying to solve? How does asking questions make me want to read further? I wonder... I was confused when... I'm not sure why... I am curious about... How does... Why didn't... __Determining Important Ideas__ (the process of knowing what the main ideas are and what the author considered important) What is the author telling me? What is the main idea? What are the supporting details? What is this MOSTLY about? The most important ideas are... So far, I have learned that... The most interesting points were... I noticed that... The story was about... __Synthesizing Information__ (the process of combining new ideas with what I already know to get something new and different) How is my thinking changing as I read? What new information am I getting as I continue reading? How does that effect my overall thinking about what is happening in the story or article? Now I understand that... This gives ma an idea... This compared to... That was different than... __ Understanding Text Structure __ (the process of understanding that narrative and nonfiction books are set up differently) Narrative texts have common elements such as characters, setting, problem, and solution. While nonfiction texts generally have common features such as headings and subheadings. Good readers think: How is the text set up? How will the text structure help me understand and think about the information in the text? __ Summarizing __ (the process of identifying and bringing together the essential ideas in a text) Good readers think: How can I summarize the important ideas of what I have read and communicate it to others? How can I get someone interested in a specific book or movie without giving away too much information? __ Retelling __ (the process of identifying and bringing together all the ideas in a text) Good readers think: How can I summarize the important ideas of what I have read and communicate it to others? How can I tell someone exactly what happened in the book or the movie including all the events and specific details from the beginning to the end?