Build a Reading Strategy Toolkit

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My Comprehension Crew instructional strategy completed enhanced the way
my students read and interact with books!

I have always had a passion for teaching reading because watching a child connect with and enjoy a book is truly magical! When I moved from the intermediate grades to primary, I really had to step back and look at HOW to explicitly teach younger students to read. My older students came with such developed reading ability that we could extend with rich comprehension lessons, but now I was part of building that foundation of being able to read! There were some moments of feeling worried from this responsibility, but I knew I was up for the challenge!

I was told that K-2 students are learning how to read and then beginning in 3rd grade they read to learn. I repeat that to myself all the time when planning lessons and it really helps focus in on what we need to accomplish!

I started with a lot of research into sound, letter, and reading development. I list my favorite reading professional resources at the bottom! I knew I had learned this information in college, but had not used it in practice as a teacher yet! I LOVE this step ladder visualization from Katelyn’s Learning Studio of the progression of reading development skills. However, many of my students did not have the phonics skills mastered yet even though they were able to develop listening comprehension very quickly.

I designed my reading block to be a centers approach to encapsulate all reading areas. I started each day with a shared reading to EXPLICITLY teach and model reading strategies.

Comprehension Reading Strategies

I focus on 9 reading strategies that students should use while reading to interact with the text and ensure they understand what they are reading. When I started to research these strategies at first I thought, “Oh good! Perfect! I know these strategies!” Then I quickly realized I knew the terms, but I needed to break it down to its most simple level of how it looks for beginning reading instruction.

I teach the strategy in this order based on engagement, reader accessibility, and my students’ abilities. While teaching the strategies, I felt that the skills nicely build on each other.

Click each reading strategy to read more about how teaching that strategy looks in my classroom! For an overview of the interactive, meaningful way I teach reading- click here!

  1. Questioning
  2. Connecting
  3. Predicting
  4. Inferencing
  5. Visualizing
  6. Summarizing
  7. Clarifying
  8. Evaluating
  9. Synthesizing

Every few weeks I would do a week of review and model using two strategies at once. For example, after 4 I would usually pause new strategies and do one week of connecting with predicting and another week of questioning with inferencing. I wanted to make sure to show that you can (and should eventually) use multiple strategies while reading. I also wanted to make sure students remembered what we had been learning!

Click here for a more in-depth look into what my reading instruction of these strategies looks like!

Bringing the Reading Strategies “Toolkit” to life!

There are many benefits to using my Comprehension Crew character instruction method. One of my favorites is that it generates physical components and tools for students to use while reading. As shown in the picture at the top, I have the characters and speech bubbles glued to popsicle sticks. My students would hold the character prop (for example a microphone for questioning) or the speech bubble itself while using the reading strategy. It serves as a physical and verbal reminder of HOW to use these strategies correctly. Also, IT IS FUN!

The modeling/ practice method in which these characters are implemented, cultivates an engaging impactful experience for the students. They are not only learning the purpose for the reading strategy but they are seeing it in action and making a memorable connection with the character itself. I have never seen students as excited to try a reading strategy as when using these characters props and phrases! Wouldn’t you remember what the word evaluating means as a 7 year old when you get to bang a crab mallet on the ground and share your opinion with your classmates?! Learn more about that here!

Read more about each of the characters at the links above for each strategy! To see my resources for each strategy click below! Connecting is FREE!!

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