File Folder Lesson (link). Invite students to use their background knowledge to make predictions before reading (read alouds and shared reading). Remind them to use the title, pictures, chapter headings, and so on.
Model think alouds to show students how you use your background knowledge to make predictions about a selection or text you are reading (read aloud and shared reading). Use similar think alouds to help students learn how you link knowledge in your head with the passage while reading and after reading.
Based on the title of a book, chapter or passage/selection, have students brainstorm possible words tht students might encounter. Discuss the reasons behind certain choices that may appear strange.
Develop lessons that model what you do when the information in your head is different from what you are reading or have read in the text. Sometimes you may need to go back and reread to clarify something that does not match your existing knowledge. You may have to consider whether what you know is infatc, accurate. You may also need to go to another source (person or text) for additional information that will help clarify the conflicting information. Try to provide actual examples from your experiences for each situation.
Provide opportunity for discussion before, during and after interactive read alouds.
Select picture books with texts that has a plot and characters. Cover the text of the picture book and have students look at the illustrations and make predictions about what the story is about.
Use wordless picture books for read alouds and encourage students to develop the story.
Have students partner with another student. Ask them to choose one piece of writing from their writing folders and have each partner tell the other student the title of the piece of writing. Then have the student predict the other student’s story. After each partner has made their predictions, check them by reading the stories.
Select an object, photograph, or picture that is connected to a story or book that you are reading either as a read aloud, interactive read aloud or shared reading. Tell them that the object has “mysterious possibilities” (Stephens & Brown, 2000). Have students predict what those mysterious possibilities could be. Record students’ ideas on the board or chart paper. After students have shared their ideas, show students the book that you will be reading.
Provide comic strips or stories told through pictures that are presented in a mixed-up order. Have students arrange the pictures in the order in which they happened and retell the story. This can be done with a read aloud, interactive read aloud or shared reading book.
After reading aloud, ask/discuss the sequence of events from the reading.
Have students arrange sentence strips that go with pictures to tell a story.
As a class, develop lists of words that may give clues to sequence such as, later, soon, tomorrow, yesterday, in the future, in the evening, etc. Add the words to an anchor chart and discuss the words. Encourage students to use the words in their writing.
Have students list step-by-step instructions for cooking, making something, doing a magic trick, etc. Other students can follow the directions as written in sequence to check to see if it makes sense.
Read aloud stories that have clear sequence of events. Create story cards of the events and place them in random order on the table or pocket chart. Ask students to place the events in the order of the story. A good story to start with is If You Give a Moose a Muffin (Numeroff, 1991).
As you are reading aloud, model how you use different strategies to “fix up” your understanding using think aloud language.
Before beginning a read aloud, interactive read aloud, or shared reading discussion the following strategies that you use creating an anchor chart as you introduce each component (use think aloud language):
Have students draw pictures from the pictures they formed in their minds as you read aloud. Students can then talk about their pictures in small groups.
Guide students through visualizing activities by having them visualize familiar events such as reading a book, flying a kite, riding their bike, swinging at the park.
Ask one student to leave the classroom. Ask the remaining students to describe the student in writing (clothes, physical attributes, interesting details, etc.) When the student comes back into the classroom, the other students should compare their descriptions to the actual student.
Use think aloud language to model what you are picturing in your head as you read aloud.
Select a wordless picture book to show to students. Read the title and show students the illustrations. Then have students make up a story based on the illustrations. Students can write their own stories, or contribute to a class story through an interactive or shared writing experience.
Collect a variety of advertisements. Display them on chart paper. Read and discuss them with students helping them “read between the lines” of the ads.
During interactive read alouds or shared reading discussions, help students build inferences by asking them “How do you know?” According to Richards and Anderson (2003), asking this simple question encourages students to think beyond the surface level of comprehension to the deeper level of making inferences. You may need to model answers to this question before students are able to conduct discussions that facilitate inferences.
Students can draw inferences while reading by writing about the main characters in the story (Bluestein, 2002). The following ideas help students improve their understanding of a character in the story through writing.
Decide whether you agree with the character’s actions. Write what you would do in the same circumstances.
Think about the character’s problem. Write whether you would react the same way.
Think about the character’s feelings. Write about the times you have had similar feelings.
Design a plan of action for the character. Write what the character should do.
Have students bring family photographs to class. Tell students to place their photographs on their desks or tables and think of the many stories the photographs represent. Model using a photograph of your own.
Audiobooks are great for having students make connections (Labbo, 2000). Have students read and listen to an audiobook; then ask student to recall how events in the story are similar to other stories or to their personal experiences.
During read alouds, interactive read alouds, and shared reading experiences, model what connections you made to the text using think aloud language.
Provide reading materials at the students’ instructional level and ask questions that encourage the students to use information in the passage to draw conclusions. Take time to discuss the basis for the conclusions that were drawn.
Provide questions for which students are asked to give logical conclusions such as:
What would happen if you-
didn’t sleep for two days?
had to stay in bed for a week?
had a birthday every month?
ate a pound of candy?
crashed into a tree on your bike?
Provide the class with pictures, illustrations, or verbal descriptions of events. Encourage them to list possible causes of the event and then select those that seem most appropriate. For example:
a soccer player being congratulated near the opponent’s goal
a child who has just blown out the candles on a cake
a boy and girl with sad expressions of their faces looking out their front window and seeing that it’s raining