Letter+of+Introduction

A statement from the Reading Strategies Collegial Circle


 * Statement of Purpose** – this collegial circle was formed by members of the English and Reading departments in an effort to create a shared resource of reading strategies used in the pre, during, and post reading stages.


 * Encouraged Sharing** – please feel free to use and adapt any of these strategies that will best suit your teaching style and your students’ needs. Please save a copy of your adaptation to your own folder. If you would like to share any strategies on this Wikispace, send them as attachments to wbrazener@penfield.edu.
 * Explanation of Pages –**


 * Pre – strategies that are used prior to reading a text by activating what students currently understand or misunderstand about a topic and using this knowledge to clarify misconceptions and also to equip them with the strategies needed to negotiate the text


 * During – strategies that encourage student interaction with the text, aiding comprehension while reading.
 * Post – strategies that are used after reading a text that help students apply, synthesize, connect, and evaluate the information from the text.

The goal of Pre, During, and Post reading strategies is to encourage students to assimilate and internalize them for future use and to think metacognitively about their reading, becoming more skilled readers.

**//__Terms and Definitions__//**


 * Recognizing Syntax**- //Purposefully examining the order of the author’s word choices and that order’s impact on the meaning of the piece.//

//details that support them (Jones, 2006).//
 * Summarizing**- //Strip away the redundant and extraneous examples. Focus on the heart of the matter. Seek key words and phrases to capture the gist. Save the main ideas and the crucial//

//Hutchins, 2003).//
 * Applying background knowledge**- //Readers use their relevant prior knowledge before, during and after reading to enhance their understanding of what they are reading (Zimmermann and//
 * Identifying Main idea**- //Skill requiring students to arrive at their own interpretation of the author’s intended message for the piece based on key points raised within the text.//


 * Predicting**- //A strategy in which readers use what they already know to anticipate and prepare for what is coming next (Pinnell and Fountas, 2006).//

// use their own prior knowledge and interests to enhance their vocabulary… //// VSS involves the following steps: //
 * Vocabulary Self-Collection (VSS)**- // the purpose of the Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy (Haggard, 1982) is to help students generate a list of words to be explored and learned and to //
 * // Selecting the words //
 * // Defining the words //
 * // Finalizing the word lists //
 * // Extending word knowledge (Readance, Bean & Baldwin, 2001) //


 * Evaluating/critiquing**- //[Determining the validity of] a text based on the reader’s personal, world or text knowledge and thinking critically about the ideas in it (Fountas and Pinnell, 2006).//

//puzzle moves toward completion piece by piece, our thoughts become more complete as we add more information… Synthesizing involves merging new information with// //existing knowledge to create an original idea, see a new perspective, or form a new line of thinking to achieve insight (Harvey and Goudvis, 2000).//
 * Synthesizing-** //Our thinking evolves as we add information from the text. Each bit of information we encounter adds a piece to the construction of meaning. In the same way that a jigsaw//

//Goudvis, 2000).//
 * Visualizing**- //Comprehension strategy that enables readers to make the words on a page real and concrete… Students create scenarios and pictures in their minds while reading (Harvey and//

//to connect the texts they read to their lives, they begin to make connections between what they read and the larger world. This nudges them into thinking about bigger, more// //expansive issues beyond their universe of home, school, and neighborhood(Harvey and Goudvis, 2000).//
 * Connecting**- //Once [readers] have heard a wealth of stories and narratives, they begin to connect themes, characters, and issues from one book to another. When children understand how//

//their relationship to one another and the overall piece can help [a reader] better understand a text’s meaning (Colorado State University, 2011).//
 * Analyzing**- //Analyzing a text means breaking it down into its parts to find out how these parts relate to one another… being aware of the functions of various parts of a piece of writing and//

//and Goudvis, 2000).//
 * Inferring**- //Inferential thinking occurs when text clues merge with the reader’s prior knowledge and questions to point toward a conclusion about an underlying theme or idea in the text (Harvey//

//text in a certain way to find the MOST correct answer. There are four main question types in QAR:// //1)// **//Right There//** //questions require the reader to simply find where the answer is written in the text// //2)// **//Think and Search//**//- questions require the reader to consider many parts of the text to form an answer that does not physically appear in the text.// //3)// **//Author and Me//** //questions require the reader to consider the author’s craft and motivations for the text’s style and content.// //4)// **//On My Own//** //questions are relative to the text but their answers do not require any reading of the text.//
 * //Question Answer Relationships//**//- QAR is a reading strategy that forces the reader to consider what information a question is asking for and then, based on the type of question, read the//


 * Scanning**- //When scanning, the reader is searching for predetermined information by looking for key words or phrases rather than reading for deeper meaning.//


 * Literal, Interpretive, Analysis**- //Strategy that has students examining a piece of text on three levels: The literal level, the interpretive level, and the analytical level in order to understand both the literal and figurative message of the passage.//
 * //Literal- The literal level of understanding is its basic, face-value meaning.//
 * //Interpretive- The interpretive level of understanding suggests that the author is communicating something more than a literal meaning; there is something hidden in the words.//
 * //Applied- The applied level of understanding explains introduces a theory about the author’s message or the value to readers at a human level.//