What Good Readers Do

1. What Good Readers Do Reading Strategies to Help Us Through The Scarlet Letter Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

2. BEFORE READING • "Activate“ prior knowledge • Question and wonder • Know their purpose for reading • Look for the structure of the piece of reading • Believe they are in control of the reading process Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

3. "Activate“ prior knowledge • What do we already know about the book? • What do we already know about its topics? Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

4. Question and wonder • What do you want to know about the book? • What things have sparked your interest? • What questions do you have at this point? • PREDICT: What do you think the book will discuss? Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

5. Know their purpose for reading • Why are you going to read this book? • What do you wish to attain from the book? • “Because we have to” is not an adequate answer. Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

6. Look for the structure of the piece • How many chapters are there? • How long is the book? Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

7. Believe they are in control • You have the skills • You have the fortitude • You will be successful Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

8. DURING READING • Give their complete attention to the reading task • Keep a constant check on their comprehension of the reading • Know that they can make sense of it eventually with use of strategies • Look for important ideas and see how details relate to the whole • Accept the challenge of being frustrated or confused and deal with it Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

9. Give their complete attention • Not a book that can be read with distractions. • How can we help avoid distractions? Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

10. Keep a constant check on their comprehension of the reading • After each section ask yourself: • What do I understand? • What is still confusing me? • What is unclear? Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

11. Know that they can make sense of it eventually with use of strategies • If you are vigilant about using all reading strategies: • You will be able to read this book! • You will understand the themes! • You will be able to follow the plot! Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

12. Look for important ideas and see how details relate to the whole • Find the main points of each section • Look for all the details that support or dispute these points Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

13. Accept the challenge of being frustrated or confused and deal with it • It’s okay to not understand • Keep working through the frustration • Don’t give up! READ! Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.

14. READING STRATEGIES • Predicting: • Making a guess about what you think is going to occur • Visualizing • Going to the movies in your mind • Connecting • Relating the novel to your life, the world around you or other books. • Inferring • Read between the lines—what you know that isn’t explicitly written • Drawing Conclusions • What can you deduce using the material provided at this point in the reading? • Rereading • When you don’t understand, reread for clarity. Objective: To discover and practice reading strategies to help with difficult texts.