Do you teach reading? How do you teach strategic reading skills to your students?

Question

Skimming and Scanning, Comprehension Checks, Annotating,
Determining the Main Idea, Drawing Inferences, Critical Evaluation

I know the skills that need to be taught; but, what's a good way to go about it?

The school where I teach follows the textbook without much imagination or creativity. I want to go beyond what the flock is doing? Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Educational games are ususally successful. I don't know what level but you can adapt these ideas. These ideas are not best suited to introduction of skills, but rather reinforcement and check-up.

Scanning and Skimming: Play "Go Hunt". Give the student a text, call out something for them to find, say "Go Hunt!" and see who can find it first.

Use a tic-tac-toe type game for teams. Ask questions about a story just read for comprehension check and play as usual. Number the squares so the team captain can ask for a square. just be sure to explain what happens if a team is wrong. You can play several ways.

Play a Main Idea game in teams like baseball. Read short paragraphs and ask the student to state the main idea. They advance to bases for correct answers. Or use this with multiple choice answers to identify examples of the different skills.

Teacher created games are a lot of work but worth the effort.

Answer 2

It depends on the grade level. For lower grades, I think that a good idea for comprehension checks ABOUT the main idea would be for them to draw a picture and write one sentence about the main idea of a chapter or book.

Answer 3

I don't see that you have listed a grade that you are working with. But these seem very basic. Having them make things based on the reading is helpful at lower levels. Art projects, pictures about the characters or about words, etc. For my students who are high school EFL students I have them keep a reading journal. I ask them questions about the reading that they have to read. Its just reader response, but I guide them a little as they answer their questions so as to encourage them (I don't answer for them ofcourse). I find it focuses them. I also allow them to play act the text so as to get a feel that these words have more to them than just ink on a page. It also makes them use the language.