What makes someone a great reader?

Ask any elementary student and you’d likely hear responses like:

“Great readers can read fast.”
“Great readers use expression."
“Great readers can read all the words correctly.”

These answers are all correct, however, we want students to understand that reading is more than just being able to read the words on the page.  What we really want students to be doing while they read is thinking!

That’s where reading comprehension strategies come in.  Reading strategy instruction gives students a guideline for how to think about what they are reading.  Educational experts call this “metacognition,” which can be defined as “thinking about thinking.”  This concept is at the heart of why we teach and encourage students to use reading strategies.  Students need to understand that thinking is essential to reading. 

Today is the first of 8 episodes on the topic of reading comprehension instruction. We will go over a new strategy each month starting next week and ending in May. I can’t wait to share with you some tools and some strategies that you can pass on to your students to help improve their reading comprehension.

Buckle up as I share with you some helpful tips, strategies, and resources for teaching your students reading comprehension. 

You'll Learn:

• The difference between skill and strategy (1:28)
• Why we teach reading strategies (3:53)
• The 7 main reading comprehension strategies (4:46)
  • Making Connections
  • Visualizing
  • Predicting
  • Asking Questions
  • Determining Importance
  • Inferring
  • Synthesizing
• The book that basically taught me everything I know about reading comprehension strategies (6:55)
• How to introduce strategies (and why you should introduce them all together) (8:15)
• How to model reading strategies (10:14)
• What a mini lesson might look like (12:08)
• Which order to teach the 7 reading strategies (15:17)

Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

Constructing Meaning Through Kid-Friendly Comprehension Strategy Instruction by Nancy Boyles (affiliate link)

Grab my FREE Reading Comprehension Strategy cards inside the Members Resource Library (Find it under the “Reading Resources” section)

Reading Strategies LINKtivity Bundle