Captain Shreve High School            

Home of the Gators!

6115 E. Kings Highway

Shreveport, LA  71105

CSHS Library

The SWAMP is the place to be!

Pre-Reading

The goal of pre-reading activities is to

  • activate prior knowledge
  • build interest and motivation
  • preview difficult concepts or vocabulary
  • help students see connections to their own lives

Pre-reading Activities

ABC Brainstorm:
Students try to think of a word or phrase associated with the topic, matched to each letter of the alphabet.

Anticipation Guide:
Before reading the text, students respond to a list of statements related to the topic--statements that provoke disagreement and challenge students’ beliefs about the topic. Students compare their opinions before and after their reading.

Background Building in the Library:
Students frequently begin researching without really developing an overview of their topic. This leads to poor questions and unfocused research.

Carousel Brainstorm:
In small groups, students quickly brainstorm on poster paper key words and phrases related to a topic; groups rotate posters, read what the previous groups wrote and add additional ideas. Students examine, group and analyze posters to activate prior knowledge.

Concept Mapping:

Students fill in concept map using prior knowledge; in places where students can’t write information, they write a question. Questions become basis for research and allow students to see how their own inquiry fits into a bigger picture.

Expectation Outline:

Students and teacher preview material. Students generate questions they predict they'll be able to answer from reading the text, then answer questions as they read.

Inquiry Chart:
An organizing grid for creating questions on a topic after reviewing what has already been learned from a variety of sources.

Prediction Chart:
Students predict what will happen, compare it to what actually happens.

Pre-Reading Plan (PreP):

PreP asks students to share what they know about a topic, reflect on that knowledge, and reformulate it based on input from the teacher and other class members before reading a text. This strategy introduces readers to the main concepts of the text and provides feedback to the teacher to help provide the best instructional support.

Question Brainstorming:

Students use an organizing grid to create questions around a topic they're about to read or research.

Tea Party
Teacher creates sentence strips using key passages from the text. Students read strips to each other as they circulate the room, forming impressions of the topic as they go.

 

What Michael Graves and Randall Ryder say about prereading:

"Many students experience uncertainty or frustration as they attempt to define a purpose for independent reading. By activating and building upon students’ schema, reading becomes more purposeful and focused. And, as the teacher models the process of relating prior knowledge to new or difficult content, students begin to acquire a greater awareness of the process for generating questions, sharing information, and obtaining information from sources outside the textbook " (Reading and Learning in Content Areas. New York: Merrill Publishing, p. 143).

Formulate the Central Search Question | Identifying Resources | Developing Search Strategies | Search & Gather |
Evaluate, Select, & Organize | Analyze, Interpret, Synthesize, & Apply | Communicate Findings |
Reflect on Product & Process