STRATEGIES FOR READING
Discussion is one of the most widely used strategies in literature. This strategy involves individuals engaging in social/oral communication to share their thoughts and feelings about something. It helps students construct meaning based on what they know, that is their prior knowledge and what they have learnt or read. Discussions can be done before, during and after reading. There are some basic guidelines that leaders should embark on in organizing discussion in literature classrooms. Firstly, discussion must be linked with activation. Students must understand what and why they are discussing a particular issue or concept. Teachers should try to avoid interrupting students when they are saying what they think. Students should feel and understand that there is value in what they have to say. Students should be provided with guided question and given what time to reflect on what the question is asking before the respond. Reciprocal teaching and co-operation learning can also be inculcated in discussions. Teacher must also avoid being the person loving most of the talking but rather he/she should serve as a facilitator and a scribe by recording students on the board.
Transactional reading journal is also another affective strategy that teachers can use before, during and after reading a text. This strategy is inspired by the work of Louise Rosenblatt (1978 who described reading as a transitional process that occurs between the text and the reader. Using the transitional reading journal as a reading strategy provides a flexible framework for engaging students in the process of meaningful and active interaction with text. Students may be provided with questions that may guide them in preparing their journal entries however, students may make their own entries based on their own observation. A transitional reading journal is a effective means by which children can write down their thoughts and feelings. It is especially useful for non- verbal students who prefer writing about their experience instead of saying it out loud in class
D - Directed
R – Reading
T - Thinking
A - Activity
This reading strategy works as a guide for reading and enables closer reader of the text based on student’s background experiences of others. Students are able to answer questions about the text while also making predictions. Thus this strategy also encourages individuals to think critically since it gives a purpose for thinking.
Directed – has a path, is guided, and assisted
Teachers guides the process (when and what type of questions to ask. Teaching can ask both lower order and higher order questions. Eg lower order-Who is the main character? A Higher order question may be, why did the main character react in this particular way?
Use to stimulate children’s interest and activate their prior knowledge.
Reading – students are engaged in different reading to understand the text. For example, gathering information from text. Students also engage in esthetic reading (the why) question e.g. – What do you expect the outcome to be based on what happened previously? Teacher stops at a certain point during reading and ask students to make productions about text. What did you learn about the character? As the character grows older do you think this will change?
Thinking – teacher directs the thinking process children think about what they are asked when questions are posed by the teacher .Students think on certain levels (at 3 points). Students think before reading. Make predictions while reading students make predictions and attempt to qualify them. After reading they think about whether predictions were true. Teachers can stop at certain points and make predictions.(after predictions)
Responding to question/validating can be done orally on written (e.g. journals, logo)
Here are two links that may enable you to get a better understanding of the reading strategies mentioned above as well as several other reading strategies.
Links:
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