The “Big 7” Reading Strategies



I. The “Big 7” Reading Strategies

“Pearson et al. (1992) recommended a comprehension curriculum structured around seven strategies that thoughtful readers use. All readers, from emergent to proficient, use combinations of the strategies that follow as they read to make meaning and remember.” - L. Robb, 2000.

1. Make Connections (MC)

• Readers spontaneously activate relevant prior knowledge before, during, and after reading text.

• Readers can make two types of connections to further understand and gain interest in the reading:

1. Text to text

2. Text to self

3. Text to world

2. Ask Questions (Q) (Use AP World themes and Historical Skills)

• Readers spontaneously generate questions before, during, and after reading.

• Readers use questions to focus their attention on important components of text.

• Readers ask questions to clarify meaning, to understand the author, to locate a specific answer in the text, and to create their own purpose and motivation for reading.

For example (Based on AP World historical thinking skills):

• Why is _____________significant in terms of world history?

• Historical Causation: Identify, analyze and evaluate the relationships between multiple historical causes and effects, distinguishing between those that are long term and proximate, and among coincidence, causation and correlation.

• Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time: What has changed and what has remained the same? Why?

• Periodization: What is the best way of dividing the history of the world into meaningful periods? What are the consequences of choosing one set of divisions instead of another?

• Comparison: How similar and how different were historical changes or institutions in different parts of the world?

• Contextualization: How does the history of this specific region or era fit into the larger story of world history as a whole?

3. Visualize (V)

• Readers create sensory images during and after reading. These images may include visual, auditory, and other sensory modes, as well as emotional connections to the text and are rooted in prior knowledge.

4. Infer (I)

• Draw conclusions.

• Make predictions about text and then confirm their predictions.

• Form unique interpretations from the text.

5. Determining Importance (DI)

• Identify key ideas or AP World themes as you read

6. Summarize (S)

• Readers retell or synthesize what they have read to better understand it.

7. Monitor Comprehension

• Readers monitor their comprehension during reading – they know when the text they are reading or listening to makes sense, when it does not, what does not make sense, and whether the unclear portions are critical to overall understanding of the piece. (Can I retell what I just read with detail?),

• Readers can identify confusing ideas and/or surface elements (words, sentences, or text structures) and can suggest a variety of different means to solve the problems they have (Do I need to re-read? Take notes?)

• Readers are aware of what they need to comprehend in relation to their purpose for reading (Keene and Zimmerman 1997). (Is what I just read important to understanding the key ideas and themes of the text?)

II. THIEVES: Use as a pre-reading activity

T: Title (why did author choose title of chapter)

H: Heading (Look at headings of chapter and predict or report main points of chapter)

I: Introduction (Summarize intro in own words)

E: Everything I know (Students write what they know about subject)

V: Visuals (Students asses the meaning and importance of all pictures, maps, and graphs

E: End of Chapter ( Students read the summary or end questions and determine what they are supposed to take away from chapter.

S: So what? Students determine why the chapter’s information is important to their understanding of the particular regions and its position in world history.

III. The SQ3R Method of Reading Textbooks

The main steps are as follows:

• Survey - before you read, scan the titles, headings, pictures and chapter summaries

• Question - actively ask yourself questions as you read such as, what are the key topics in this section/chapter?

• Read/write - read for understanding (notice how reading is not the first thing you do), locate concepts and facts, record and reduce information to notes/summaries. Use of Cornell Notes is effective.

• Review - practice and rehearse the main concepts, reflect on key learnings, anticipate exam questions

• Recite - transfer information to long term memory

IV. Cornell Notes: See below

Cornell Notes

Topic/problem/Question: Date:

| 2 ½ inches | |

|What goes here: |6 inches |

|Main ideas or high level thinking | |

|questions* that connect points |What goes here: |

|Historical Themes and Historical |Notes during class |

|Thinking Skills |Concise sentences |

|When: After class or after you take |Shorthand /symbols |

|notes from textbook |Lists |

|Questions should represent |Can be used as an outline |

|Info you don’t understand or want to |When: |

|discuss |during the reading of your text or during teacher lecture |

|Info you think would go good on an | |

|essay test. | |

|Gaps in your notes. | |

|Summary |

|Summary is added at the end of ALL note pages on the subject (not every page) |

|Summary added AFTER questions are finished |

|Summary should answer the problem stated in the subject. |

*What are some examples of high level questions? Predict, compare, reason, analyze, classify, explain, judge, evaluate, argue, etc…

A few last bits of advice:

• Read critically. Be active like an attorney, not passive like a juror. Ask questions, reflect and put in your own words.

• Mortimer Adler wrote that a book should be a conversation between you and the author. The reader has a responsibility to question him or herself (self-monitor ) and question the author. The reader should even argue with the author. Writing, outlining or marking a book is ‘literally an expression of your differences, or agreements of opinion, with the author.’ Reading is an active process. I have provided strategies that you can use when reading your textbook. Become familiar with them because, not only, will we be using them all year, it will help become a better reader and thinker

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