Pre reading plan

Reading Educator

Pre-Reading Strategies To Boost Kids’ Reading Comprehension

What Are Pre-Reading Strategies?

Pre-reading strategies are learning approaches designed to help give your child structure, guidance, and background knowledge before they begin exploring a new text.  

These strategies target your child’s reading comprehension skills by giving them the tools they need to become active, successful readers. 

By activating the knowledge your child already has about certain subjects, learning how to utilize context clues, and talking with you about the book, they’ll be on their way to reading and writing scholarly essays in no time!

Basic Pre-Reading Strategies

As the name suggests, pre-reading strategies are used before you begin reading a book with your child. There are a few main strategies you can use to help your child prepare to dive into any story. Let’s take a look!

Previewing

By this, we don’t mean Googling the movie-adaptation trailer (although that might be a fun way to compare and contrast the text later on!). 

Previewing means letting your child gather clues — from the book’s title and cover illustrations, inside illustrations, and maybe the table of contents for older children — to try to figure out what might happen or what they might learn in a book they are about to hear or read.    

Purpose

If you have time, it’s always great to put aside a moment for mindfulness before reading with your child. Talk with them about what reading goals they still want to achieve. 

Do they still need help with longer words (pronunciation)? Do they want to work on their character voices (expression)? Getting their input will help you both come together to set a goal — or purpose — for your reading time.

Predictions

Using the resources available to your child, see if they can make predictions about what might happen in the story before they get a chance to read anything. 

What information can they gather just using the title, cover, and illustrations? Then you both might continue predicting as the story unfolds. 

8 Pre-Reading Activities To Try At Home

1) Speaking In Questions

This is a fun activity that helps your child become more insightful about the text they’re reading while letting them be silly, too! The goal here is for your child to investigate the things they want to know, might know, or aren’t sure about just by looking at the cover of the text.  

We know you probably use the question-and-answer format quite a bit in your reading routine, so this offers your child a nice change of pace. Instead of you asking the questions, they get to ask, too! 

These questions can be silly or straightforward. For example, if you’re reading Goldilocks and The Three Bears, you could start the question conversation by asking your child, “Why do you think her name is Goldilocks?”

Your child might ask back, “Why do these bears live in a house?” See how many questions you can come up with. 

It’s OK if these questions are not answered right away. Most of them will probably be answered once you’ve finished reading the book! Any that go unaddressed can always be answered afterward.

2) K-W-L-H Chart

This pre-reading activity was invented and made famous by Donna Ogle back in the 1980s. The different letters in K-W-H-L charts represent different tasks for your child to complete with you.

The “K” column is reserved for things your child already knows about the subject of a book or its story. The key here is activating and then reflecting on their prior knowledge. For example, if they’re reading Charlotte’s Web, what do they already know about pigs and spiders?

The “W” category is for what your child wants to know about the story. What are they curious about? 

The “L” (what they learned from the story) and “H” columns (how they can find out more ) are reserved for discussing after you’ve finished reading. 

The last row, how they can find out more, is more important in nonfiction than fiction — although after reading Charlotte’s Web, you could find out more about spiders by seeking out a nonfiction book.  

While this exercise is traditionally completed by writing their answers down on a chart, we think it’s more fun to get physical with it!

For example, you could make a book review video to share with family members! First, challenge yourselves to come up with at least six Ks and  6 Ws, three from each of you. 

Next, make a video that begins by naming the book you are reading, followed by announcing the things you know and the things you want to know. When you are finished with the book, video what you learned and where you can go to learn more. 

You can even create a special book-video library of your KWLH experiences!

3) Pre-Teach Vocabulary

If you know that the book you’ll be reading together will challenge your child’s current reading skills, consider teaching them a handful of the more challenging words ahead of your reading time. 

We love a good old-fashioned game of (reverse) Charades for this pre-reading activity. To start, you might write out the word you want your child to learn on a large sheet of paper. Make sure to use bold, thick letters!

Then, try and act out the definition of the word for your child. Based on your impeccable acting skills, they can guess the definition of this new word!

4) Pre-Teach Themes

Many children’s books set out to teach children more than new words. They usually have moral lessons embedded in their pages as well. 

For example, themes might include things like the power of friendship in Charlotte’s Web or courage in a book about Martin Luther King, Jr.

To get your child’s mind focused on the theme of the book, you could prompt them by discussing the same moral lesson. See what their initial opinion is about it. Do they have a strong sense of it already, or do they want to learn more?

Reading the book can either confirm or change their opinion. And then you have something to talk about when you’re finished reading! 

5) Word Bingo

This game is another great option for getting your child’s mind prepped to learn vocabulary or to brush up on sight words they need a little extra help with. 

If you’d like to try this pre-reading activity, create a Bingo sheet for each of you using words from the text before your reading time. Every time you or your child hears or sees a word that matches one on your sheet, place a sticker on it. 

The first one to yell out, “Bingo!” wins.

6) Sentence Obstacle Course

This pre-reading activity is great for encouraging your child’s comprehension and sentence formulation. The stronger grasp they have on learning how to construct words into sentences, the faster they’ll adjust to the flow and structure of stories.

For this exercise, we suggest writing down several words on individual sheets of paper. Make sure you include all the components of a typical sentence — nouns, adjectives, objects, and verbs. Only include one word per piece of paper.

Next, scatter the words on the ground. We suggest adopting the “the floor is lava” rule! Your child will need to hop to different words to combine them into a sentence. 

For example, they could “write”: The (jump) cat (jump) is (jump) red. If you want them to work on their punctuation, you could include that, too!

7) Anticipation Vs. Reality

This method will help take some of those preliminary questions you and your child came up with and figure out what happens in the end!

For this game, you can play while reading or beforehand. If you want to make guesses about what will happen in the story before reading, make sure you jot them down on a piece of paper to keep track of who made the most correct guesses.

If you want to play during the story, you can ask questions to prompt your child before turning to a new page. For every correct guess they make about what happens next in the story, they earn a tally point. 

The goal is for your child to get as many points as they can!

8) Origin Story

For children who seem to show an interest in history, this might be the perfect pre-reading activity.

There are so many things you can learn from books just from discovering a little bit about their backgrounds. For example, tons of writers pull from their real lives for inspiration to write their books. 

Finding out about an author’s life in the author’s blurb and maybe even searching out more information either before or after reading can be a learning adventure all on its own!  

To do this activity, work with your child to see what you can find out about the story you’ll be reading (without spoiling the ending!). What you can learn based on the author, where they are from, where the story is based, its historical period, and its subject matter?

This helps your child build additional knowledge and gets them prepared for the story ahead!

Pre-Reading Strategies For The Win

Pre-reading strategies are all about getting your child prepared for the reading journeys to come. We hope these eight ideas will help you both have interesting, exciting conversations about books and where they can take you!

And if you ever need a little helping hand in the meantime, check out our personalized Learn & Grow App for reading exercises and adventures that will keep your child entertained, energized, and learning!

Author

Set reading goals in the Books app on iPad

The Books app helps you keep track of how many minutes you spend reading each day and how many books and audiobooks you read or listen to throughout the year. You can set goals to spend more time reading, set new reading time records, and share your progress with friends.

Change your daily reading goal

You can set your daily reading goal depending on how many minutes you want to read every day. If you haven't set your daily reading goal, it will default to 5 minutes a day.

1. Tap or rotate iPad horizontally to automatically display the side menu.

2. Tap Reading Now, then scroll down to the Reading Goals section.

3. Touch Adjust Target.

4. Swipe up or down the counter to set the number of minutes per day you want to spend reading.

When your daily reading goal is reached, you will receive a notification from the Books app. Tap this notification to view the details of your achievement or share it with your friends.

To make sure you get a notification when you reach your daily reading goal, go to Settings > Notifications > Books, then turn on "Allow Notifications".

To count PDF files towards your reading goal, go to Settings > Books and turn on the Include PDF option.

Change your yearly reading goal

After you finish reading a book or listening to an audiobook in the Books app, a collection of Books Read This Year will appear below Reading Goals. The default annual reading goal is 3 books, but you can expand or shorten your goal depending on how many books you plan to read.

1. Tap or rotate iPad horizontally to automatically display the side menu.

2. Tap Reading Now, then scroll down to the Books Read This Year section.

3. Tap the placeholder square or book cover, then tap Adjust Target.

4. Swipe up or down the counter to set the number of books per year you want to read.

When your annual reading goal is reached, you will receive a notification from the Books app. Tap this notification to view the details of your achievement or share it with your friends.

View your reading periods and highs

In the Books app, you can see how many days in a row you hit your daily reading goal, and if you set a high, you get a notification.

To view your current reading period and high score, tap the Reading Now tab, then swipe down to the Reading Goals option.

Turn on hints

You can turn on hints to remind you to move forward towards your reading goal and help you achieve it.

1. Tap or rotate iPad horizontally to automatically display the side menu.

2. Tap Reading Now, then tap your account icon in the upper right corner.

3. Tap Notifications and turn on the Hints option (green means the option is turned on).

Turn off notifications about reading goals

You can turn off notifications when you reach a reading goal or the longest reading period.

1. Tap or rotate iPad horizontally to automatically display the side menu.

2. Tap Reading Now, then tap your account icon in the upper right corner.

3. Tap Notifications and turn off Completed Goals.

Turn Reading Goals off

Go to Settings > Books and turn off Reading Goals.

When Reading Goals is turned off, the read indicators on the Reading Now tab are hidden and you do not receive read notifications.

Clear reading data

To clear reading data such as total reading time and longest reading periods, go to Settings > Books, then tap Clear Reading Goal Data.

See also Organizing books in the Books app on the iPadReading PDF documents in the Books app on the iPad

19. Plans, their types, advantages and composition.

Plan - a schematically written set short thoughts, headings (this is the "skeleton" of the work). An example of a plan is the table of contents of a book.

Plan, as a form of writing much more conveys the content of the text in detail. According to the form of reading:

1. Simple. Contains main points, does not have subparagraphs.

2. Difficult. It has subparagraphs to all the main points, that detail the content points.

Advantages plan:

1. the most short entry;

2. plan visible and visible;

3. plan summarizes the content, and well-written the plan reveals the content;

4. plan restores what was read in memory;

5. helps when making records.

When better plan?

Plan helps to actively read the source, points can be fixed in the process reading.

How to make plan?

1. make up detailed simple plan, and after transform it into a complex one (grouping common points).

2. make up a short simple plan, then read again text, write a complex plan, detailing each item. (This method is suitable for large materials).

3. Search plan (for reports, term papers, diploma works). The plan reflects the necessary logical plan for the future work, the plan is revealed gradually, sequentially, as material.

Recording of any plans, it is desirable to do so, to see the whole text (on one side of the sheet).

Restrictions plan:

- the plan tells what the source says, but does not provide information about what and how said, does not convey the actual content;

20. Concepts about abstracts

Abstracts.

Def. (1): position that absorbs the being much of the text is that proves or refutes the author how he tries to convince the reader the conclusion to which he leads him.

Def. (2): proven or disproved proposition, unlike extracts, may contain actual illustrative only material, abstracts should always have reasoning evidence. Proof has its own structure.

Proof includes:

-thesis,

-argumentation,

-demonstration.

Every of these elements of the logical structure evidence fulfills its special functions, so you can't skip not a single element.

thesis evidence is called the position, whose truth or falsity needs to be proven. All evidence reasoning is entirely subordinate to the thesis. The thesis can be formulated as at the beginning of the proof, and at any another moment.

concept reflects the properties, features inherent subject.

Judgment is a relationship between two concepts.

inference is formed from the logic of two propositions.

Thesis expressed in the form of a categorical judgments.

Some forms of judgments:

Regulation, to be proved is next…

here my thesis… = D

Before we are faced with the task of proving that…

Often the thesis is formulated in the form of a question:

you ever met a green hippo?? However, it exists.

21. Types of theses

Basic thesis: justification a number of other provisions.

Private : a position that becomes only because it proves basic. Private thesis being proven becomes a justification main.

argumentative (bases) evidence is called those judgments, which are provided to confirm or discussion of the thesis. Prove the thesis means to make judgments which would be sufficient for proof of truth or falsity advanced thesis. As arguments any true value can be given thought, if only it is connected with it.

IN based argument types:

1. facts

2. laws

3. axioms

4. definitions

5. prove evidence etc.

Abstract divided into two types:

TO each main can be composed several (sometimes many) simple ones. If abstracts are compiled in paragraphs of a complex plan, then the main can correspond main, subparagraphs - simple.

Maybe use of theses citations and annotations. To compare different points of view, and also in cases where it is necessary special care in conclusions.

Drafting theses.

Simple theses can often be composed of their quotations, the main ones are more often formulated on one's own. After preliminary familiarization, the text is read again. At the same time, the text is broken using a plan or underline and underline on a row passages. Further finding in each part of the selected text what is definitely initial membership. Discharged or just temporarily mark the main thing in the text itself, then, having understood its essence, formulate a separate statement.

22. Note taking. Types abstracts.

Note-taking - is systematic logically related a record that combines the plan, theses , extracts , or at least 2 of these types records. They, with the obligatory brevity contain not only the main provisions and conclusions, but also facts, evidence, examples and illustrations. By virtue of its definition of summary is more objective than other entries. The link for summarizing should be internal logic of presentation.

At compiling an outline, write down not just the basics, not even always avoid repetition if it is slightly different leads to question or otherwise aptly and expressively illuminates it.

Types abstracts:

• Planned

• Textile

• Loose

• Thematic

1. Planned. C using a pre-compiled plan or specially designed plan. Each question of the plan is answered certain part of the abstract.

There where the point of the plan does not require explanation you can not write the text, among the planned ones:

(and in the name of logical and semantic harmony sequence can be changed presentation of the original).

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