Text Box: Summer Reading Strategies   Here are some helpful strategies that effective readers use before reading, during reading, and after reading.   Before Reading ·  Set aside time and find a quiet place to enjoy your book. ·  Set short-term reading goals: an hour a week is a good start. ·  Preview what you are going to read by looking at the jacket, chapter titles, headings, illustrations, captions and other text features. ·  Reflect on what you already know about the content of the book. ·  Be willing to be a bit confused as you begin reading; even the very best readers struggle to make sense of a book as they begin reading. During Reading ·  Update your reading log at the end of each time you read. ·  Make predictions as you read and then see if they come true. ·  Stop reading at the end of each chapter and try to summarize what you have read. ·  Make connections between what you already know and what you are reading. ·  Try to visualize what your are reading as if the book were a movie in your head. ·  Pose questions about your reading and talk with others about your book. ·  Keep a reader’s journal and reflect on your reading in writing. After Reading ·  Create your own graphic organizer to show the relationships among important ideas, characters, events, etc. ·  Check your predictions to see if they came true. ·  Reflect on what you liked and/or disliked about the book. ·  Consider whether or not you would recommend this book to someone else. ·  Make personal connections to the characters and themes of the book.

 

Text Box: Choosing a Great Book!   ·  Read the back. ·  Read the flap. ·  Use the five finger rule on the first few pages. (If there are more than 5 words on a page that you do not understand, it is probably best to select a new book.) ·  Use the Goldilock’s strategy- Is the text and/or book too little, too big or just right? ·  Ask yourself the following questions: 1.       Have I read other books by the same author that I liked? 2.       What genre is this book? 3.       Is this a book in a series? 4.       Does the title sound interesting? 5.       Do I have a personal connection with the text? 6.       Have any of my friends read the book?  If so, do they recommend it? 7.       Has the book won any awards? ·  Ask the librarian or the associate at the book store for help.