What is Anticipation Guide?

An Anticipation Guide is a strategy that is used before reading to activate students' prior
knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic. Before reading a selection, students respond to
several statements that challenge or support their preconceived ideas about key concepts in the
text. Using this strategy stimulates students' interest in a topic and sets a purpose for reading.
Anticipation guides can be revisited after reading to evaluate how well students understood the
material and to correct any misconceptions.

Purpose of the strategy

Help students to activate their prior knowledge and experience and think about the ideas they
will be reading.
Encourage students to make a personal connection with a topic or unit of work so that they can
integrate new knowledge with their background experience and prior knowledge.
It connects students personal knowledge and experience with a curriculum topic or issue.
It is used to engage with topics, themes and issues at students current level of understanding.
Gives the children a purpose for reading subject-area text.
Help students to become familiar and comfortable with a topic before reading unfamiliar text.

Step-by-step approach of the strategy

Step 1Teacher-directed whole-group instruction (40 minutes)

Explain the strategy. Explain to students what previewing means (i.e., setting
a purpose for reading). Show students the Anticipation Guide for Teammates
and explain how it is used. Show students the cover of Teammates and ask
them what they notice (e.g., men in baseball caps, one black man and one
white man). Ask students what they know about having teammates.
Demonstrate the strategy. Read statement 1 in the first column of the
Anticipation Guide for Teammates aloud and fill in the second column marked
"Agree/Disagree." Then, read the first two pages of Teammates and
demonstrate how to complete the last three columns of the anticipation guide
for statement 1. Be sure to think aloud while modeling so that students can
hear and understand your thought process.

Guide students to apply the strategy. As a whole class, have students mark
whether they agree or disagree with statements 24 on the anticipation guide
(column two only). Encourage student discussion.

Practice individually or in small groups. Have students work with the person
next to them to decide whether they agree or disagree with statements 57
on the anticipation guide (column two only). Then read Teammates aloud and
complete the last three columns for statements 24 together as a class.
Students can pair off with the same partner to complete the last three
columns for statements 57.

Reflect. Lead a short discussion with students about how the anticipation
guide helped them to better understand the text.
Step 2:Teacher-guided small groups and student-facilitated independent practice
Before beginning Stage 2, students must be divided into three instructional-level
groups. Students with similar instructional needs should be grouped together. This
does not necessarily mean that students in each group are on the same reading
level. Instead, they may have similar needs for comprehension instruction (e.g.,
students who have trouble making inferences or students who need extra practice
making connections between texts).

Students are working in three different areas during this stage:

Teacher-guided small-group instruction

Student-facilitated comprehension centers

Student-facilitated comprehension routines

Classroom management is at the discretion of each individual teacher. You may

want to assign students to small groups and set up a rotation schedule, or you may
want to allow groups of students to choose their own activities. Regardless, each
group of students needs to visit the three areas at least once in the three-day
period.
1.Teacher-guided small-group instruction. Choose one group to begin with you as
follows:

Review what anticipation guides are and how they can help readers comprehend
texts.

Use an instructional-level text to have students practice the previewing strategy

(see Suggested Booklist for Jackie Robinson). In advance of this activity, you will
need to prepare an anticipation guide for each text selected for each instructionallevel group.

Have students practice the strategy by working together to complete the

anticipation guide.

Have students reflect on using the anticipation guide and how it helped them
monitor their own comprehension.

2.
Student-facilitated comprehension centers. Students may be assigned to
centers or choose activities on their own.

Reading response center. Working in pairs, have each student select a different
book. The book should be one that the student has read before. Using the blank
Anticipation Guide sheet, have each student create an anticipation guide for the
book that he or she selected. Have partners trade anticipation guides and books to
complete and read independently. When finished, students can discuss the results
with their partners.

Internet center. Working in pairs, have each student choose one of the online
Resources related to Jackie Robinson. Each student in the pair should choose a
different website to read and preview. After reading, students can use the blank
anticipation guide sheets to create anticipation guides for the websites they
selected. Have students trade anticipation guides with their partner to complete
using the online information.

Drama center. Select one text for small groups of students to use in this center.
Students should preview elements of the text (e.g., title page, back cover,
illustrations or photographs) and make predictions about the story. Then, ask them
to work together to act out what they anticipate the story will be about. After
preparing their skit before reading, have students read the text and revise their skit
to reflect what the text was really about. Encourage students to discuss the
differences between the two skits.

Making books center. In this center, students write a short story about a sports
event or teamwork experience and create an anticipation guide to go with it.
Students can trade anticipation guides and stories with a peer to complete and
read. Have students reflect on the process and this activity in their comprehension
journals.

3.
Student-facilitated comprehension routines. Working in small groups,
students engage in three different literacy strategies. Students should already be
familiar with each of the strategies and have practiced them over time.
Stage 3 Whole-group reflection
1) Talk to students about the previewing strategy. Ask them to tell why and how
previewing helps them better understand texts.

2) Talk to students about the anticipation guides and how they helped to
preview stories.

3) Give students time to share the activities they completed during the studentfacilitated comprehension centers.