Stop and Think1

Te Whāinga
This activity helps students to monitor their understanding as they read.

Ngā Rautaki Whakaaro

Processing knowledge, constructing meaning, predicting, questioning.

He Kupu Matua mō te Mahi

Whakamārama, whakatau wawe, āta whakamātautau.

He Rauemi Tautoko
 A copy of the text for the teacher and one for each student.
 A chart of the five monitoring questions. 


Te Mahi 

Students read a text and pause at the end of each paragraph to ask themselves questions about their
understanding of what they have just read. This activity requires students to read much of the text
independently. Use the guided reading approach to introduce and familiarise the students with this strategy. It
would also be helpful to have the chart of questions displayed as a reference for the students. Encourage
students to constantly think about what they are reading by stopping and asking themselves the questions
outlined in this activity.

Te Ara Tohutohu
1. Introduce the text to the students and ask students to read the first paragraph and then to pause.
2. After students have read the paragraph have students ask themselves:
 He pēhea tō ku māramatanga ki te tikanga o te kō wae nei? 

Do I understand what that was about?
 He kore mārama nōku ki ētahi atu wāhanga? 

Were there any parts I do not understand?
 E taea ana te whakamārama i tērā kua pānuitia e au ki tētahi atu? 

Could I explain what I’ve read to someone else?
 He aha pea te tikanga o te kō wae ka whai muri iho? 

What might the next paragraph be about?
 He pātai āku hei whakautu? 

Are there any questions I need to have answered?

3. Follow this format for each paragraph.

1Adapted from Education Department of Western Australia (1996, p. 73). The English versions of the questions in this activity on
page 261 are from this text.
4. Repeat this procedure each day using a variety of texts to familiarise students with the procedure.
5. Finally, have students read the text independently, encouraging them to pause after reading a paragraph
and ask themselves the above questions.