Simone Bissonnette

Special Education
Strategies for Reading
Part 2
July 15, 2020 Comprehension
“The process of comprehension is both interactive and strategic.
Quote Rather than passively reading text, readers must analyze it, internalize
it and make it their own.” (Read Naturally Inc., 2020)

Strategies for High School Students

Finding literacy resources for your high school students can be a struggle. There
is a plethora of articles and studies for students in elementary school, yet you
would be lucky to find one for high school students. However, there are ways to
help your struggling high school students learn strategies for reading
comprehension.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/pile-of-books-159866/

Effective readers have a vast tool-kit of reading strategies that they employ almost
unconsciously. Weaker readers need to be explicitly taught what these strategies
are and how to use them. When it comes to reading, there are strategies for the
different stages of reading: Before, During, and After.
 2

“Students can be taught to be strategic and effective readers.”

Quote (Think Literacy)

Before Reading
Students:
 use what they already know to think about the topic
 make predictions about the possible content and meaning of the text
 preview the text by skimming and scanning to get a sense of the overall meaning

For example, the teacher can create 10 to 12 prompts to guide the students through a
preview of a book. The prompts could include questions about the cover, the title, the
blurb on the back, discussing topics that will arise in the text.

During Reading
Students:

 check their understanding by asking questions, thinking about and reflecting on

the ideas and information in the text

For example, the teacher can have students to create character descriptions of how they
change throughout the story, help students infer the meaning of words using clues from
the text, have class discussions about what is the most and least important information in
the text.

After Reading
Students:

 reflect on the ideas that came up in the text

 make connections between what they read and their own experiences
 clarify their understanding of the text
 extend their understanding in critical and creative ways

For example, the teacher can have students express their opinions, make judgements,
determine the themes and lessons in the story, assess different view-points and
perspectives, summarize, show how their thinking has changed.

Resources:
 Reading comprehension strategies and lesson ideas:
o Adolescent Learning Guide: A Professional Learning Resource for Literacy, Grades 7-12
 http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesLIT/AdolescentLiteracy/Vision/AdolescentLiteracyGuide_Interactive.pdf
o Comprehension: The Goal of Reading
 https://www.readnaturally.com/research/5-components-of-reading/comprehension
o Teach the Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers
 http://www.adlit.org/article/19844/
o The FIVES Strategy for Reading Comprehension
 https://www.learningsciences.com/media/catalog/product//f/i/fives_lookinside.pdf
o Think Literacy: Cross-Curricular Approaches, Grades 7-12
 http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/studentsuccess/thinkliteracy/files/Reading.pdf