Pre-Reading Activity Template

Grade Level and Content Area: English Language Arts (ELA), 9th Grade

Standards/Learning Objectives: (slightly modified) How can you apply guidelines for
evaluating sources and their information to promote a culture of ethics on the Internet?

Standards of Learning (SOL)

9.8 The student will find, evaluate, and select credible resources to create a research product.
a) Verify the validity and accuracy of all information.
b) Analyze information gathered from diverse sources by identifying misconceptions,
main and supporting ideas, conflicting information, point of view, or bias.
f) Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet.

Description and Rationale: The pre-reading strategy I will use is an anticipation guide. The
preactive phase of the learning cycle involves preparing students for active learning by
addressing their prior knowledge. Anticipation guides address prior knowledge by asking
students to assess what they believe about a certain topic and what they think the text will reveal.
In the English Language Arts discipline, students are presented with a variety of texts and will be
asked to evaluate their credibility. To successfully evaluate sources, students must be
familiarized with the processes involved; an informational reading containing guidelines on
evaluating sources will be provided to them. An anticipation guide is appropriate in this situation
as the guidelines contain dense (informational) material and concepts that may be unfamiliar to
students. By allowing students to analyze main ideas through an anticipation guide, they are
better prepared to actively read and parse text for information that promotes learning. Without
guidance through the pre-reading activity, students are placed into reading with no preparation
and must navigate material on their own.

Materials: The material needed for this activity is a digital device (mobile phone, tablet, or
computer) with Internet connection and access to Google Workspace, specifically Google Docs
as well as websites on the public domain. In the case that a physical copy is needed or preferred,
pre-printed copies of both the activity and subsequent reading will be available; students will
need a pen or pencil to complete physical copies of the activity. A digital copy and exemplar
may be found here.

Instructional Steps and Differentiation:

After spending the first 30 minutes of class engaging with a warm-up and introducing a new unit
on research, the remainder of the period will cover the unit’s initial topic on evaluating sources.
The pre-reading activity is designed to take ~15 minutes with additional time allotted to
introduce and wrap-up the activity (total of ~30 minutes).
1) Introduction (5 minutes): The instructor will introduce the new topic on evaluating
sources. Students will receive instruction on the relevance of sources in the field of
research and invited to answer these questions:
a. What is a source? What are examples of sources or types of sources?
b. Why are sources relevant to research? How do the two relate?
c. Why do we evaluate sources? What are the dangers of not evaluating sources?
2) Assignment Details (10 minutes): After students think and respond to the probing
questions, the instructor will display the pre-reading activity (available via Google Docs)
on the projector. Pre-printed physical copies will be provided to students who request or
need them.
a. The instructor will read aloud the scenario (found on the document) and ask
students to pair with others and respond to the questions posed at the end of the
description.
i. Students will be encouraged to think about the previous discussion on
sources while forming their responses.
ii. After students think and pair with others, they will be invited to share their
responses with the class (think-pair-share).
b. The instructor will transition by explaining the relevance of the scenario to the
goal and purpose of the activity (found on the document).
i. i.e., How does being able to explain the reliability of sources contribute to
evaluating sources? How does this pertain to research?
c. The instructor will explain the contents of the pre-reading activity and which
sections students are responsible for.
i. i.e., How will the activity prepare students for reading?
3) Sample (2 minutes): The instructor will sample a response for both Part I and Part II of
the activity. This will also be displayed on the projector.
4) Activity (10 minutes): The students will have 10 minutes to complete the anticipation
guide. Students may pair up with a partner if needed or preferred.
a. Students who finish the activity early will be encouraged to complete the optional
sections where they must provide a rationale for their responses (i.e., gifted and
talented students).
b. Students may complete the activity orally if needed or preferred (i.e, students with
mobility or visual impairments).
i. Students may orally complete the activity in their native language if
working independently or with a language exchange partner (i.e., English
Language Learners).
5) Wrap-Up (5 minutes): The instructor will introduce the texts students will read now that
they have completed the anticipation guide. Students do not have to submit the activity.
a. The instructor will briefly introduce the readings that the activity will respond to
by summarizing their contents and explaining their relation to the unit on
research.
i. i.e., What do the readings plan to address?
b. The instructor will wrap-up by encouraging students to think about their
responses in their anticipation guide and how they apply to the information
presented in the readings.
Impact on Instructional Decisions: Activities such as anticipation guides address all elements
of the learning cycle and promote learning to its maximum. The benefit gained from this result
influences my decision in including pre-reading activities, especially anticipation guides, into my
future instruction. During the preactive phase of the cycle, anticipation guides allow students to
explore key concepts in preparation for reading. At the same time, activities may be aligned with
instruction to facilitate learning (see Instructional Steps and Differentiation). When paired with
instruction, the pre-reading activity engages students in the interactive phase as they are invited
to question and think about unfamiliar information. Additionally, students are placed into the
reflective phase as they share and discuss their responses to the activity with others.
Consequently, with all three phases concentrated on, pre-reading activities elevate the level of
learning that students engage with during instruction.