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Strategies Change Over Time
When young children begin reading, they may use very simple strategies like memorizing or remembering the words in a story and reciting them as they see the pictures. As they learn more about letters, words, and books, they will begin using strategies like:
- Pausing when something doesn’t make sense (self-monitoring)
- Looking at the picture, thinking about the sentence, and looking at the first letters to make sure what they have read “looks right,” “sounds right,” and “makes sense.” (cross-checking sources of information)
- Reread a word to read it correctly when they misread the word the first time. (self-correcting)
As young readers have more and more time to read and experience books, they develop their ability to use more sophisticated strategic actions as they read.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
It is important to note that readers use strategic actions simultaneously. Unfortunately, many children view them as separate actions or even as their goal of their reading. This may be the case if you’ve ever heard your child say, “This week I am inferring.” This happens when strategies are talked about in isolation or if your child does most of their strategy work with worksheets. Even though we may attempt to strengthen a strategic action by talking about it in isolation, it is always important to remind your child that they use many strategic actions and strategies to understand what we are reading.
Here is an example shared by Fountas and Pinnell in Guided Reading (2e)
-
A child who is monitoring her understanding of key words might solve one by taking it apart by syllables, connect to known words, gain insight into or infer the motives of a character, and predict what the character will do to resolve the problem she has analyzed.
Even though these actions are listed in a sequence, many take place simultaneously. Our brains can work so quickly and can do such much.
Now let’s take a look at Critiquing, a strategic action identified by Fountas and Pinnell (Literacy Continuum, Expanded Edition, 2017).
Critiquing
As we read, we should think critically about the words we are reading and the images we are seeing. Thinking critically means that we evaluate what the writer says and we form opinions about it. Young readers may do this by simply thinking about whether or not they think the text was enjoyable, funny or interesting and why. As readers grow, they need to consider more complex criteria such as accuracy and authenticity.
Readers need to learn to evaluate things like:
- Is there bias?
- Are characters believable?
- Is this argument based on facts?
- Does the plot unfold logically?
- Is the writing high quality?
To learn more about how we approach think about texts, visit this post: Develop Critical Thinking Skills and Analyze Texts – Start Young
Check out the Reading Level Specific Posts to see questions you can ask or prompts you can give to support your child’s use of this strategic action.
5 Fantastic Strategies to Encourage Critiquing
1. Readers Ask Questions
Great for Reading Levels N and up
Strategy Steps
- Before you read, ask yourself questions to check for understanding and to think deeper. You can ask yourself questions like:
- What am I wondering about?
- What do I think I will learn in this text?
- Do I expect a different perspective?
- While you are reading, ask yourself questions to check for understanding and to think deeper. You can ask yourself questions like:
- From whose perspective is this story being told?
- Whose perspective is absent from this story? What would that person say or do or think about this?
- Is what’s happening in the story fair?
- After you read, ask yourself questions to check for understanding and to think deeper. You can ask yourself questions like:
- Who has power?
- Why does power matter in this book?
- Who am I upset with in the story?
- What is the root of the issue?
You can prompt your child to ask themselves questions by asking the following questions:
- What are you wondering?
- What question can you ask to think about this text even deeper?
- What question could you ask about fairness?
- What question could you ask about power?
2. Issues that Repeat
Great for Reading Levels N and up
Strategy Steps
- As you read, think about an issue that keeps showing up in chapter after chapter. Some examples: race, class, gender, bullying. If it helps to organize your thoughts, jot down the issue on a piece of paper or in a notebook.
- Think about what the characters say about this issue. If it helps to organize your thoughts, jot down how the characters are responding to the issue on a piece of paper or in a notebook.
- Think about what the narrator says about this issue. If it helps to organize your thoughts, jot down what the narrator says about the issue on a piece of paper or in a notebook.
- Ask yourself, “What does the author appear to be saying about this issue?”
You can prompt your child to pay attention to issues that repeat by asking the following questions:
- What issue are you noticing repeat?
- What is the author saying about this issue?
- Based on what that character is saying, how do you think the author feels about this issue?
3. Pay Attention for Opinions
Great for Reading Levels M and up
Strategy Steps
- As you are reading, notice how the text is organized.
- Then think, “Does the author state an opinion and then back it up, or does the author give details then close with an opinion?”
- Considering the structure, notice how the author presents layers of information. Are you catching each of the details and how they support the authors opinion?
- Ask yourself, “how did the organization of this text and the details the author gave affect how I feel about the author’s opinion?”
You can prompt your child to consider how an author presents an opinion by asking the following questions:
- What’s the author’s opinion?
- What reasons support the opinion?
- What evidence backs up the reasons?
- Can you summarize the information you learned in this section?
- How is this text organized?
- How does the author present his/her opinion?
4. Author’s Perspective
Great for any Reading Levels P and up
Strategy Steps
- Make sure you understand the main idea of a text.
- Now think about the author’s perspective. Several ways to do this:
- Think about the choices the author makes – what information is included and what information is left out?
- Think about what group or groups the author might belong to. (Example: In the Face to Face with Lions book, Beverly and Derek Joubert are conservationists so being a part of this group will affect their perspective)
- Consider what role this topic plays for the author. (Example: Observing lions is Beverly and Derek Joubert’s livelihood and what they have dedicated over 25 years to. Knowing this (which can be found on the back of the book) you can see why they present lions the way they do)
- Then ask yourself where you stand on this topic.
You can prompt your child to pay attention to the author’s perspective by asking the following questions:
- What do you know about the author?
- How do you feel about this topic?
- Who seems to have power? What does that make you think about this?
- Do you agree with the way the author presented this topic? Why or why not?
5. Pay Attention to Word Choice
Great for Reading Levels M and up
Strategy Steps
- As you read, notice the words the author is using to describe the main topic or the main characters.
- Stop and think about why the author chose each specific words.
- Consider how strong words the author uses connect to each other. Notice if there is a pattern or commonality between the words.
- Ask yourself, “does this word make me feel or think a certain way about this character/topic?”
- As you continue reading, continue to notice the author’s word choice to determine how the author wants you to feel about the topic/character.
- If you are reading a nonfiction book, don’t forget to pay attention to the word choice in headings and captions.
You can prompt your child to pay attention to word choice by asking the following questions:
- Considering how this word is used, do you think it is a positive word?
- Why do you think the author chose this word?
- What other words could work here?
- What else could that word mean?
- How else could that word be used?
Check out these posts for more strategies to support strategic actions:
- Searching for and Using Information
- Monitoring and Self-correcting
- Solving words
- Maintaining Fluency
- Adjusting
- Summarizing
- Predicting
- Synthesizing
- Making Connections
- Inferring
- Analyzing
Resources:
- Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2017). Guided reading: Responsive teaching across the grades. Heinemann.
- Pinnell, G. S., & Fountas, I. C. (2007). The Continuum of Literacy Learning, Grades K-8: Behaviors and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support. Heinemann.
- Serravallo, J. (2015). The reading strategies book: Your everything guide to developing skilled readers (Vol. 11). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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