In order for a reader to be able to read and understand a text there is a great deal of work that they must do in their head. As shared in The Importance of Strategies, readers use a variety of strategic actions and strategies to process what they are reading.  Predicting is one of twelve strategic action we will explore in this Strategic Action Series. 

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 automatically solving words and monitoring his comprehension might realize it and pause to reread or search for more information. He might also search his background knowledge, make connections, and, by comparing present knowledge to new learning, synthesize new ideas.

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 Adjusting Fluency, a strategic action identified by Fountas and Pinnell (Literacy Continuum, Expanded Edition, 2017).

Predicting

We are constantly making predictions in our everyday lives. We think about the results of our actions and consider what to do. Your child should make predictions as they read- from the time they pick up the book until the end. They will use what they know to anticipate what will happen next.  They may use the words, sentences, events in the plot, or the pattern of the text to make predictions.  They may also make predictions based on what they know about the characters in the story. “Prediction is a key part of thinking; we do it all the time and it is critical in reading” (Fountas and Pinnell, Guided Reading (2e), p. 199).

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 Predicting

1. Set Up for Success

Great for any Reading Levels

Strategy Steps

It is important to set ourselves up for success.

1. Look at the cover.
2. Think about what the book is about.
3. Think about what how the book will go.
4. Think about what you know about the topic.
5. Think about what you know about other books by this author or other books in this series.
6. Keep in mind what you are thinking about the text and what you already know as you read. This will help you make helpful predictions about the text.

Example: If you are familiar with a particular series, you will know many of the characters and how they will react to given situations. You will also know that there will be a problem and how it could potentially be solved.

You can prompt your child to adjust their reading by asking the following questions:

• How do these pages/chapters/sections connect?
• How does what you learned on this page fit with what you learned on that page?
• How did the character get from here to there?

2. Patterns

Great for Reading Levels H and up

Strategy Steps

1. 1. As you are reading, notice if something repeats whether it is an object, a person, the setting, or an issue.
   2. Ask yourself, “What could this symbolize?” or “What does the author seem to be saying about this issue?”
   3. Consider whether or not you expect to see it again as you continue reading the text.
   4. Make predictions about how the text will continue to go and end based on the patterns you are noticing.

    

You can prompt your child to make a plan for their reading by asking the following questions:

• What repeats?
• What could that mean?
• What issue are you noticing repeat?

 3. Clues from the Blurb

Great for Reading Levels J and up 

 Strategy Steps

1. Before reading the text, read the back blurb.
2. Considering what you read, think about how the text will go and/or what you expect to learn.

You can prompt your child to slow down for specific details by asking the following questions:

• What might a problem in the story be?
• What do you think the character might learn?
• Considering the problem, what might the lesson be?

4. Title Help

Great for Reading Levels J and up

 Strategy Steps

1. Before starting a new chapter or section, pause to think about what you have already read.
2. Read the title of the next chapter/section.
3. Based on what you’ve already read and the title of the next chapter/section, think about what might happen or be presented in the next chapter/section.

You can prompt your child to stop and picture phrases by asking the following questions:

• What do you think will happen in this chapter/section?
• What do you think will happen next?
• Why do you think that?
• What has happened or what have you learned up to this point?
• Based on what you know about this book and how you think this kind of book goes, what do you think will happen next?

 5. Predictability of Series Books 

Great for Reading Levels J -Q

 Strategy Steps

1. When you start reading a new book, think about other books you have read in the series.
2. Think, “What do I know about these books that could be true for this one too?”
3. Think about the characters you may encounter.
4. Think about the kinds of problems occur in books in this series.
5. Think about how a character solves problems in books in this series.
6. Make a prediction about how this new book will go.

You can prompt your child to identify the text and features better by asking the following questions:

• • What do you know about other books in this series?
  • Is there a pattern of how the text goes in other books that you’ve read?
  • What might happen based on what you know about how problems were solved in other books in this series?
  • How might this book end based on other books you’ve read in this series?

Check out these posts for more strategies to support strategic actions:

• Searching for and Using Information
• Monitoring and Self-Correcting
• Solving words
• Maintaining Fluency
• Summarizing
• Adjusting
• Making Connections
• Synthesizing
• Inferring
• Critiquing
• 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.