Reading for Meaning. You might not think that there's much difference between reading for content and reading for meaning, but read on - the two complement each other, and distinguishing between them can save you lots of time and effort. Reading for meaning is the deepest level of reading. Here you should already know the gist or context of the text (narrative/skim reading); you should probably also know much of the information it deals with (reading for content). What you are after then, are the fine nuances of the text; the things the author hasn't said, as much as the things he/she has included; the justifications and the doubts; the educated guesses and the clever deceptions. This is critical reading, and you'll need it to create the analytical arguments you use in your essays.

Definition: Pre reading

The process of skimming a text to locate key ideas before reading a text (or a chapter

of a text) from start to finish.

Prereading (or surveying) provides an overview that can increase reading speed and

efficiency. Prereading typically involves looking at (and thinking about) titles,

chapter introductions, summaries, headings, subheadings, study questions,

and conclusions.

Observations:

"To be successful today, it not only becomes necessary to skim, but it becomes

essential to skim well."

(Shreeharsh Kelkar, quoted by Alan Jacobs in "We Can't Teach Students to Love

Reading." The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 31, 2011)

"Prereading strategies allow students to think about what they already know about a

given topic and predict what they will read or hear. Before students read any text,

teachers can direct their attention to how a text is organized, teach

unfamiliarvocabulary or other concepts, search for the main idea, and provide students

with a purpose for reading or listening. Most importantly, teachers can use prereading

strategies to increase students' interest in a text."

(Danny Brassell and Timothy Rasinski, Comprehension That Works. Shell Education,

2008)

The Purpose of Prereading

"Prereading encompasses all of the things that you do, before you start reading, to

increase your capacity to understand the material. In many cases, taking just a few

minutes to learn more about what you are about to read can dramatically increase your

reading comprehension and retention. . . .

"If you build the big picture before you start, you begin reading the text with a

conceptual framework already in place. Then, when you encounter a new detail or a

new bit of evidence in your reading, your mind will know what to do with it."

(Michael Austin, Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. W.W. Norton, 2007)

The Four Ps

"Prereading includes four steps: Preview, Predict, Prior Knowledge, and

Purpose. You can remember these steps by thinking of them as the '4 Ps.'

"Previewing is taking a quick look at a reading before trying to understand the

whole thing. . . .

"[In predicting, you] look at clues from what you read, see, or already know to

figure out what information you are likely to get from the reading. . . .

"Prior knowledge is what you know about a subject before you begin a new

reading about it. . . .

"The fourth 'P' in prereading is purpose. . . . Figuring out an author's purpose will

help you understand what you read."

(Content-Area Reading Strategies for Language Arts. Walch Publishing, 2003)

Questioning

"Begin by having students identify their purpose for reading. Then, lead students

in generating a list of prereading questions that will help them to achieve their

purpose."

(Successful Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas, 2nd ed. Shell

Education, 2008)

 

Pre-reading activities motivate the students and encourage involvement in the topic and theme of the text.  A Pre-reading activity should start off your unit of literature whenever it is appropriate to do so.   

Examples of Pre-Reading Activities:

Oral Discussion or a short written activity Brainstorming the theme Playing music to set the tone Eliciting vocabulary around the theme Doing an enactment around the theme Asking a thought-provoking question Asking lead-in questions Showing a short YouTube clip or a scene from a movie Cartoon, riddle, joke Thinking about the title Using pictures related to the theme

Post Reading: Tasks and Strategies

 The task of the after-reading stage is to integrate or synthesize the read material into one's knowledge base of the topic. Students need to make the material their own. This can be achieved through a variety of means employing writing, class discussion, visual representations, and physical demonstration. Strategies for the After-Reading Stage The most obvious and widely used strategy for the after-reading stage is to answer questions in writing--either comprehension questions at the end of a chapter or questions handed out by the teacher. Answering such questions is good because they directly relate to the concepts in the reading and require students to put their understanding into words. Because the wording or structure of some textbook questions is very complex, it may be advisable to reword the question at a more user-friendly level that still taps into the students' comprehension of the concepts. Several of the other SEA Site modules discuss the relative complexities of English grammatical structures and offer guidelines for avoiding or simplifying more complex structures for specific purposes. 

Another after-reading strategy involves the use of learning logs. Learning logs are similar to journals that encourage students to put into words what they learned from the reading and to reflect upon their own learning experiences and learning needs. A teacher can prepare a learning log handout that includes the following components: Questions about the content of the reading for students to answer in their own words Questions about the difficulty level of the reading material and a statement about the time and effort expended by the student in doing the work A comparison of the actual content of the reading with what the student had predicted in the before-reading stageItems related to new vocabulary or terms learned in the reading Goal-setting for future learning needs For further details on learning logs, see the "Other Activities" section of the SEA Site module, Reading and Writing in Content Areas. Summary writing is another way for students to put concepts from the reading into their own words. A good summary … Should reflect the major/key points of a reading Should be a "capsule" of the reading in condensed form Provides the instructor with a good mirror of the student's comprehension of the reading Finally, K-W-L Charts, which were discussed in the section, "Before Reading: Tasks and Strategies," are another way for students to record what they learned from a reading. The "L" question is relevant to the after-reading stage: K = What do I know already about this topic?W = What do I want to know?L = What did I learn from this reading? Classroom Activities

 There a variety of classroom activities that can be employed in the after-reading stage to help students in their comprehension of read materials. These include (a) concept maps, (b) role-play, (c) quiz making, and (d) research fairs. Concept maps are visual representations of read material and allow for a variety of expressions, depending on the nature of the material. For many students, visual representations are valuable learning and study tools. It is hard to specify "directions" for the myriad types of webs, charts, pie diagrams, and matrices that can represent related ideas. Vacca and Vacca's (1996) text, Content Area Reading, offers a multitude of examples. See the SEA Site module, Reading and Writing in Content Areas, for details on the use of "graphic organizers" and other types of concept maps. Role-play activities allow students to act out concepts. For example, in a computer technology class, after students read about the functions of the various computer components, the teacher could select students to act out the roles of the CPU, the monitor, the modem, and the printer. Quiz making is another student activity that can facilitate comprehension in the after-reading stage. Quiz making encourages students to think like the course instructor and, at the same time, to consider what concepts in the reading are key: "If you were the teacher and you wanted to test your students on this chapter, what would you ask?" This activity can be done as an individual assignment or in collaborative groups or pairs. Students can be encouraged to create a variety of question types. At the end of a chapter or unit, students may want to learn more about the topic or to go more in depth in a particular area. When a course includes a research project component or the opportunity for extra credit, students can gather more information about an area of their interest. Having a research fair, in which students present to the class, can be a very motivating experience. Teachers can encourage students to make Power Point presentations, to use other visual displays, or to create hands-on experiential activities. Conclusion Giving students the opportunity to express their understanding of the reading, either in writing, discussion, graphic representation, or role play, allows them to

learn from each other and to integrate the content of reading material into their knowledge base.

Post-reading activities offer the students the opportunity to make connections with the text(s) and their own experiences, self-expression, and creative responses in light of having read and analyzed the text. These activities enable students to apply a more global understanding and interpretation of the text and integrate information from different parts of the text.’

post-reading strategiesPost-reading or after-reading strategies are active reading strategies implemented after reading a book.  Post-reading strategies are composed of reviewing assignments or activities that will prolong the official completion, but will anchor new concepts and sharpen opinions. 

Post-reading strategies are considered response strategies and sometimes accounted repair strategies.

Below are some post-reading or after-reading strategies.---

1. Reread.  [verified]  Reread all of the Balancing the Sword questions that you completed in the during-reading strategies.  Skim read the book again.

2. Summary.    [verified]  Retell the story.  Outline the story from your notes in the during-reading strategies.  Write you own book summary or review.  Write a formal book report.

3. Compare and contrast this book to another by the same author or during the same time or of the same genre.  Give three similarities and three dissimilarities between this book and _____________.

4. Theater.  Perform a dramatic reading or a theatrical reenactment of all or part of the book with full inflections and facial expression.

5. Review.  Using the Balancing the Sword questions, have your parent or a sibling quiz you.

6. Vocabulary.  Review the vocabulary provided by your parent or teacher in the pre-reading strategies and the new terms that you amassed vocabulary in the during-reading strategies.

7. Reflect upon the questions that you developed before the pre-reading strategies.  Which questions were answered?

8. Predictions.  Which of your predictions made in the phase of pre-reading strategies were correct?

9. What did you learn? Complete the L-column of the KWL Worksheet.10. Appraisal.  Could the same ideas have been conveyed in a simpler

format?  On a scale of one to five with one being below your reading and

comprehension level, with three being equal to your reading and comprehension level, and with five being above your comprehension level, how would you rate the difficulty of this book? 1 2 3 4 5.

11. Predictions.  Were the stories or ideas in the book as you expected?12. Setting.  What did you learn about the cultural context of the book

from reading the book?13. Comment. Give your opinion on _______________.14. Plot.  Write down the main events of this book as a plot sequence. 15. Visualize.  Create a stick figure depiction of each scene.  Use only

___________ frames to match your plot.  Like a comic strip.  Draw a picture of one scene. A stick figure is acceptable.

16. Personalize.  [verified]  What feelings did this book stir within you?  What did you find most interesting or appealing? What do you still find confusing?  What did you learn that you might find applicable in your life?  The objective is to relate aspects of the story to your own experiences and feelings.

17. Research.  [verified]  Exercise your skills to unearth additional insights about some part of the story.  Your possibilities are near endless.  Eligible resources include almanacs, private, academic, or government publications, Internet, news agencies, and information services.

rereading, * note taking,  * summarizing,  * outlining,  * writing a formal report, and  * relating what is read to his or her own experiences and feelings.  * research:  *  (skills and tools) [almanacs, government publications,

microfiche , Internet, news sources, and information services] Study Resources for Classic Writings, Sermons, and Commentaries: Regarding biblical study, there are several tools which are especially

helpful:  dictionary, concordance, lexicon, interlinear Bible, encyclipedia, commentaries.  These tools are free at various websites: