In the classroom, the teachers can use a wide range of learning strategies to allow the students to learn and develop their language skills. The following are 4 learning strategies for fostering and focusing students’ reading.
Learning strategies are tools and techniques that learners can use to develop as they learn.
As a teacher, one of your biggest challenges is to plan lessons that inspire students and keep them actively involved in the learning process.
But traditional, teacher-centred learning plans aren’t always helpful in achieving that inspiration. That’s where active learning strategies come into play.
You can use these learning strategies to empower, engage, and stimulate students and put them at the centre of the learning process.
Learning strategies can help students not only improve their reading comprehension but also think more creatively and engage and focus in the process of reading.
Here are the target 4 learning strategies that teachers can use for fostering and focusing students’ reading with the aim of each and how to implement them in the classroom.
1. Text Featuring
The strategy aims at:
- Fostering reading comprehension.
Steps to implement the strategy in the classroom:
- Give students a copy of a chapter or article without any text features, such as title, bolded words, graphics, charts, sub-titles, etc.
- Provide students with these features on a cut-and-paste sheet.
- Ask students to work in pairs or groups to cut and paste the article/chapter features that would normally support the text.
Text Featuring helps students see the value of the features that are included in their textbooks.
2. A-B Each Teach
The strategy aims at:
- Fostering reading comprehension.
Steps to implement the strategy in the classroom:
- Divide the students into pairs.
- Pairs designate one student as A and the other as B.
- Student A reads one section of the text and student B reads another section of the text.
- When both are ready, they teach their section or give a summary of the text to their partner.
3. Focused Read
The strategy aims at:
- Helping students pay attention when reading a new text.
Steps to implement the strategy in the classroom:
- Assign a piece of text (story, chapter, or article) for students and instruct them to make tracks in their reading.
- Ask students to place an exclamation mark (!) after anything that is new learning for them, a question mark (?) after anything that is puzzling to them, and a check mark (√) after anything that makes sense to them in the reading.
- Ask students to share with one another (stand-up, hand-up, pair-up, or shoulder partner) to deepen their understanding of what they have read.
4. Circle-Triangle-Square
The strategy aims at:
- Helping students focus their reading by highlighting important information in a reading text.
Steps to implement the strategy in the classroom:
Give a sheet of paper to each student (or draw a sample on the board and have students recreate it for their own use) with three shapes:
- A Square and the statement: What Squares with my thinking? In other words, what part of the reading matches my own thoughts, knowledge, beliefs, or emotions? Students use the space next to the square or within the square to record their thinking.
- A triangle with the following question next to it: What three points (things) do I want to remember about this text? Students then summarize their reading and record three things they wish to remember in or next to the triangle.
- A circle. The question connected to the circle is: What questions are still circling around in my head about what I read? Students then focus on what questions they have about the concept or information presented in the text.
Once completed, the graphic organizers can be shared to engage students in conversation to debrief text.
Note: You can add colour to the shapes to increase student retention of information. Visual-spatial learners respond well to graphic organizers such as this one to help them summarize and make sense of text. Students will have a strong need to share what they have written on their squares, triangles, and circles, while bodily-kinesthetic learners will appreciate movement added to share their responses to the questions.
Thanks for reading
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Do you have any additional learning strategies for fostering and focusing students’ reading? I’d like to hear from you. Drop a comment below or email me at eltguide@gmail.com
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