Predict:

When students predict, they are previewing the text to anticipate what might happen next. This strategy requires the reader to use information they already know to make logical predictions prior to reading a section of text. Prediction helps students set a purpose for reading. Students read to check the accuracy of their predictions, and then revise their predictions before reading on.

Parents can prompt their child to predict by reminding them to use phrases such as:

"I think.....because..."

"I predict..."

"I think I will learn..... because..."

Question:

Good readers actively think about what they are reading, and generate questions as they read to gain understanding. Practicing this strategy requires students to "be the teacher" by posing questions for other students to answer. Questioning can begin by students focusing on factual details that are clearly stated in the text. Question words such as who, what, when, and where help students formulate factual questions. The depth of the questions should advance with students asking questions that begin with words such as why, how, what if, or I wonder. Higher level questioning promotes understanding of main idea, and helps students distinguish between minor, unimportant details and more important points or events. Questioning should also produce readers who are eventually able to infer information from a text, using clues to discover information that an author has not clearly stated.

Parents can prompt their child to use the questioning strategy by reminding them to ask questions beginning with words such as:

Who..., What..., When..., Where..., Why..., How...,

What if..., or I wonder...

Clarify:

Students use the Clarify strategy to help themselves identify words that are unclear. The process of clarifying prompts students to be self-aware when comprehension breaks down due to the inabilty to read or understand a word. For example, students might need to use phonics skills or sentence context to clarify a word they don't recognize. A more difficult task is for students to realize they do not understand the meaning of a word or an idea. Students are guided to use fix-up strategies to help them clarify difficult words or ideas.

Parents can prompt their child to use the clarifying strategy by encouraging them to:

-Look for chunks they know in a bigger word, or use phonics skills to blend letter sounds together

-Reread the sentence or sentences

-Read on and come back to the challenging word or idea

-Ask "Does this make sense?"

Summarize:

Summarizing is an important skill for building comprehesion of fiction as well as non-fiction texts. Students who are able to summarize fiction using their own words can identify important events of a story in order, and can recall main story parts such as character, setting, story problem, and story resolution. Students who are able to summarize what they have read in a non-fiction text can identify main ideas and supporting details.

Parents can prompt their child to practice the summarizing strategy by:

-Asking them to identify main story parts by completing a story map

-Ask them to recall important parts by responding to the questions:

"This text is about...."

This part is about..."

Reference

Reciprocal Teaching at Work by Lori D. Oczkus

International Reading Association, 2004