Strategies for Reading
If you find yourself having difficulty
understanding what you are reading,
try one of the following strategies.
Choose one or more that seem most
likely to help.
(McDougal Littell)
Strategies for Reading
PREDICT
Try to figure out what will
happen next and how the
selection might end. Then
read on to see how accurate
your guesses are.
Strategies for Reading
VISUALIZE
Visualize characters, events,
and setting to help you
understand what’s happening.
When you read nonfiction, pay
attention to the images that
form in your mind as you read.
Strategies for Reading
CONNECT
Connect personally with what
you’re reading. Think of
similarities between the
descriptions in the selection
and what you have personally
experienced, heard about, or
read about.
Strategies for Reading
QUESTION
Question what happens while
you read. Searching for
reasons behind events and
character’s feelings or
behaviors can help you feel
closer to what you are reading.
Strategies for Reading
CLARIFY
Stop occasionally to review what you
understand, and expect to have your
understanding change and develop as
you read on. Reread and use resources
to help you clarify your understanding.
Also watch for answers to questions you
may have had earlier.
Strategies for Reading
EVALUATE
Form opinions about what you
read, both while you’re reading
and after you’ve finished.
Develop your own ideas about
characters, events, and the
author’s viewpoint.
Strategies for Reading
a Test Selection
Before you begin reading,
preview the selection and skim
the questions that follow the
passage. This can help focus
your reading.
(McDougal Littell)
Strategies for Reading
a Test Selection
Use active reading strategies
such as analyzing, predicting,
and questioning. Make notes in
the margin to help focus your
reading.
Strategies for Reading
a Test Selection
Think about the title. What
might it suggest about the overall
message or theme of the
selection?
Strategies for Reading
a Test Selection
Look for main ideas. These are
often stated at the beginnings or
ends of paragraphs. Sometimes
they are implied – not stated.
After reading each paragraph,
ask, “What was this passage
about?”
Strategies for Reading
a Test Selection
Note any literary elements and
techniques used by the author. For
example, be aware of tone (the writer’s
attitude toward the subject), point of
view, figurative language, or other
elements. Then ask yourself what the
author might be trying to achieve with
this usage.
Strategies for Reading
a Test Selection
Unlock word meanings. Use word
structure and context clues to help
you discover the meaning of
unfamiliar words.
Strategies for Reading
a Test Selection
Think about the message or theme.
What larger lesson can you draw
from the passage? Can you infer
anything or make generalizations
about other similar situations, human
beings, or life in general?
NONFICTION
- IS BASED ON FACT
- CAN BE VERIFIED
FACT
= TRUTH
The act of putting it in writing
CHANGES IT
The author’s
chosen words reveal
-BELIEFS
-PREJUDICES
-BACKGROUND
-PURPOSE
An author’s PURPOSE
determines his/her
METHOD OF WRITING
PURPOSE
TYPE OF WRITING
1. Explain, inform, define, clarify EXPOSITION
2. Create a mood or appeal to senses
DESCRIPTION
3. Relate a series of events
NARRATION
4. Persuade to believe or do
something
PERSUASION
A nonfiction writer may use a COMBINATION of any four of these
methods.
Type of Writing???
Judo throws require both precise timing and exact balance. At this
level (yellow belt) there is always a slight possibility that the
participants have insufficient agility or coordination.
The air conditioner in the gym was broken, and the place was like a
giant oven. Jim was sweating heavily after the last throw. Terry
lunged for Jim, but his fingers slipped on Jim’s glistening skin.
I just came out of the last throw and turned toward Terry, who was
getting up to come at me from the left. I made a quarter turn and
moved my left leg when he reached for my neck and his hand slipped.
Jim is jealous of me and always has been. I got my yellow belt three
meets ahead of him, and I’m the only one who has ever thrown him
three out of four times.
Holt
TYPES OR FORMS:
- ESSAYS
- INFORMATIVE ARTICLES
(REPORTS)
- BIOGRAPHY &
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
These forms range from a very personal kind of writing
to a very objective kind.
SUBJECTIVE -
Very personal FEELINGS and BIASES
are revealed
(Personal Essays & Autobiographies)
OBJECTIVE -
Conveys FACTS feelings are SCREENED
OUT
(Expository Essays, Informative
Articles, & Autobiographies)
ESSAY
A relatively short piece of writing on a single
subject. Some essays are FORMAL – tightly
structured and written in an impersonal style.
Others are INFORMAL – more loosely
structured and written in a more personal, even
conversational style. Authors often use the
elements of literature in their essays to make
them more real and/or interesting to readers.
Essais means “tries” or “attempts” in French  short and limited
TYPES of ESSAYS
• Expository -
presents or explains
information or ideas
• Persuasive presents arguments and
attempts to convince readers
• Personal - expresses the writers
thoughts and feelings,
(personality)
Strategies for Evaluating an Essay
• Fact & Opinion: Facts – can be proved or disproved
Opinions – are agreed or disagreed upon
• Analyze:
whether the writer’s intent is to express
ideas and feelings, or to inform, entertain,
or persuade.
• Evaluate:
the writer’s ideas and reasoning. Does
he/she support opinions with facts? Do you
agree with conclusions?
• Clarify:
your understanding by summarizing the
main ideas as you read.
INFORMATIVE ARTICLE or
REPORT
Provides FACTS about a specific subject. May use
imagery, figurative language, and human interest to
hook the reader’s interest. Should be ACCURATE (facts
straight and clearly stated) and OBJECTIVE (fair –
feelings do not get in the way of the truth.
TYPES of INFORMATIVE
ARTICLES
- News Stories: objective, unbiased
accounts of current
events
- Feature Articles:
focus on interesting
people, places,
things, or events
PROPAGANDA
A report that DISTORTS the facts to
MANIPULATE the reader.
Strategies for Evaluating an
Informative Article or Report
•
•
•
•
Preview and skim the article.
Consider background information
Question and predict
Read the article carefully focusing on key facts
and ideas
• Identify details that support the main idea
• Reread any passages that seem unclear
Biography
A writer’s account of another person’s life. A
biography requires study and research and must
present facts accurately and objectively.
Reputable biographers strive to create a balanced
account of their subject’s life.
Autobiography
A writer’s account of his/her own life. An
autobiography generally focuses on the writer’s
personal experiences over a period of time. It is
often based on memory and is subjective since it
reveals the feelings and biases of the author.
Strategies for Evaluating a
Biography or Autobiography
• Keep track of the people mentioned in the
narrative (web diagram)
• Be aware of cause-and-effect
relationships
• In biographies, question objectivity and in
autobiographies, be aware of subjectivity
and bias
Type of Nonfiction???
McDougal Littell
My ankles and the back of my hand are
throbbing from the tubes bringing in the blood
and I don’t care about boys praying for me. I
can hear the swish of Sister Rita’s habit and
the click of her rosary beads when she leaves
the room. I fall asleep and when I wake it’s
dark and Dad is sitting by the bed with his
hand on mine.
Type of Nonfiction???
McDougal Littell
For Christmas, I begged for go-go boots. The
rest of my life would be endurable if I had a
pair of those white, calf-high confections with
the little black heels….Never mind that those
little black heels are like skate blades in
inclement weather. I would walk on air.
Type of Nonfiction???
McDougal Littell
For the children of Northern Ireland, violence
is embedded in the rituals of daily life. Early
curfews are the norm, public places are
commonly avoided and Catholics and
Protestants rarely venture outside their own
neighborhoods.