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38 Reading to Understand

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Reading to Understand Opening Page

Start-Up Activity

Ask students to name their favorite books or stories. List some titles on the board. Then have students sketch a special scene, character, or event from their favorite book or story. Mention that creating a drawing about a book is one way to think about it. This chapter will introduce students to many other ways to understand what they read.

Think About It

“Great books help you understand, and they help you feel understood.”

—John Green

Page 193 from Write Away

Story Reading

Pick a short story to read as a class. Make sure students have a copy to read along. Before you begin reading, have students complete the "Before Reading" tips on this page. Then have a volunteer read part of the story aloud. Pause the reader at a natural stopping point, and have students answer the WIN questions:

  • What is happening to the characters?
  • Is this what I thought might happen?
  • Now what will happen?

Repeat this exercise, if necessary, after reading the next part of the story. When you complete the story, discuss what happened to the main character and ask for volunteers to share what they thought of the ending.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

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21st Century Skills:
English Language Arts:

Page 194 from Write Away

Informational Reading

Choose a piece of nonfiction from your students' social studies text. Have your students preview the text by completing the "Before Reading" activities from this page. Then provide time for students to silently read the piece. Encourage them to list the main ideas from the text as they read. Finally, when they finish reading, have them ask and answer the 5 W's about the topic:

  • Who is involved?
  • What happened?
  • When did it happen?
  • Where did it happen?
  • Why did it happen?
LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

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Page 195 from Write Away

Retelling

To demonstrate retelling, recap one of your favorite stories for your class. Then place students into pairs or small groups. Have partners retell stories that they have recently read, perhaps ones that you assigned earlier in this chapter.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

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Page 196 from Write Away

Mapping

Review the mapping strategy. Have students map the information of a book chapter from one of their textbooks.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

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Page 197 from Write Away

Drawing to Learn

Encourage students to draw or sketch ideas from their readings. Recommend that they make this type of activity a habit after they finish stories.

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Level:
21st Century Skills:
English Language Arts: