Teaching Reading

Comprehension
Using Literature
PRE-READING, WHILE-READING, AND POST-READING STRATEGIES
ACTIVITIES FOR IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION
TECHNIQUES FOR STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
 Why Use Literature?
 - Enhances engagement and enjoyment
 - Develops critical thinking skills
 - Provides authentic language exposure

 Objectives:
 - Explore pre-, while-, and post-reading strategies
 - Learn activities to improve comprehension
 - Discover techniques for student engagement
Importance of Literature in
Teaching Reading
Comprehension
Enhances Vocabulary and
Language Skills
 • Introduces a wide range of vocabulary
 • Improves linguistic proficiency
 • Exposes students to various writing styles
Encourages Critical
Thinking and
Interpretation
• Requires analysis of characters, themes, and
plots
 • Helps in making inferences and drawing
conclusions
 • Encourages evaluation of different
perspectives
Boosts Engagement and
Motivation
 • Captivating stories make learning enjoyable
 • Stimulates imagination and creativity
 • Encourages exploration of diverse viewpoints
Promotes Cultural
Awareness and Empathy
 • Provides insight into different cultures and
histories
 • Enhances understanding of human
experiences
 • Develops empathy through diverse characters
and settings
Supports Reading
Fluency and
Comprehension
• Improves fluency and comprehension skills

Strategies
• Encourages rereading, summarizing, and
questioning
 • Strengthens overall comprehension strategies
Three Reading Stages

 Reading comprehension is developed through

pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading
activities, which scaffold learning and ensure
deep understanding.
Pre-reading (Before
Reading)
 This phase prepares the reader for what they are
about to read. It helps activate prior knowledge
and set a purpose.
 Preview the text: Look at titles, headings,
images, and captions.
 Make predictions: Guess what the text might
be about.
 Activate prior knowledge: Think about what
you already know about the topic.
 Set a purpose: Determine why you are reading
(e.g., to learn, analyze, or enjoy).
 Ask questions: What do you want to find out?
Pre-Reading Strategies

 Purpose: Activate prior knowledge, build

curiosity
 - Predicting: Use book covers, titles, illustrations
 - K-W-L Charts: What I Know, What I Want to
Learn, What I Learned
 - Vocabulary Preview: Introduce key terms and
concepts
 - Discussion Questions: Connect to students'
experiences
During-reading (While
Reading)
 This stage focuses on understanding and
engaging with the text.
 Read actively: Highlight key points, underline
important ideas, or take notes.
 Use context clues: Understand unfamiliar
words using surrounding words or sentences.
 Monitor comprehension: Ask yourself if you
understand what you’re reading.
 Visualize: Create mental images of the content.
 Summarize sections: Stop occasionally to
recap what you’ve read.
While-Reading Strategies

 Purpose: Support comprehension and critical

thinking
 - Guided Reading Questions: Encourage active
reading
 - Annotating Text: Highlight key ideas, ask
questions
 - Think-Aloud Strategy: Model comprehension
processes
 - Story Mapping: Identify characters, setting,
plot
Post-reading (After
Reading)
 This phase helps reinforce understanding and
retention of information.
 Summarize the text: Identify key ideas and
details.
 Answer questions: Reflect on your pre-reading
questions.
 Discuss and analyze: Talk about the text with
others or write a response.
 Make connections: Relate the text to personal
experiences, other texts, or real-world events.
 Review and reflect: Consider how the
information applies to what you already know.
Post-Reading Strategies

 Purpose: Reinforce understanding and

interpretation
 - Summarizing: Write a short summary or retell
the story
 - Discussion Circles: Encourage student-led
discussions
 - Creative Responses: Drawings, dramatizations,
alternative endings
 - Reflective Writing: Connect story themes to
real life
 3 Reading
Strategies
PREDICTING, INFERRING, SUMMARIZING)
1. Predicting

 Predicting involves making educated guesses about what

will happen next in a text based on clues from the title,
images, prior knowledge, or the author's writing style.
 How to use it:
 Look at headings, pictures, or chapter titles before reading.
 Ask yourself: What do I think will happen next?
 Adjust your predictions as you read and gather new
information.
 Use past experiences and knowledge to support your
predictions.
 Example:
Before reading a mystery novel, you might predict who the
suspect is based on early clues.
 2. Inferring
 Inferring means reading between the lines to understand ideas that
are not directly stated. Readers use context clues, background
knowledge, and reasoning to make conclusions.
 How to use it:
 Identify hints or clues in the text.
 Consider emotions, motivations, or hidden meanings.
 Ask yourself: What is the author trying to say without stating it
directly?
 Combine the given details with what you already know.
 Example:
If a character in a story is crying while holding a letter, you can infer
that the letter contains sad or shocking news, even if it is not
explicitly stated.
3. Summarizing

 Summarizing involves condensing a passage into its main points

while leaving out unnecessary details. It helps readers retain
important information.
 How to use it:
 Identify the main idea of the text.
 Find key details that support the main idea.
 Remove minor or repetitive details.
 Use your own words to restate the essential points.
 Example:
Instead of retelling every event in a novel, a summary of The Three
Little Pigs might be: Three pigs build houses of different materials;
the wolf blows down the weaker ones, but the brick house remains
strong.
Activities for Improving
Reading Comprehension
 - Predicting: Stop at key points and guess what
happens next
 - Inferring: Read between the lines using
context clues
 - Summarizing: Break down the text into main
ideas
 - Questioning: Generate and answer
comprehension questions
"Reading Comprehension
Strategies" from The Literacy
Workshop by S. Atwell
 Predicting – Making guesses about the text based on titles, headings, and
prior knowledge.
 Inferring – Reading between the lines to understand meanings not directly
stated.
 Visualizing – Creating mental images of the text to enhance understanding.
 Questioning – Asking questions before, during, and after reading to clarify
ideas.
 Summarizing – Condensing the main ideas of a text into a brief overview.
 Making Connections – Relating the text to personal experiences, other
books, or the world.
 Determining Importance – Identifying key details and central themes.
 Monitoring Comprehension – Recognizing when understanding breaks
down and using strategies to fix it.
Techniques for Student
Discussion &
Engagement

- Literature Circles: Assign roles (e.g.,
Discussion Leader, Summarizer)
 - Reader’s Theater: Perform parts of the text
 - Debates and Role Play: Encourage deep
analysis
 - Interactive Digital Tools: Use quizzes, forums,
and collaborative writing platforms
Conclusion & Q&A

 - Recap of Key Points:

 - Importance of literature in comprehension
 - Effective strategies for pre-, while-, and post-
reading
 - Engaging activities to deepen understanding
 - Open Discussion: Questions and reflections