After-Reading Strategies

Debbie Willingham
Nov 15, 2011

How do I make sure that my students can use what they have read?

After completing a reading assignment, students need to reflect on and apply it in different ways depending on the purpose of the reading and how they will use the new information. It is important to evaluate their comprehension after reading and have them summarize the main concepts in the passage they have read. This may include rereading as necessary to clarify or complete needed details, or it may mean paraphrasing to see if they really understood it. Through reflection they should draw conclusions and make inferences, making connections between what they have just read and what they already know and learned previously.
Consider the following ideas that may fit the thought process you want students to use after reading:

* How the author's purpose fits what we have already learned about this topic
* How this real-life example is solved/explained using what I learned earlier about this topic (steps in a process, use of a formula, etc.)
* How this information fits into/better explains/gives further detail on the topic
* How what was read applies to what I already learned
* How this position/information/situation changes what I already know or think about the topic

If the reading assignment is the basis of a lesson, the Summarizing Strategy for the lesson may automatically serve as a summary activity for the reading as well. In addition, a strategy used to activate students' thinking about the topic and the upcoming reading assignment may be revisited in a summarizing activity to pull together what the students learned through their reading.

Teachers often ask discussion questions at the end of a reading passage. The problem with asking the whole class open-ended questions is that often only a few students want to be a part of the discussion. This pitfall can be avoided by using collaborative pairs, numbered heads, and "think-pair-share." The discussion that results can then be the basis for writing and Extending Thinking assignments, both of which help lead students to a deeper level of understanding and ultimately to higher achievement.

Most important, students need to know the purpose for the reading and that it is important and necessary because they will use what they read in some later activity or assignment. A little planning on your part can ensure that your students will be able to use what they have read in a relevant, meaningful way.