Skills Used by Expert Readers

Throughout Institute my CMs did a fine job with their AIH small group reading circles from the start. Still, advanced readers don't often think of the skills they subconsciously apply as they devour written text. Below, I've jotted down descriptions of the fundamental skills applied by "expert readers" – knowledge of which could inform the sorts of conversations first-year teachers might have with their students during reading activities.

Rock Star Readers Can…

Visualize: Students can imagine, describe, illustrate, or list descriptive adjectives that relate to characters, setting, and action in the book.

Summarize the plot: Students can sequence major plot events and record them using an organizer or explain them out loud. At an advanced level, students can explain the ways in which various events appear connected. (How did some events cause future events to occur?) Advanced students will also show a grasp of advanced sequencing techniques, like flash-forward and flashback.

Make predictions: Students will be able to make educated guesses about what will happen in the future of the plot, use key details from the plot to support these guesses, and eventually verify these guesses by using details that appear later in the passage/book.

Make connections: Students will be able to:

·      Connect one character/event in the book to another character/event in the same book -

(Student: “I can’t believe Elise lied to Peter, when she was the one who was so upset about Amanda’s dishonesty at the beginning of the story!”)

Teacher’s question to elicit the above response: “I couldn’t believe it when Elise lied to Peter! Was anyone else surprised? Why? / Why do you think I might have been so shocked? … How did Elise show her thoughts and feelings about honesty earlier in the book?”

·      Connect between two different pieces of literature, between a book and a TV show, or a between a book and a movie/documentary etc.

Teacher’s question: “Has anyone ever read a book about a young wizard before? / Has anyone ever read a story about the importance of friendship before? / Has anyone ever seen a TV show or movie about the Middle Ages? What sorts of things did you see?”

·      (!) Connect between a book and real life – students think about a time where they went to a place similar to the book’s setting, shared a common experience with one of the book’s characters etc.

Generate questions (see chart at bottom*): Though it seems easy to adults, it’s often difficult for a young student to come up with his/her own questions about a certain topic. One key distinction to make for students is that there are two different types of questions they might come up with. One is the quiz question where students generate questions they know the answer to, and could ask one of their peers. The other is the I wonder question where students generate questions/statements that they don’t know the answer to: “I wonder why James asked Mandy to the dance after she treated him so horribly” / “Why did Shane decide to leave the town even though the Starrett family could really have used his help?”

Older students call the quiz question variety thin questions, they are typically made up of words that appear in the top left corner of the awesome chart I’m pasting below: “Who is” “What did” “How can.” These words typically combine to form easily answerable concrete questions about characters and the plot.

I wonder questions may also be called thick questions, which have answers that are not readily apparent to the reader. They are discussion questions that could even be used to open up debates. Find words for thick questions by looking for intersections that appear toward the lower right of the chart. Thick questions (like "why might" or "why did") typically demand inferences to be made by the question responder.

Draw conclusions (make inferences) – students can formulate responses to thick questions about the contents in the book. Inferences are educated guesses based on clues/details. (Note: predictions are actually a type of inference that is about future events.)

• Teacher: “Why might student have left town?
• Student: “I think Shane might have left because he knew he had done everything he could for the Starrett family. His job was done there.”