ALL ABOUT READING

What:

• An Anticipation Guide is a reading strategy used to teach comprehension.

• Designed to activate and/or build prior knowledge and to challenge students’ preconceived notions about the text to be read.

• Uses a guide that consists of statements that the students respond to before they read. The statements are usually true/false or agree/disagree.

 

Who:

• Can be used Pre-K through 8th Grades or even higher

• One-on-one, small group, or whole group settings

 

When:

• Used mainly before reading

• May also be referenced during reading

• Is also used after reading to discuss what has been learned by reading the text

 

Why:

• Stimulate students’ interests in a topic and set a purpose for reading

• They teach students to make predictions, anticipate the text, and verify their predictions

• They connect new information to prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic

 

How:

• First, create the anticipation guide. Write four to six statements about the key points in the text. Make some of them true and some of them false. Create a column for students to mark true/false or agree/disagree.

• Model the process. The teacher will introduce the text and share the guide with the students. Create discussions about the statements on the guide and have students make predictions. Students will mark a check on true/false or agree/disagree.

• The teacher will read the text aloud or have students read independently or in small groups.

• Revisit the anticipation guide to discuss and make changes to the guide based on knowledge gained from the text.