Ideally reading isn't just reading; reading is thinking. The goal of teaching reading isn't just to get students to decode the words, or even to understand the text, but to find a way to get students to make connections to what they read, to get them to connect and apply the information to their own lives. In Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, Cris Tovani (2007) states that
When students find ways to capture their thinking while reading, they are more willing to return to texts. They tend to participate more in classroom discussions as well as in small-group discussions. They have an easier time beginning writing assignments. The marked text gives them a way to review and study for a test (p.68).
When students are doing all of the above in order to not just read the text, but interact with the text, they are making meaning of what they have read and will more than likely retain the information for future use.
The use of before, during, and after reading strategies allow students to find ways to connect the text to their own lives and to capture their own thinking about the text in order to apply this information and to participate in meaningful discussions. Tovani (2004) says that we often stop our readers' thinking too soon. Choosing the right comprehension activity/constructor to use before, during, and/or after reading can help students continue to think and process the reading throughout all 3 aspects. We should encourage students to ask themselves "So what?" as Tovani (2004) discusses in chapter 2. When reading, they should not just make a connection to the text, but think about the implications of this connection to their own lives.
What are the goals of before, during, and after reading strategies? Before reading strategies help get a reader thinking about what he or she already knows about the topic and how this will help him or her read the text. Making connections between "old" knowledge and "new" knowledge has been proven to help a reader retain new knowledge and store it in his/her long term memory. Before reading strategies also help a reader determine what information he/she would like to learn more about and helps to determine a purpose for reading. During reading strategies help a reader to monitor his/her reading and determine what has been learned, what he or she still wants to know, and helps the reader hold onto connections made in the text. Recognizing confusion and having a way to sort through the confusion through these strategies will go a long way in helping a student become a successful independent reader! After reading strategies help a student to analyze the text and continue to make connections. Thinking doesn't stop once the reading is over! Using a variety of before, during, and after reading strategies helps me to keep from relying on simple recall questions and other lower level learning strategies and instead push my students to use higher level strategies, such as asking questions, drawing conclusions, visualizing, making inferences, etc.
To read more about before, during, and after reading strategies, here are some resources:
All About Adolescent Literacy Strategies Page- information for grades 4-12
Teaching Content Knowledge and Reading Strategies in Tandem- an article by Carol Lee and Anika Sprately about the benefit of the "rippling effect" caused when teaching these together. A helpful table of reading strategies is provided.
Read, Write, Think- Created by the International Reading Association, this site has a multitude of content reading lessons with fantastic before, during, and after reading activities!
Reading with Purpose in the Content Areas- research- based teacher support provided on ReadWriteThink.org. (for grades 6-12, but I have found that some ideas are easily modified for lower grades)
Preparing Students for Success with Reading in the Content Areas- another research-based ReadWriteThink.org guide for 6-12
Reading Rockets- upon searching for before, during, and after reading strategies, more than 10 pages of results came up! This is a very comprehensive site- definitely worth checking out.
Here are a few of my recommended links from the site:
103 Things to Do Before/During/After Reading
Classroom Strategies- an extensive list of reading strategies divided into the categories print awareness, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. Each strategy is marked for use before, during, or after reading. Upon clicking the link for each, a description as well as templates and examples are available!
Content-Area Instruction Podcasts! Hear it straight from the experts! I've watched podcasts from this site for some of my Ball State classwork and have always found it very informative!
Comprehension Podcasts- more helpful podcasts on topics such as building background knowledge, using periodicals in the classroom, checking for understanding, vocabulary instruction, and more!
Greece Central School District's Reading Strategies: Scaffolding Students' Interaction with Texts- another useful reference with descriptions and templates of various before, during, and after reading activities.
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