Lesson 15 — Activity 1: Before Reading


You know there are many different types of texts or genres that you may read.

There are also many different strategies that can be used in order to understand what you are reading.

You can:
  • make predictions
  • make connections
  • ask questions
  • understand and build vocabulary
  • monitor as you read
  • reflect on your reading when done
Some reading strategies to use.




The characters from the movie "Frozen."

Narrative texts have characters and tell a story. Examples of narrative texts are short stories and novels, but as you learned in the last lesson, narratives are also used in plays, movies, biographies, historical accounts, and newspaper articles.

When you are reading just narrative texts, there are other strategies you can use as well as those above:

You can:
  • get personally involved in the events by imagining yourself in the story
  • create character sketches and use organizers to understand the characters and story events
  • ask if what the author is saying is true, if you are reading a nonfiction narrative






In this activity, you will practise these "before reading" strategies:




 

Making Predictions

Predicting is a strategy you can use before reading.
  

  Making Connections

Making connections is another before reading strategy.
    




Asking Questions

A third before reading strategy is to ask questions,





Making Predictions:





  • ask what you think will happen in a story


    Carlie is thinking about before reading strategies.
    Carlie, a grade 9 student, has been working to make predictions before she reads new narrative texts.  


    Before beginning a story assignment, she skimmed through the first part of the story. Carlie then predicted what she thought would happen to the main character.



    Carlie is thinking about before reading strategies.
    Then Carlie thought about making connections.


    She was going to read a story about someone who was lost while hiking in the mountains. Carlie thought about the time that she got lost when she was young and how she felt. She also remembered a trip she had taken to the mountains and what the surroundings there were like.



    Carlie also thought about another story she had read about people in the wilderness and how they had survived.



    Then Carlie remembered a story she had heard on the news about some climbers who had become lost near Banff. She remembered hearing about the search and rescue parties that had tried to help find them.


    Making Connections:






    • Think about connections to experiences you have had or things you know about.




    • Think about connections to ideas and events in other books.



    • Think about connections to things in the world.






    Asking Questions:





    • Think of questions that you hope will be answered in the text.

    Carlie thinking about before reading strategies.
    Finally, Carlie thought about questions she had about the story she was going to read.

    Carlie wrote down questions that she was hoping she would find the answers to in the story:
    • Why was the main character in the mountains?
    • How did she become lost?
    • Was she rescued?
    • Was she injured?
    Images courtesy of www.imagesgoogle.com

    Go to the next page to try a Self-check Activity on making predictions.