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What is previewing? Why is it important? How does it help?

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What is previewing? Why is it important? How does it help?

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1. Previewing is a pre-reading strategy that allows students to become familiar with a text prior to reading.
2. Students can identify words they are unfamiliar with ahead of time to gain confidence to attack the text
3. Previewing questions allows students to set a focus when reading

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Students struggle with test taking strategies and comprehension in fiction and non-fiction

I plan to study the strategy of previewing the text and questions because I want to find out if using this strategy increases test scores in fourth grade ELA to show the link to students that set a purpose for reading by previewing the text and questions so that I may better understand if previewing the text and questions is helpful to build a better understanding of what is being asked as well as increased test scores among readers at multiple levels.

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1. Previewing texts and questions leads to active readers.
2. Students that preview a text are more motivated and engaged
3. Previewing text focuses the reader.

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"To effectively and thoroughly preview texts, students are encouraged to be THIEVES"(Manz, 2002, p.434).

"His familiarity with the chapter enabled him to move efficiently and accurately through his assignment" (Manz, 2002, p.435).

"One of the ultimate goasl for all teachers (regardless of grade or content) is to prepare students to read deeply and critically on their own, just as adults do" (Adler, 2013, p.3)

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Dees, J. (2010). 7 Pre-reading Strategies that Will Increase Comprehension. Retrieved

January 18, 2019, from https://www.thereligionteacher.com/pre-reading-strategies-that-increase-comprehension/

McCormick, S. (1989). Effects of Previews on More Skilled and Less Skilled Readers’

Comprehension of Expository Text. Journal of Reading Behavior, 21(3), 219–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/10862968909547674

Sagor, R. (1992). How to conduct collaborative action research. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Suzanne, L. M. (2002). A strategy for previewing textbooks: Teaching readers to become

THIEVES. The Reading Teacher, 55(5), 434-435. Retrieved from http://marygrove.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.marygrove.idm.oclc.org/docview/203280941?accountid=28829

Ulu, H & Akyol, H. (2106). The effects of repetitive reading and PQRS strategy in the

development of reading skill. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 63-225-242, http://dx.doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2016.63.13

(n.d.). Previewing Texts in Content Classrooms | LD Topics | LD OnLine. Retrieved January 18, 2019,

from http://www.ldonline.org/article/39881/

(n.d.). Instruction/Reading Comprehension | Special Connections. Retrieved January 17, 2019, from

http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/?q=instruction/reading_comprehension

(n.d.). Five Keys to Helping Students Read Difficult Texts - ctl@byu.edu. Retrieved January 17, 2019,

from https://ctl.byu.edu/tip/five-keys-helping-students-read-difficult-texts

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Tools for Teaching: Developing Active Readers by Rebecca Alber
This article discusses what we need to arm students with in order to be successful active readers. It does not matter what stage a reader is in; emergent(learning to read) or fluent reading to learn) children need strategies to attack the text so they are using it in a meaningful way. Alber explains one pre-reading strategy , previewing text, allows students to scan for words and phrases they do not understand prior to reading. Doing this allows students to read without anxiety. When students preview the text they are not only looking for words they don't understand, they are familiarizing themselves with how the text is structured. Knowing this helps a reader know how to read a text.

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Photo credit: judybaxter via flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Adults forget all that they do while reading. We are predicting, making connections, contextualizing, critiquing, and already plotting how we might use any new insights or information. Yep, we do all that when we read.

As teachers, we need to train students in each of these skills, and begin to do so early on. I was recently in a second-grade classroom where 70 percent instruction was in English and 30 percent in Spanish. Most of the children spoke Spanish as their first or home language.

As the students sat on the carpet and the teacher read to them, she'd pause every few minutes so students could ask questions or make a comment. Every student would start her/his comment by saying, "I would like to make a text-to-text connection, or I would like to make a text-to-self connection..." It was clear that these young children had been taught this analysis skill; they had been given a strategy and language to go deeper in the text -- and this an age where children are still learning to read.

In the Classroom

So the message is clear: Children, regardless if they are in the stage of reading to learn or learning to read, need structured opportunities to engage with text in deep and meaningful ways. Whether your students are seven or seventeen years old, here are a handful of really great strategies to build those active reading skills:

1. Previewing Text and Vocabulary

Before reading, look at any titles, subheadings, charts, graphs, and captions. Talk out loud as a whole group, inviting students to make predictions about what they are going to read. Scan the text and ask students to point out words or phrases that are new to them, confusing or they wonder about at first glance. Look at the structure of the text: Is it funny, sad, realistic? How do we know? Is it fiction -- a poem, a story? How do we know? Is it non-fiction -- a letter to someone, a newspaper article? How do we know? Providing students with knowledge of the text structure and its features will help them with comprehension and to identify the author's goals or intent.

2. Reading with a Purpose

This strategy confronts the passive reading approach. Rather than tell students to "just read" (which results in low recall), we say, "Here's your mission as you read. Look for..." They can be reading closely in search of: humor, author's purpose, use of literary devices (such as foreshadowing, imagery), facts, confusion, and context clues for new words.

3. Marking Text

These steps for marking the text come from AVID: a) number paragraphs, b) circle words, phrases, names, dates that stand out, and c) underline author's claims and important information connected to those claims. The final step is to teach students how to write in the margins (asking questions, for example).

4. Making Connections

Teach students the text-to-self, text-to-text or text-to-world strategy talked about earlier. When you read as a whole group, model it often: This reminds me of (my birthday party, a poem we read, that snowstorm last year).

5. Summarizing

We often expect students to do this one without providing the necessary support or models. Think how hard summarizing is for even adults and then think about students who are still in the stage of decoding. Here are two strategies I have found effective with both children and adolescents: Magnet Summary and Sum it Up. Remember to model these summarizing tools in class, followed by guided practice before requiring them to summarize on their own.

One of the ultimate goals for all teachers (regardless of grade or content) is to prepare students to read deeply and critically on their own, just as adults do.

How are you equipping your students for this task? We'd love to hear from you! Please share in the comment section below.

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Tools for Teaching: Developing Active Readers

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Photo credit: judybaxter via flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Adults forget all that they do while reading. We are predicting, making connections, contextualizing, critiquing, and already plotting how we might use any new insights or information. Yep, we do all that when we read.

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Room 16- The Thinking Classroom By Carolyn Jones
This article discusses the benefits of previewing a text to prepare a reader so they can get the most out of the text. Jones goes on to share that teaching students the strategy of previewing plays a big role in reading comprehension. Jones explains that previewing a text is similar to when a photographer is preparing to take a picture. As a teacher in a classroom I can relate to this analogy because we teach our students to decompose a text in order to get a full understanding of what we are reading. Most importantly the article states that "previewing the text helps students become more active, powerful readers" (Jones, 2015, p.2). Our ultimate goal is for students to become active and independent learners. Choosing to use strategies that are taught on their own will accomplish these goals across the curriculum.

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I have become more aware of the importance of teaching students to preview any text they are about to read. Researchers have referred to this strategy in different ways: previewing, surveying, or orienting yourself to the text. Regardless of the term used to describe the strategy, teaching students to independently preview is essential for reading comprehension.

Previewing a text reminds me of what a photographer would do before taking a picture. I imagine a photographer closely inspecting the object of interest to learn what it is about. The photographer will stand back and look at the subject from many angles, deciding how she will compose the shot. Previewing is similar to setting up a photograph in that the reader looks closely at forms and features of the text to get an idea of WHAT the text will be about as well as HOW to approach the reading.

Fact or Fiction: What is the genre?

The first thing I ask myself when approaching a text is: What is the genre? Knowing a genre well guides a reader in approaching the material.For example, in a social studies text, I know to put on my "social studies lens." I look at the author to make predictions on possible biases that could affect point of view. What do I know about this author? What is his background? Where did she get the information? Are the sources primary sources or secondary sources?...

If I'm reading a science text, I'll look more closely at the diagrams and tables to see what information I will expect to read about. If it is narrative fiction, I'll look closely at the title, the cover, and the book blurb/book jacket information to orient myself to the characters, plot, and possible symbols in order to be on the lookout for big ideas/themes.

Teaching the Previewing Strategy

When thinking about lessons on previewing, no matter what the genre, I guide my students to ask:

WHAT does the author want to teach me?

HOW will the author organize information or tell the story?

WHY is it important (author's message and/or author's purpose)?

In teaching my students how to preview, we discuss these actions:

1. Think About The Title: Consider the title of this book by Kadir Nelson: "We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball." When I've asked students, What do you know about this topic? What do you think this book will be about?, they immediately go to the subtitle and tell me it will be about the Negro Baseball Leagues. Trying to get them to go deeper- using what they know as a foundation for new learning, I ask...But why would the author include "We are the Ship?" This is a metaphor...Why a ship? As the students look more closely, they see quotes from famous baseball players throughout the book. Some students find the quote by Rube Foster, the Negro Leagues founder: "We are the ship; all else the sea." Hmm...Why would the author take part of this quote and put it in his title? Does this title express a point of view? The students who pick up this book because they are baseball fans, now are on a mission to find out more...Their interest is piqued and their purpose is set.

2. Nonfiction: Scan the Table of Contents/Read the Introduction: There are clues waiting to be discovered: How did the author structure the text? Is it problem and solution? Will it be description- if so- perhaps visualizing will help me understand the topic in more depth? Understanding the structure, helps the reader find main ideas in order to determine importance. It accentuates what matters, allowing you to highlight some parts and skip others. Look at Claire Henry's Table of Contents in her book The World's Deadliest Animals. You can prepare for reading by noticing there is an introduction ("Deadly Creatures") and conclusion ("Living Together") that bookend the text, giving clues to the author's purpose and message. You notice that the chapters are organized by animal type: mammal, underwater animals, reptiles...Each chapter leads the reader to guess which animal will be the deadliest, knowing that at the end- they will discover the most dangerous animal. Going further, glancing at other text features (subheadings, captions, photographs...)and how the author chose to organize information on the page clarifies thoughts on main ideas. Students can ask: What is the main idea of this part? How do the parts relate to prior sections? Why would the author choose to order the ideas in this way?

3. Fiction: Read the Book Blurb/Book Jacket/ First Few Paragraphs: Finding out about the characters, plot events, and possible themes helps the reader to read with the big ideas in mind. This is especially critical in historical fiction when the setting will be key to understanding the story. The reader has to ask: What is the setting of this story? Where does it take place? When? What do I know about this topic? Have I read any other books that remind me of this story? What other connections do I have?How might this story unfold? As the reader progresses through the text, they will continue to predict and infer, confirming or changing thinking.

Active Reading: The Most Important Part

Previewing helps students become more active, powerful readers. By activating prior knowledge and making connections, students are thinking about big ideas. They are able to predict and infer, looking for text evidence to support their lines of thinking. Previewing needs to become part of a reader's repertoire, something to do habitually, without being reminded or prompted.

Perhaps through classroom modeling and talk, this strategy will become more intrinsic. Through partner, small group, and whole class discussions, students can learn from peers and appreciate a variety of perspectives. Collectively, new knowledge is constructed.

Like a photographer, the readers stand back and look at the text from many different angles. The trick is to build motivation and engagement, without giving too much away. Like a well-taken photograph that leaves the viewer questioning feelings and context and purpose, previewing creates a similar spirit of curiosity for the text. What is this story really about?

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Improving Reading Comprehension: The Importance of Previewing

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I have become more aware of the importance of teaching students to preview any text they are about to read. Researchers have referred to this strategy in different ways: previewing, surveying, or orienting yourself to the text. Regardless of the term used to describe the strategy, teaching students to independently preview is essential for reading comprehension.

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The effects of previewing questions, repetition of input, and topic preparation on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners
This study focuses on language learners and listening comprehension. Along with multiple articles the commonality between them is that previewing the text and/or the questions is likely to set a purpose for the listener/reader or the listener. The previewing strategy causes students to pay attention to key words and vocabulary which cause the learner in this case study to listen purposefully. I believe that it will have the same effect on students that are not just listening to a story but reading a story as well.