Teaching Tip #29 Prereading Plan
Taylor Spratt
Grade Levels:
- Grades 6th-8th
- English Language Learners
Content Focus:
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
- Specific content areas
Why Use:
- Builds background knowledge.
- Introduces new vocabulary.
- Increases interest.
- Allows teachers to gauge student knowledge about a topic.
- Benefits English language learners.
When to Use:
- Before or during a thematic unit.
- Before beginning a new chapter in a specific content area.
- Before reading ANY new material.
Steps in a Prereading Plan:
- Discuss a key concept. Teacher introduces a topic using a word, phrase, object, or picture.
- Brainstorm. Think of words about the topic and record them on a chart.
- Introduce vocabulary. Teachers add new words to the list that will assist the students in the assignment. The teacher also clarifies misconceptions.
- Quickwrite. Student writes about the topic using the words brainstormed.
- Share. The writing can be shared to the class or small groups. The teacher further clarifies misconceptions.
- Read. While reading, the students relate new information to the word list.
Standard Connections:
- Students identify the central idea and explain how details support it.
- Students integrate information presented visually with the print text.
- Students clarify the meaning of academic vocabulary.