Here is a great resource on reading comprehension strategies to use with your students in class. This is basically a chart created by the folks in Scholastic and is available for free download in PDF format. The chart is adapted from the work of Beal, Keene, and Tovani. The chart features 6 major reading comprehension strategies that students can use to improve and enhance their reading comprehension skills. These are:

1- Making connections

Encourage students to make connections between what they are reading and their personal experiences. They can relate it to events, people, issues and other things in their life.

2-Visualizing

Students can use this strategy to help them create visual pictures of the meanings they uncover from the text.

3-Asking questions

To actively interact with a text, students need to be able to ask questions related to the text like what the message of the text is, what value does the text add to me? Why is the author saying so…etc

4. Inferring

Good readers are those who are able to infer meanings and read between the lines.

5. Determining the importance

Good readers are those who can develop a working understanding of the big picture and know exactly the main important ideas communicated by the author

6. Synthesizing

Good readers are able to combine information that learned from reading with their background information to create their own ideas.

This post originally appeared in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning ( www.educatorstechnology.com ).