FIX-UP STRATEGIES

Why Use Strategies? Strategies create a plan of attack. Then you can solve any reading problems yourself. Strategies help you learn HOW to understand. If you know HOW to understand, then you are more likely TO understand. Strategies help you realize HOW you are thinking so that you can think more deeply and more consciously.

Signs that you are not comprehending the text The pictures inside your mind stop forming or moving. Your questions and inferences are not getting answered. Your mind wanders from the text; you read it but are thinking about something else. The current page has nothing to do with what you thought the big picture or author’s purpose was for the text. You cannot summarize the last few paragraphs or pages. Characters appear and you cannot remember who they are.

Two Fix-up Strategies Areas Word Attack Strategies These strategies help you read unknown words. Comprehension Fix-up Strategies These strategies help you read and understand the meaning of unknown phrases and text.

Word Attack Fix-Up Strategies Look at the pictures - use the pictures to get information that may help you figure out the word Sound blending (look at the beginning letters, look at the ending letters, chunking) Use a Dictionary Read Aloud Ask for Help

Comprehension Fix-Up Strategies Reread It is OK to reread text that you’ve already read. It’s important to remember you don’t have to reread everything for this strategy to be helpful. Sometimes rereading a portion of the text – a sentence, or even just a word – can help you.

Comprehension Fix-Up Strategies Stop and Think Every so often as you read, you should stop and think about what you have read. If you can’t remember anything you have read, why continue? Pause and summarize in your head. Stopping and thinking gives you time to synthesize new information. It allows you to ask questions, visualize, and determine what is important in the text.

Comprehension Fix-Up Strategies Ask a Question If you ask questions as you read, you will be more actively engaged with the text. You will be looking for answers to your questions, and will remember what you read. Readers who ask questions and know where the answers to their questions are to be found are more likely to have a better understanding of what they are reading.

Comprehension Fix-Up Strategies Retell Taking a moment to retell what has been read helps you reflect on what you have read. Retelling activates background knowledge and also provides a check on whether you are understanding. When you can’t retell what you’ve read, it shows that your mind has wandered and confusion has set in.

Comprehension Fix-Up Strategies Adjust Your Reading Rate Good readers adjust their rate to meet the demands of the task. Good readers slow down when something is difficult or unfamiliar. They also know that it’s okay to read faster when something is familiar. Good readers select a rate based on the difficulty of the material, their purpose in reading it, and how familiar they are with the topic.

Comprehension Fix-Up Strategies Ask for Help When you are not understanding what you are reading, and you do not know which fix- up strategy to use, ask someone. You might ask a friend or you might need help from a teacher or parent.

Remember… Before you can truly improve your reading skills, you need to understand what happens in good readers’ minds while they read. You may even do these things already. You just don’t know it…yet.