1. McNicoll Park Reading Program At McNicoll Park, as part of our literacy initiative, each student goes through a series of reading assessments throughout the year. These assessment provide our teachers with valuable information about the strengths and weaknesses of the individual reader. Each student is exposed to a variety of activities which are linked to reading strategies which help them with their individual reading program. At McNicoll Park we use a reading program called Reading Power. Reading Power was developed by Adrienne Gear, Literacy Mentor from the Vancouver School Board, as a way of teaching reading comprehension by focusing readers’ attention on their thinking as they read. Reading Power teaches students five strategies to enhance their understanding of the fiction texts they are reading. These strategies are Connect, Question, Visualize, Infer, and Transform. Follow the links to find details on each of these strategies. This information was taken directly from Adrienne Gear’s workshop Reading Power: Teaching students how to think while they read.ConnectQuestionVisualizeInfer Transform Back to Mr. Holowaty’s Web Page

2. Connect When readers learn to CONNECT while they are reading… The story reminds them of something they have experienced Their mind becomes flodded with memories They are making sense of the text in term of events and people in their own lives They are able to weave the stories of their own lives and their place in the world to the pages of the story they are reading They can make connections to pictures, plot, characters and feelings from the story Do so most likely when reading books about real-life situations such as family, friendship, school, siblings, pets, vacations etc. Reading Activities to help students connect… KWL Connecting Bookmarks BACK

3. Question When readers learn to QUESTION while they are reading they… Are learning the power of asking as well as answering questions Are encouraged to be curious readers Learn that asking questions can lead them to a greater understanding of the text Learn the difference between quick question and deep thinking questions Learn that not all questions have answers and often these unanswered questions will help to get at the heart of the story better than those which can be answered Practice what their “POWER-ful” brains are already capable of doing…asking questions. Reading Activities to help students question… Thinking While Reading 5Ws Back

4. Visualize When readers learn to visualize while they are reading they… Are using the words they hear or read in a text to create visual images or “movies in the mind” (Harvey and Goudvis, p. 11) Can “turn on their brain” just as they would turn on their T.V.’s and enjoy the many images they can create Are “training their brains” for when they begin to read books that don’t include pictures with the text Are encouraged to activate their imaginations when reading Combine their own background knowledge plus the words of the author to create mental images that enhance understanding of the text and bring reading to life Are able to see the story with their brain rather than their eyes Do so most likely when reading books about places, weather and seasons which are filled with rich, descriptive and vivid language Reading Activities to help students visualize Visualize… and other senses BACK

5. Infer When readers learn to infer while they are reading they… Learn to look for clues in text, in pictures and in their own knowledge which will help them to make sense of the text Are encouraged to become good “book detectives” Learn that some authors write very little text but leave clues for the reader to discover and interpret Understand the expression “less means more” means fewer words on the page means more thinking for the reader Are more likely to say “Ohhh – I get it now!” while reading, rather than “Huh? I don’t get it!” Reading Activities to help students infer… Read-Sketch-Draft-Infer BACK

6. Transform Readers who are learning to be transformed by what they read… Understand that books have the capability of changing the way we think about ourselves and our world Can be touched in some way by the words on the page, the thoughts in their heads and the feelings in their hearts Are introduced to books which deal with thought-provoking issues: war, conservation, homelessness, social responsibility, the integrity of the human spirit, poverty, rights of children…etc. Reading Activities to help students transform… Transform… What matters to me BACK