A Skill Strong Readers Share

Students in classrooms across the United States spend an estimated 85 percent of their school day on assignments that require reading texts. A key difference between students who can read well and those who cannot is the ability to use metacognition.

Metacognition can be regarded as a conversation readers have with themselves about what they are reading. Metacognitive readers enjoy reading because they can find meaning in texts and think deeply to comprehend what they’re reading.

Those who have not yet learned to be metacognitive often have trouble reading fluently and comprehending what they read.

Virtually all students can learn how to become metacognitive readers when they are explicitly taught. Here are some tools for teaching students how to become metacognitive readers.

Before Reading

We consider the prereading stage to be of critical importance. The way teachers frame reading, by modeling passion, purpose, and curiosity about texts, fuels student motivation to read.

Allow students to select their reading material whenever possible. Guide students to appropriate selections they’ll be able to read with no less than 98 percent accuracy. This way, they can practice thinking about what they’re reading and increase their reading efficacy and fluency.

Read the entire post at Edutopia.com.