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Strategies Specific to Non-fiction

Tags

ELA: Reading All Ages Strategy

Skills

Flexible Thinking Verbal Reasoning Abstract Reasoning Processing Speed

Strategies Specific to Non-fiction

Help students adjust their reading style for non-fiction

Instruction And Practice

  1. Objective: Help students adjust their reading approach with non-fiction to help them with what can feel more challenging.
  2. Preview the material in advance with students. Fill in any presumed knowledge or eliminate misconceptions before students start reading. Ex, if the student lives in Hawaii it might be relevant to know that it snows in winter in New York.
  3. Explain that reading non-fiction usually requires a slower, more deliberate approach than fiction: Expect reading to take longer and do self check-ins for understanding every few paragraphs.
  4. Specific vocabulary can be critical in non-fiction. Students should look up unfamiliar words and jot the definition.
  5. Help students notice comparisons the author is making, both similarities and differences, to other concepts.
  6. Encourage students to stop and think about any numbers in the text. Numbers and charts are often a summary of the most important information so give them extra focus not less.

*print* Student Checklist: What To Consider In Non-fiction Reading

  1. Review any background information from my teacher before reading.
  2. Highlight or underline important details as I read.
  3. Stop after every few paragraphs to check in: Did I understand what I just read? Can I describe it in my own words? Can I picture it?
  4. If I don't understand or have difficulty re-telling it, go back and re-read in smaller chunks. If there is only a minor detail I don't understand, flag it and return to it at the end if necessary.
  5. Look up unfamiliar vocabulary words and jot the definition in the text. Consider if words have more than one meaning.
  6. Generally, details are more important in non-fiction. After finishing, go back and re-read just the highlighted details to see if the big picture is clear.

Why It Works (the Science Of Learning)!

Reading non-fiction texts often requires abstract reasoning skills which might not be as essential in fiction reading. Giving students strategies unique to non-fiction will help them adjust their approach to what can feel more challenging and less interesting texts.