Last year, I posted a redesign of the comprehension strategies we use with our reading series. I’ve tweaked the posters a bit and am now re-posting them.
For the uninitiated, the explicit teaching of reading strategies is supported by current research on reading comprehension instruction. (See Put Reading First for more information).
A few versions of these posters have been circulated in my district. What I tried to do was to replace meaningless clip-art with visuals that better support the actual strategy as per design ideas widely circulated amongst bloggers.
As I’ve been using the strategy posters in the classroom, I’ve decided to change them again to make them a little bit easier to read and more user friendly. If you have any feedback on them please let me know.
Comprehension Strategy Posters
Comprehension Strategy Wall Chart
Comprehension Strategy Bookmark (pictured, above left)
Comprehension Strategy Cheat Sheet
Comprehension Strategy Powerpoint
Update: I’ve already made some subtle changes to the cards in terms of readabilty and consistency. The above links lead to the revised cards. Thanks for the feedback already received and keep it coming.
I like what you’ve done so far, the images are far better.
My comments would be to look for symmetry where it makes sense. For example, all your titles could be single words. All the explanatory text could be simpler action phrases (the one that sticks out to me is “Asking Questions” doesn’t really match the rest grammatically). And I’d leave the periods off. To me, it’s a cleaner look. I might try to center align the graphics too just to see how that looks. The bottom 3 seem off the the left.
Here are my suggestions:
Predict – Guess what happens next
Clarify – Look closer when things are confusing
Visualize – Imagine a picture in your head
Question – Ask questions to learn more
Connect – Connect what you read with what you already know
Summarize – Retell what happened in the story
These are great! Way more interesting to look at than the poster I was given from my reading program!
@Sylvia
Thanks for taking the time to give some great suggestions. I’ll take some time to examine them. I’m not sure about what language our textbooks use in terms of naming the strategies. I need to be consistent with what the textbook calls them but will try and balance that with putting them all in the same tense.
Matthew-
Your posters have been presentation zen’d-they are looking great! Love the powerful images.
I might suggest:
Visualizing is a full sensory expereience- maybe adapt to sensory image
Predicting is also about envisioning the future intentions, actions, motivations
Connections- can only be made if we active, use, and apply our background knowledge or schema
Great work- just thoughts to extend the strategies toward a deeper disposition of active, mindful, and lasting reading
Hi Angela,
Thank you for your suggestions. I’m considering having a different version of the cards for upper and lower grades. I might be able to work in some of your language for the upper grade cards.
Matthew
I really like the effort you have gone to have students in the classroom use this information in their learning. I like Angela’s suggestions particularly around connections and schema.
We try and use students words to describe what the strategies mean to them thus creating “anchor charts” [provide anchors for students learning] but after a time we need to replace these charts [space on classroom walls is precious] and your chrats as reminders of their work are powerful.
Well done! I will refer a number of my teachers to your site – thanks.
Mark Walker
http://www.mwalker.com.au
Thank you Matthew for sharing. What a wonderful world we live in when people like you put so much effort into resources and then generously share them with others. I like Angela’s suggestions – can’t add any more than that myself.
Thank’s so much for sharing these posters. What a fantastic resource. I’ll be pointing the rest of my team in the direction of your blog!
Beautifully done posters! Thanks for sharing!
Great posters thanks for sharing your knowledge and posters!
Great information and formatting!
Thanks so much for sharing these posters! I love the pictures and information.
Good Job!
Thank you, Mattew, for posting these materials. I have been looking for these EXACT materials. Our school district used your bookmark and mini posters in elementary classrooms and reading support programs. I am now tutoring a student who will benefit from this clear, concise format.