Read, Rate, and Reread 1

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Reading Skills

• Determining writer's purpose
• Identifying the main idea
• Monitoring reading
• Establishing a purpose for reading

Overview of "Read, Rate, and Reread" Strategy

This lesson will help students improve their reading comprehension by emphasizing the importance of careful, repeated readings of material. This strategy can be adapted for use during students' reading of any section of the novel. In this lesson, chapter 5 of Wish You Well will be used because it is short enough to be read two or three times by all students during a class period. It is also far enough into the novel for the students to have some prior knowledge to help with understanding.

The students will read a short selection three times and evaluate their understanding of the passage on each successive reading. They will further develop their skill at monitoring their own reading comprehension.

Activity for "Read, Rate, and Reread" Strategy

1. Assign chapter 5 to be read in class. Ask students to rate their understanding of their reading on a scale of 1 to 10. Also, ask them to list any questions they have about their reading. Explain that questions may be about what happened, vocabulary, motivation, or anything else that seems unclear. Although students could do this activity without a chart, one that may prove helpful has been provided below. 
2. Direct students to read the chapter and rate their understanding again. Have them indicate which earlier questions they can now answer.
3. Ask students to work in groups of two or three to discuss any unanswered questions they have. Students who answer the questions should indicate the portion of the text that led them to their answer. The groups should list any questions they are still unable to answer. At this point, the questions should include some discussion/opinion questions that might be discussed by the entire class.
4. Ask students to read the chapter for a third time and rate their understanding of the passage one last time.
5. Discuss any remaining questions with the entire class.

Assessment

Ask students to write a sentence or two about what they learned from this reading strategy. Then assess the exercise through discussion with the entire class. Include such questions as the following:

• What did you learn from this activity?
• What was most useful about the activity?
• How will this experience affect the way you approach reading material in the future?
• Did your understanding ratings change? If so, how?
• How do you think your reading of the four previous chapters affected your understanding of this chapter of the novel?

Blackline Master
Read, Rate, Reread 1
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1. Read the assigned selection, and in the second column, rate your understanding, using a scale of from 1 to 10 with 10 as the highest rating. In the third column, list any questions you have about the selection. 
2. Read the selection a second time, and again rate your understanding. In the third column, list any additional questions you have. In the fourth column, note those questions that were answered by the second reading.
3. Work in a group to answer any of your remaining questions. Note those questions that are now answered. 
4. As a group, list any questions that remain unanswered.
5. Read the selection for a third time, and again rate your understanding.

	Understanding Rating (Scale 1-10)	Questions	Answers
1st Reading
2nd Reading
3rd Reading