Reading

Reading Power

We have two voices – a speaking voice and a thinking voice. The thinking voice, that voice in your head, is what good readers pay attention to when they are reading to help them make better sense of the text.

Good readers are metacognitive. That means they have an awareness, or an understanding, that their brain needs to be doing specific things while they’re reading to help them understand the text better.

Good readers know that reading is not just being able to say the words on the page. Reading is being able to say the words and also think about what those words mean to them.

Good readers know that in order to be successful readers, they need to be thinking about the story while they are reading.

The 5 reading powers addressed in the Reading Power program are:

1. Connecting

When you learn to connect when reading:

·         the story reminds you of something you have experienced.

·         your mind becomes flooded with memories.

·         you are making sense of the text in terms of events and people in your own lives.

·         you can make connections to pictures, plot, characters, and feelings from the story.

·         you are most likely reading books about real-life situations, such as family, friendship, school, siblings, pets, vacations, etc.

2.  Questioning

When you learn to question while reading:

·         you are learning the power of asking as well as answering questions

·         you are encouraged to be a curious reader

·         you learn that asking questions can lead you to a greater understanding of the text

·         you learn the difference between quick questions and deep-thinking question

·         you 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 that can be answered

·         you practice what your Power-ful brain is already capable of doing – asking questions

3.   Visualizing

When you learn to visualize while reading:

·         you are using the words you hear or read in a text to create visual images or “movies” in your mind

·         you can turn on your brain just as you would turn on your TV, to enjoy the many images you can create

·         you are training your brain for when you begin to read books that don’t include pictures with the text

·         you are encouraged to activate your memories when you read

·         you combine your own background knowledge with the words of the author to create mental images that enhance understanding of the text and bring reading to life

·         you are able to activate all of your senses to create mental images

·         it is most likely to happen when you’re reading books about places, weather, or seasons that are filled with rich, descriptive, and vivid language

4.  Inferring

When you learn to infer while reading:

·         you learn to look for clues in text, in pictures, and in your own knowledge that will help you to make sense of the text

·         you are encouraged to become a good “book detective”

·         you learn that some authors write very little text but leave clues for the reader to discover and interpret

·         you understand that the expression “less is more” means that fewer words on the page means more thinking for the reader

·         you learn to fill in, in your head, what’s not written on the page

·         you are more likely to say, “Oh, I get it now!” while you read, than “Huh? I don’t get it.”

5.  Transforming

When you learn to be transformed by what you read:

·         you understand that books have the ability to change the way we think about ourselves and our world

·         you can be touched in some way by the words on the page, the thoughts in your head, and the feelings in your heart

·         you are introduced to books that deal with thought-provoking issues: war, conservation, homelessness, social responsibility, the integrity of the human spirit, poverty, the rights of children

·         you learn to look beyond the pages of the text towards the implications and effects the book may have on your own life

·         you are challenged by change

·         you understand that transformation takes place over time, and that reading a particular book plants seeds that may one day make a difference to the way you live or view the world

·         you know that a story has the power to change you, because your brain has the power to store away facts, stories, questions, and feelings that will shape your lives

·         you learn to look for the things in a book that matter most to you

·         you ask yourself, “What difference has this book made to me?” or “ Has anything in me changed because of this book?”

·         you are learning that being able to identify what matters to you is the beginning of being shaped by the world around you