During Reading Strategies

Goal: To improve comprehension and analysis of primary source material and practice metacognitive skills.

SCIM-C

SCIM-C was designed by to help students develop the skills of historical inquiry, critical thinking, and intellectual flexibility. (Hicks, Doolittle, Ewing, 2004) Using a fluid "frames" approach, students read the primary source then perform the following task:

  1. Summarize information about the author, audience, purpose, content, and type of source.
  2. Contextualize or place the primary source in context based on the era, events, and geographic location related the primary source.
  3. Infer the variety of perspectives and/or interpretations implied by the primary source.
  4. Monitor or determine the additional evidence needed to check inferences, define terms, and clarify any information about which there are still questions.
  5. Corroborate by comparing additional primary and secondary sources and drawing conclusions.

Sample SCIM-C Chart and Resources

Graphic Organizer

Graphic organizers derive their name from the fact that students organize thoughts and information in a graphic format such as charts, webs, chains, maps, and sketches. They can be used for a variety of purposes including helping students compare and contrast; categorize, classify, sequence, evaluate, rank, analyze story elements, and collect evidence to support an opinion.

Sample Graphic Organizers

3 minute Pause Summarization

The 3-Minute Pause helps students process information by providing a short break during which they summarize new content, connect new content to prior knowledge, and are free to ask clarifying questions. This strategy was suggested by Ralph Tyler and is currently promoted by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins.

3 Minute Pause Guideline

Cloze Reading or Content Inventory

A Cloze Reading activity can be used to help students construct meaning from primary source documents and evaluate their comprehension of text content. After an initial reading of the primary source (either handwritten facsimile or transcription), words are deleted from a portion of the primary source text and replaced with blanks. During a second reading, students fill in the blanks with the word they think fits the meaning of the sentence. This strategy can be used with or without a word bank.

Sample Cloze Reading Guides and Information

Opinion - Proof Chart

This two-column chart allows students to personally engage with primary source content while challenging them to develop persuasive reasoning skills. Students are asked to record an opinion in the left column and, in the right column, to record evidence from the primary source that supports their opinion.

Sample Opinion - Proof Chart

Annolighting Text

Annolighting is a technique which helps students discover the main ideas and key concepts in a primary source text by highlighting the most essential words and writing marginal notes to aid in comprehension, analysis, and interpretation. The result is a distillation of the essential elements and message of the primary source.

Annolighting Text Instructions and Example

SQ3R

SQ3R helps students better retain primary source content information using reading and study strategies. This process involves the following steps:

  1. Survey - Students pre-read the primary source text by skimming headings, bold-faced type, and captions. Students make predictions about main idea and content.
  2. Question - Students turn headings into questions to answer while reading.
  3. Read - Students read the text and record the answer to each self-generated question.
  4. Recite -Students try to answer each question from memory.
  5. Review - Once done, students check to see if they can answer all the questions from memory one more time. If not, they review their questions and answers.

Further SQ3R Information

Column Notes

Column notes help students organize information about important content into relevant categories. Traditionally, the left column lists the items under investigation such as U.S. Presidents. Columns to the right provide space for students to record details about various curricular topics such as "challenges" and "accomplishments."

Sample Column Note-taking Chart

Choral Reading

Choral Reading helps students develop fluency, comprehension, and sight vocabulary. This is an important step to understanding the human emotion and subtle meanings in primary sources. Student pairs or groups read parts of a passage in unison alternating fast and slow lines, loud and soft lines, high and low voices, and emphasizing key words or phrases. This works especially well with poetry and other rhythmic passages. Choral Readings are repeated, as if preparing for a performance, until mastery

Further Choral Reading Information