There are a variety of strategies that parents and homeschool teachers can use to help children improve their reading skills. From allowing the child to preview the text to get an idea of the content and structure to asking the kid to summarize what they had just read, implementing these strategies can work wonders when it comes to reading. But as a homeschool teacher or parent, how do you figure out when and how to use these strategies? Here’s a guide that can help.

Before reading

Before reading strategies give the students an idea about the topic that they have to read. By taking a few minutes to scan the text, they can get a better sense of what the topics will be and how they relate to what they already know. This can help them focus their attention and make more efficient use of their time while reading.

1. Anticipation guide

An effective strategy that homeschool teachers and parents can follow is the anticipation guide. This guide activates prior knowledge and prepares the students for upcoming material. It consists of a series of statements related to the topic at hand. You can follow the steps below to create an anticipation guide for your child:

  • Prepare a worksheet that includes a series of statements related to the topic of a reading selection.
  • For each statement, ask the student whether they agree or disagree with the topic. The statements are meant to provoke thought and foster discussion.
  • You can make general statements that will challenge the child’s decision.
  • Ask the student to give a response to the respective statements and see whether they respond positively or negatively.

2. Collaborative strategic reading

Collaborative strategic reading is another effective strategy that can help homeschool students to read easily. CSR is based on the premise that all students can learn to read if they are given the proper support and instruction. This strategy will also allow you to understand the progress that the student has made after the anticipation guide stage is over. Ideally, it would be best if you can group a few students according to their reading levels. If you can’t, you can follow the steps below:

  • Once the child knows what topic he will be reading about, you should provide a few guidelines that they can include in their writing logs. This can include taking notes or drawing diagrams about the discussed topic.
  • The next step is to ask the student to write about the topic that he will read later. This will later help the student understand whether he was right about the topic, thus making it easier to grasp the idea of the topic that he will read.

3. Concept sorts

The concept sort reading strategy is a great way for homeschool students to improve their reading comprehension skills. The basic idea is to provide students with various words and terms from the reading material and ask them to place them into different categories. For example, they might sort a list of animals into categories like mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. This will help you get an idea of what the students know about the reading material. Here’s how you can prepare:

  • First, introduce the topic to your students.
  • Next, select a few terms from the topic.
  • Make several categories where the respective words or terms will fit best.
  • Ask the students to sort the words into those categories.

During reading

The during reading strategy is a technique that can be used to help homeschooling students better understand and retain the information that they are reading. The basic idea is to have students pause periodically while they are reading, and then answer questions about what they have just read. The questions can be general, such as asking about the main idea of the passage, or they can be more specific, such as asking about a particular character or event. By providing periodic breaks for reflection, the during reading technique can help students increase their comprehension and retention of the text.

1. Concept maps

A concept map is a visual tool that can be helpful to homeschool students to organize and represent ideas. When reading, a concept map can come in handy to keep track of the main ideas and supporting details. Here’s an easy way to make a concept map for homeschool students:

  • To create a concept map, start by writing the main topic in the center of a piece of paper.
  • Then, draw lines out from the center and add related ideas. For example, if the student is reading about animals, you can create a concept map with “animal kingdom” at the center.
  • The other lines could lead to other ideas such as “how different animals eat,” “whether they are herbivorous or carnivorous,” and “where the respective animals usually thrive.”

2. DRTA or Directed Reading Thinking Activity

The Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is a strategy that guides students in reading a selection and then responding to it by answering questions. When using the DRTA strategy, students first read a selection silently. As they are reading, they should identify the main idea of the selection and make predictions about what will happen next. As the teacher, you will have to prepare a few questions about the topic and ask the students once they finish reading. Their answers will prove whether they could grasp the subject or not.

3. Inferential reading

Inferential reading is about using clues from the text to draw conclusions about what is not explicitly stated. This type of reading gives an idea of what the students interpret from the reading material. While inferential reading can be a challenging task, it is also essential for developing a deep understanding of a text. By learning to make inferences, homeschool students can gain new insights into the complexities of literary texts. You can follow these steps for inferential reading:

  • Ask your students to think about what they had just read.
  • Encourage the students to write down their predictions or express their opinions on the topic.
  • Ask the students to read out the passage loud without interrupting.
  • Ask the students to review what they had written earlier.
  • Discuss the information mentioned in the passage whether the opinion of the student is close to it or not.

After reading

As the name suggests, after reading strategies are those which are employed once the student has finished reading a text. These strategies may involve answering questions, discussing the text with others, or writing about what was read. The important thing about after reading strategy is that they help the student process and understand the topic. Employing after reading strategies will help you understand the ability of the student to analyze, summarize, reflect, discuss, and answer questions from the text.

1. Exit slips

Exit slips are an after reading strategy in which students write down a summary of what they have read. This could include main ideas, important details, or unanswered questions. You can use this strategy to assess the reading and analyzing capability of the student. They can also be used to generate discussion points for the next lesson. Exit slips are a quick and easy way to gauge understanding, and they can be scaffolded to meet the needs of all learners.

2. Question-answer relationship

After reading a text, it is important to be able to answer questions about it in order to demonstrate understanding. The QAR strategy helps students do this by teaching them how to think about the different types of questions that can be asked about a text, and the appropriate level of detail to provide in their answers. You can divide the questions into four categories:

  • Right There Questions - These questions can be answered directly from the text, without any additional thought or research.
  • Think and Search Questions - These questions require the student to think carefully about the text and may require reading the topic again.
  • Author and You - These questions ask the student to reflect on their own opinions and feelings in relation to what they have read.
  • On My Own - These questions are open-ended and cannot be answered directly from the text; instead, they require the student to use their own knowledge and experiences.

By learning how to identify the different types of questions that can be asked about a text, students can develop a better understanding of what is being asked of them when they are assigned a reading comprehension task.

3. Summarizing

Summarizing is a critical reading strategy that allows students to identify the main ideas of the topic. When students summarize, they condense the information in a text into a shorter, more concise form. In order to effectively summarize, you can ask your students to identify the key points in the text and determine which details are essential and which can be omitted. When applied effectively, summarizing can help students better understand and remember what they have read.

Although many students dread reading, it is a crucial skill that should be mastered. With the right strategies in place, your homeschooled student can excel in reading and become a lifelong reader.