In Chapter 6 “Frontloading Meaning: Pre-Reading Strategies,” Beers gives us a couple of examples of ways teachers can get kids to think about the text before they actually read. Instead of just telling the students a little about what the book is about, there are activities that can be used to get their mental juices flowing a bit more. I remember one teacher from high school in specific, who shall remain nameless, who would pass out the books, give a brief synopsis of the book, and assign the reading for the next day. Teachers should try their hardest to get the kids somewhat interested and engaged before they even pass out the book, unlike my one teacher in high school.
My favorite strategy that Beers discussed was the Probable Statement worksheet. I think that this could really be helpful in helping students activate their imagination, which is crucial to have when reading any text. By giving students just key words from the book they can discuss in small groups what they think each of those terms has to do with the story. In addition, the three questions to discover can help the teacher figure out what the students are looking for from the text. The unknown words category is a great way to also introduce new vocabulary. The more developed vocabulary the students have, the better their chances are of becoming a successful reader.
Sarah, I had many teachers like you did in high school. I think this is one reason I had never thought about these pre-reading strategies, because my teachers never really addressed it and I did them on my own without even thinking about it. I see now that my teachers really hurt those struggling readers by rushing into the book and not discussing it more.
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