Much of what teachers can do to improve reading comprehension and fluency in students of all ages takes place before the students start reading. By utilizing the following activities, teachers can help students become more strategic in their approach to both fiction and non-fiction text, which will increase understanding and allow for higher-level discussion and more in-depth post-reading activities.

Preview the Text

Previewing text mentally prepares a student to receive information from written material. For fiction, it involves looking at the cover and title, reading the blurbs on the back, considering the author and his or her style, and predicting, in a general way, what the story may be about. For non-fiction, it includes discussion of the topic, review of prior knowledge, and the generation of possible questions that may be answered through reading.

During the preview stage, discussion for fiction should center on whether the students think the story will be realistic fiction or fantasy and why, who the characters may be and how they will interact, what the problem in the story may be, etc. By focusing on story structure, teachers give students a framework on which to put information from the text and to better understand it.