BEST PRACTICES

Cynthia Lara-Reading I & II

IMPLEMENTATION TIPS FOR

COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIC READING (CSR)

Selecting Reading Samples

• Textbooks
• Textbook Supplements
• Authentic Materials (magazines for students)

Preparing CSR Materials

• Student Folders
• Learning Logs and Clunk Cards
• Cue Sheets for Student Roles
• Cooperative Group Checklists

Implementing Cooperative Learning Groups

• Keep the same groups for several weeks
• Review working in groups
• Reteach expectations
• Start with partners and slowly work up to groups
• Monitor, circulate, and reward correct behaviors

Teaching Cooperative Learning Roles

• Assign everyone a job
• Color-code cue sheets and job cards
• Have one person responsible for selecting and retrieving materials
• Have students practice their role for several weeks

Finding a Spot to Start CSR

• Preteach vocabulary in a passage
• Introduce a topic
• Read a portion or all of a lesson
• Use current events

Starting Early

• Start at the beginning of the year
• Model CSR during the first reading assignment
• Provide whole group practice before CL groups

Timing is the Key: You Be the Judge

• 20 to 40 minutes
• 2 to 3 times weekly
• Once weekly for test/quiz preparation

Evaluating with Follow Up Activities

• Clunk Chains
• Graphic Organizers
• Venn Diagrams
• 5 W’s
• Semantic Webs

Here’s a plan for strategic Reading:

Prior to Reading: 1. Preview

a. Brainstorm: What do we already know about the topic?

b. Predict: What do we think we will find out when we read the passage?

During Reading: 2. Click and clunk

a. Were there any parts that were hard to understand

(clunks)?

b. How can we fix the clunks?

3. Get the Gist

a. What is the most important who or what?

b. What is the most important idea about the who or what?

After Reading: 4. Wrap Up

a. Ask questions: What questions would show we understand

the most important information?

b. Review: What did we learn?