Reading Mini-Lessons
Using Mini-Lessons in DEAR or SSR to Improve Comprehension
Using mini-lessons during DEAR, SSR, or other individual reading times can boost reading comprehension without sacrificing student choice in reading material.
Reading is Thinking
Encouraging students to read for pleasure is an important goal of independent reading times in the classroom. However, these times can also be used to encourage students to think about what they’re reading.
Presentation
Begin each reading session with a short mini-lesson. Choose a theme or topic that students should be thinking about while they read, then choose a short picture book that illustrates this theme.
Present the theme to your students (i.e., “Readers think about how characters change and grow when they read.”) and ask for their thoughts. Read the picture book and ask how the theme was illustrated in the story. Prompt students to think about the theme as they read and to be ready to talk about how the theme was illustrated in their story when reading time is over.
Suggestions for Mini-Lessons
Genre
Predicting Outcomes
Characters Change and Grow
What Speech Tells Us About the Character Speaking
How Authors Use Titles
Point of View
Figurative Language
…and many more!
Activity
Students can use sticky notes to write down their thoughts as they read. This allows them to keep the thought with the passage that prompted it, so they can more easily talk about what they were thinking about the day’s theme. It also allows them to remember questions they had or connections they made to the text.
Assessment/Wrap-Up
At the end of reading time, ask for several volunteers to share their responses to the theme or mini-lesson as it related to the book they were reading. You may find that, once you get started, even the shy students want to share with the group.
Depending on the topic of the mini-lesson and the time you have available, the wrap-up session can be expanded to include as many students as are willing to speak. If your class does guided reading or leveled reading groups, you can use this same technique to prompt one or all of your reading groups to focus on the same reading topic or skill in their daily reading.
References and Other Places to Look for Information
Reading Workshop Assessment and Mini-Lessons
Reading Strategies Mini-Lessons
