Middle School Science Reading Strategies

By Shelli Henry

Pre-Reading Strategies
Semantic Feature Analysis Grid helps students discern a terms meaning by comparing its
features to those of other terms that fall into the same category. This strategy can be used to
engage student thinking, as a way to collect data while students explore similarities and
differences, or as a way to quickly evaluate students knowledge. This strategy is used
throughout a students reading.

Wordsplash: Assemble a collection of keywords for a certain reading assignment. Arrange the
words on a piece of paper or on a projector in a random way. The random arrangement makes
the collection of words a wordsplash. Consider using www.wordle.net to create the wordsplash.
Have students make predictions about what they will be reading based on the wordsplash.

Watch a Video: Teachers should show a video to introduce the topic/lesson in order to help
provide the students with a visual representation to imagine while they are reading the
passage.

Tap into Prior Knowledge: Ask students what they already know about the topic, giving them a
chance to share their ideas and experiences in order to connect the text to their own lives.

Read Around The Text:

1. Look at the pictures. What ideas are being presented?
2. Look at the captions and read them.
3. Look at the maps, charts, and graphs.
Discuss what information they present.
4. Look at the titles and headings. What is the big idea?
5. Read the first and last lines of each paragraph
for more information.
6. Ask questions. Give yourself a reason to read.
During Reading Strategies
Coding Text: A method of margin marking that helps students practice thinking while reading.
You wouldnt require students to use all of the margin marks in a particular text, but instead
you should choose a few active reading skills and corresponding marks for students to employ
during the reading, based on particular aspects of the text.

Possible Sentences: Create a list of key terms and phrases from a reading. Provide students with
a list of these terms and have students use two words or phrases to create possible sentences
they might come across during their reading. Afterwards have them evaluate the relatedness of
their sentences.

Say Something: Students work in small groups and read a passage from a text chosen by the
teacher. Prior to student reading, predetermined stopping points are marked. For example, a
chapter from a text may be divided into 10 sections. Students mark each section as a stopping
point. All students begin reading and read until stopping at point one. Students take turns
saying something about what was read. All students in the group are expected to respond to
the text. The groups are student-run, but the teacher serves as a rotating facilitator to assist and
observe groups as needed. When everyone is done reading, students take turns saying
something.
 Summarizing: Students can use this chart to write down important information as they read the
text. This is a great way for them to outline the text and then summarize at the end.

Explanation Tool Sheet: Another more scientific tool for outlining and summarizing text is the
Explanation Tool Sheet. This allows the student to gather evidence and apply science concepts
to their writing. (See next page.)
Post-Reading Strategies
Creative Debate promotes discussion, original thinking, and thinking from different
perspectives. Students are separated into groups to debate a topic from previous study. Each
group gets a chance to debate both sides of the argument.
o Possible science topics include: Everybody can do science. Potential research subjects
should be told about both the risks and benefits of the research projects. New
technology can change cultural values and social behavior. Any belief about the world
is as valid as any other. Animals should not be used as research subjects. The
international community should adopt and enforce laws to prevent further global
warming. Companies should be allowed to drill for oil in protected wilderness areas.
Cloning of humans should be allowed. Funding for future space programs should be
reduced. Unwanted, frozen, human embryos should be used for genetics research.
Genetically engineered food crops are safe for human consumption.

Very Important Points (VIPs): This exercise holds students accountable for picking out the key
concepts in a passage by having students share their notes on the ideas after the class has read
a text. Among the many ways to implement this strategy is the following approach:
o As students read, they write questions on sticky-notes about what they have read. In
addition, encourage students to mark the three most important points of the text.
o Then, as a post-reading activity, put students into groups of three or four and have them
discuss the answers to their questions or why they chose to mark a point as very
important. It is critical to have students justify what they have answered or marked as
important.

R.A.F.T.: Students are asked to write from a Role, for a particular Audience, in a particular
Format, on a particular Topic.
o For example, students studying weather could be asked to write as a storm cloud, to an
audience of sunshine lovers, in the form of an editorial, about the bias toward the Sun.

Class Google Slide Presentation: The class is given an article or section of a textbook to read.
Students should use a During-Reading Strategy to take notes while reading. After reading, the
teacher should separate the class into groups. Each group is responsible for filling in one slide
of a shared Google slide presentation to represent the section of the reading they were
assigned. Each slide should include the main topic, sub topics, images, vocabulary etc. The
groups will share their summaries to the class. This presentation will now be a study guide for
the class to use for future assessments.
 Reading Science Text Cards: Text cards help students interact with words and their meanings.
Teachers can create science text cards by writing statements about science concepts on index
cards. Working individually or in small groups, students discuss the statements before sorting.
A number of different formats can be used:
o True/false cards. These cards include statements drawn from the text. Students sort
the cards into true and false piles. For example, when teaching a unit on plants, use
statements such as: Plants use light from the sun in the process of photosynthesis
(true), and Plants must depend on animals for food (false).
o Agree/disagree cards. This format works well for more value-laden or controversial
topics. One statement (including appropriate vocabulary) is written on each card.
Students sort the cards into three categories: agree, disagree, or not sure.
o Matching pairs. Students are given a stack of cards and asked to match a term with its
associated function, symbol, scientific name, etc. For example, a stack might include
cards with the names of body parts and other cards that name the body parts functions.
Students match each part to its appropriate function. Other topics for matching pairs
could include:
parts of a device and its function (e.g. simple machines)
types of teeth and their functions for classification of animals
common name and scientific name
material and its common use
technical term, meaning, image
chemical name and symbol
o Sequencing. For cyclical concepts like the water cycle or the seasons, create one card for
each stage in the cycle. Have students arrange the cards in a circular formation to
represent the stages of the cycle. Examples include:
egg, larva, pupa, adult
spring, summer, fall, winter
evaporation, condensation, precipitation, accumulation
o Classification. Make a set of index cards naming vertebrates, for example, and another
set with characteristics of each group one characteristic per card:

***These cards can be used in two different ways: 1) Pass out one card to each student, and
have them find the other students who belong in their group. 2) Mix up the cards and have
students work in small groups to sort the characteristics into the appropriate groups.
Additional examples for this strategy include:
simple machines and examples of each
insect orders and characteristics of each
ecosystems with plants and animals that live in each