Teaching reading strategies in the elementary years is so important, especially as students transition from learning to read, to reading to learn!
Helping elementary students develop a love for reading is something that we can do as teachers, especially if we have the right tools in our reading toolbox.
Now, I know sometimes it’s not easy to get students excited about a text, especially given some of the standard curriculum that we have to use. However, I want to share with you a reading strategy that is sure to boost your students’ reading engagement, no matter the text being used.
Lit. Messages are simply thoughts that the reader has about the text during reading, that they write down on a “Lit. Message” page or sticky note. This practice helps students analyze and evaluate the text in a fun way!
Lit. Messages are short codes that represent various reading strategies like making connections, making predictions, evaluating plot and characters, asking questions, etc..
Students write down their Lit. Message and stick it on the page in their text where they stopped and used a strategy. This can be in their anthology, during a novel study, or in their independent reading book.
When I first introduce Lit. Messages, I use the chart below and we practice stopping and writing down our messages together. This guided practice will help set students up for success in independently using Lit. Message.
You can come up with your own set of Lit. Messages for your students, or you can grab the FREEBIE below of the Lit. Messages I use with my students.
Of course, before you introduce Lit. Messages your students will need practice using the various reading strategies!
Here are two resources that will help you as you guide students through learning how to respond to text using reading comprehension strategies:
I hope you decide to give Lit. Messages a try in your classroom! You can grab the Lit. Messages FREEBIE below:
Let’s keep inspiring a love of learning!
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