Mini-Lesson

Monitoring Comprehension

Grades 4-6

Students will use strategies to overcome confusion when they read.

1. Start a discussion about what readers can do when they get stuck. Ask: Have you ever gotten confused while you were reading? What did you do? Were you able to get back on track?

2. Tell students about two strategies that good readers use to overcome confusion. One is to go back and reread the last few sentences. If your mind was wandering while you read something the first time, going back can do the trick. Another strategy is to keep on reading. You might find the answer to your question in the next few sentences.

3. Pass out the timeforkids.com story, A New Team Player. Demonstrate using one of these strategies by thinking aloud about the first paragraph. For example: It says here that Eri Yoshida has thrown a knuckleball. I'm confused because I am not familiar with this term. I will try reading on to see if the author explains what a knuckleball is...

4. Encourage students to use these strategies as they read the rest of the article.