Before Reading

Brainstorm on the topic so that students find out what they already know. Make sure students know how the text is structured. Teach key words and clues to help students make sense of the text. The Great Questions glossary is helpful in this regard.

One tool educators can use is a Graphic Organiser. Graphic organisers help less skilled readers organise their thinking and their note taking so that they can make the most out of their reading. For example, graphic organisers can be used to prompt students to compare positions taken by different writers on the same question.

For a printable organiser click here

Organiser for Creative Controversy Steps help students, either individually or in teams, focus their note-taking on relevant information and avoid the "narrative trap": the tendency among weaker students to just write everything down without recognising how it might fit into an argument they will later present in oral or written form

Click for an example of Discussion Web that can be printed out for classroom use.

During Reading

Although reading is an individual task, working with others on an issue - such as understanding the contrasting views of two Great Questions authors - can help all students make the most of their reading.

For example, students can be taught to G.R.A.S.P or Guided Reading and Summary Procedure. GRASP consists of the following steps:

Step 1 Carefully read the complete selection
Step 2 Brainstorm remembered information
Step 3 Refer to the text for corrections and additions
Step 4 Group similar brainstormed ideas together
Step 5 Label each set of ideas with a topic heading
Step 6 Write a summary that includes one sentence for each set of ideas