Five Reading Strategies That Actually Stick

Most comprehension strategies fail not because they are wrong, but because they are one more thing to remember on a Thursday afternoon. The routines below work because they attach to something you already do.

Start with a two-minute preview. Before students read, have them scan headings, bold words and images, then predict one thing they expect to learn. It costs almost nothing and dramatically improves recall.

Then anchor questioning to evidence. Rather than asking what happened, ask which sentence proves it. Students quickly learn that an answer without a line reference is only half an answer.