Learning Targets
What you should be able to do by the end of today’s lesson.Learning Target(s)
- Think critically, creatively, and reflectively to analyze ideas within, between, and beyond texts.
- Use active reading skills to predict, visualize, connect, question, and respond to questions on a selection of prose.
- Evaluate how literary elements, techniques, and devices enhance and shape meaning and impact.
Before you read, ask: “What’s my purpose today?”
(test prep, discussion, writing a response, or reading for enjoyment)
Active Reading Strategies
Active reading means thinking while you read. Choose the strategies that match your purpose.What is Active Reading?
Active reading means you don’t just “go through” a text—you interact with it: noticing, questioning, and building meaning.
Strategies (choose 2–3 today)
- Pre-reading questions: topic, title clues, what you know, what you wonder.
- Define unfamiliar terms: highlight and look up meanings.
- Find the main idea/thesis: bracket it and star it.
- Margin notes: summarize, question, agree/disagree, write keywords.
- Turn headings into questions: read to answer them.
- Visual organizers: outlines, flow charts, diagrams.
- “What it says / what it does”: idea + purpose in the text.
- One-page summary: main ideas + 1–2 examples.
- Create an exam question: test deeper understanding.
- Teach it out loud: explaining strengthens long-term memory.
Your task: Write down the 2–3 strategies you will use before you start reading.
SQ3R
SQ3R helps you understand a text the first time: Survey • Question • Read • Recite • Review.- Survey (Skim): preview headings, bold words, charts—get the big picture.
- Question: create questions from what you preview.
- Read: read to answer your questions (stay focused).
- Recite: say answers out loud; jot notes for later.
- Review: revisit the text; retell key ideas; answer leftover questions.
Quick win: If you only do one step, do Question. Questions turn reading into a mission.
Active Reading for Short Stories
Fiction invites you into a world—your job is to build meaning as the story unfolds.- QUESTION: Why do characters act this way? What causes events? Why include certain details?
- VISUALIZE: picture scenes; revise your mental image; use it to clear confusion.
- PREDICT: what might happen next? What hints suggest an outcome?
- CONNECT: link to your life, real world, and other events in the story.
- RESPOND: what does it mean? How does it make you feel? What does it teach?
Goal: Use at least 5 strategies consistently across the story.
Student Tools Checklist
Use this checklist while reading. It turns “passive reading” into visible progress.
Mini Prompts:
I predict… • I visualize… • I connect… • I wonder… • This matters because…
Assignment: Active Reading “Games at Twilight”
Answer in complete, descriptive sentences. Refer to the question in your answer.Task: Answer the questions below using complete, descriptive sentences. Each question is labeled with the active-reading strategy.
- PREDICT: What does the title of the story suggest about its content?
- VISUALIZE / CONNECT: Put yourself in Ravi’s position. What would you have done after Raghu left the shed area?
- PREDICT / CONNECT: If you could speak to Ravi, what would you tell him about games?
- QUESTION: In the story, where does Ravi hide?
- QUESTION: Even though he wasn’t caught, what causes Ravi to lose the game?
- QUESTION: How does Ravi feel about Raghu?
- VISUALIZE: Based on Ravi’s choices, what do we know about his personality?
- RESPOND: At the end of the story, what bitter lesson does Ravi learn?
- RESPOND: Will Ravi’s “sense of insignificance” remain strong? Explain.
Assessment Criteria
- Learning Target (6/6): Exemplary comprehension; all activities complete and correct; thoughtful and unique ideas.
- Written Expression (6/6): Varied sentence structure and vocabulary; proofread; insightful connections; logical organization.
Time plan (45–60 min):
10 min preview + question • 20–25 min read + annotate • 15–20 min answer • 5 min review + proofread