Post-reading

=Postreading = (15-20% of instructional time should be spent on postreading activities.) Postreading activities encourage students to reflect upon what they have read. For the information to stay with the students, they need to go beyond simply reading it to using it. Using it can involve answering questions, summarizing main ideas, drawing conclusions, or applying the information to a new situation.

The above definition can be found at http://somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/reading/postreading.html.

Summarizing and Responding
Summarizing is a very important strategy that students need to learn. It involves extracting the main ideas from a reading selection and explaining what the author says about them. Here are some options for teaching this complex strategy:


 * Use “mapping” to help students construct summaries. Show students how to construct a summary, using knowledge about the author’s structure of the text, and then how to respond to the text, based on the reader’s own experience and opinion.


 * Instead of writing a response, students can summarize a text and then write questions that can be the basis for discussion in class.


 * Alternatively, students in groups can summarize one of the main parts of the text and then work together as a class to create a coherent paragraph that summarizes all the main points of the text.