Why does predicting help readers

It requires students to use what they have read and know about a topic in order to anticipate what will happen in a text, or what a text will be about. Making predictions before, during, and after reading comes very naturally to skilled readers, but for struggling readers, this skill can be just the opposite. Therefore, it is important that teachers model making predictions and continually provide ways for students to practice this reading comprehension strategy independently.

Growing readers can have a difficult time making predictions that are meaningful and logical. By modeling and practicing this reading strategy often, students learn to create strong predictions based on text evidence and background knowledge.

Below are five ways students can practice making predictions as a class or individually. When reading aloud any piece of text, teachers can use a think aloud technique to model how good readers continually make predictions before, during, and after reading. This technique can be thoughtfully planned ahead before implementing, but is also effective to demonstrate often with any piece of text read aloud in class. Teachers can show how they piece together evidence from the text to pose predictions, as well as how they revise their predictions as they continue to read.

Learners can make predictions based on patterns. From this info, learners will be able to predict the data they collected to confirm their answers as they justify their reasoning.

Predicting can be used in science when learners experiment. Based on their observations, learners will predict what might happen next as they collect data and support their answers with evidence. The Edvocate. Top Menu. What is a School Principal? Spread the love.

Matthew Lynch. Related articles More from author. Early Childhood. By Matthew Lynch. Healing Through Co-Regulation March 15, How Spelling Supports Reading August 18, It also includes ideas for supporting students as they become proficient in making predictions about text. This article provides a step-by-step sequence for teachers who wish to create a directed reading thinking activity with any type of text. Tips for Success with Informational Text This brief article discusses five steps that can help students make predictions about an informational text.

Students preview the article and then jot down words that they would expect to find in the article. The Science Process Skills This article includes definitions of both prediction and hypothesis as they apply to science. Learning and Assessing Science Process Skills This book explains basic and integrated science process skills and provides activities to help your students develop these skills.

This article was written by Jessica Fries-Gaither. She has taught in elementary and middle school settings. Email Jessica at beyondweather msteacher. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This work is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.