How does predicting help comprehension

I am going to predict that this is a crime story. That means the author will tell me about some crime and how the case of who did the crime was solved. Just like us, the characters will be looking for evidence. Our evidence will be about the predictions we make. I will be looking for something about solving a crime. Read the first section of the story aloud or have students read the first section with a partner.

Teacher script: We just read that Holmes was investigating a case with a hat and a goose that had been left behind when a man was attacked. Holmes was using his magnifying glass to study the hat to figure out who owned it. That is information I can include in the arrow on our graphic organizer.

The evidence I will write is that Holmes was investigating a case with a hat and a goose. Now I can evaluate my prediction in the last box of our organizer. Holmes is trying to find the owner of the hat and goose because he wants to figure out what really happened. Just like Holmes, I want to know who stole that jewel! Who do you think did it? Turn to your shoulder partner and talk about the evidence we learned in the story that can help us guess who stole the jewel.

Listen to student partners talk and find a pair who identify that Henry Baker ran away when the police arrived after he was attacked on the street. Teacher script: I heard some of you talking about a character in the story who did something that makes him seem guilty. What evidence did we read about a character who might have had something to do with the stolen jewel? Why would Henry Baker run away when the police got there?

He must have known the jewel was in the goose. Where on our graphic organizer should I write our evidence? Have students point out the first box.

See Figure 3 for an example of how the Making and Evaluating Predictions graphic organizer will be completed during the guided practice phase outlined in steps 7 and 8. Teacher script: Who can tell me the prediction I should write in the think bubble on the graphic organizer? Teacher script: We have read some information that will help us know if our prediction was accurate. Turn to your partner and talk about how you know that Henry Baker did not steal the jewel.

Listen to student partners talk. Once students are in the mindset of making predictions, you can begin modeling through a read-aloud. Picture books work well, even with older students, to help model this strategy from start to finish.

To prepare for modeling this strategy, choose a text that works great with making predictions. Preview the text and plan for places that you will stop to model making predictions. If desired, write your predictions on Post-it notes and place them on the pages where you plan to share your predictions. Create an anchor chart, like shown below, to record your predictions together as a class.

While reading your text to students, stop to discuss your predictions. Discuss WHY you made each prediction. Explain that as you reflect on your predictions, sometimes you need to refine make more clear , or even revise change your predictions based on new information that the author may give you. Falker by Patricia Polacco: affiliate link. When first starting out, it might be helpful to give students some thinking prompts to help guide their predictions.

Here are a few examples:. Another thing to focus on with students while making predictions is helping students make logical predictions that make sense.

Again, you will need to model this specifically. Model both logical and not logical predictions. For example, when reading Thank You, Mr. Falker, I predict that she will finally learn how to read. Although it is about Tricia reading, nothing in the text suggests that reading The Three Little Pigs would be a logical prediction. Struggling readers often make predictions that are not logical by simply choosing something remotely related to the topic or event in the book.

This is why it is so important to help students rely on text evidence when making predictions as well as reflecting on each prediction. Model making predictions in both fiction and nonfiction texts. In fiction texts helps students to make predictions about what the book might be about, what might happen next, or what a character might say or do. In nonfiction, students can predict what they might learn from the text, what information will be included within headings and subheadings, the definition of new content words, or why authors include certain text features.

Of course we want students to be able to make predictions regardless or what book they are reading. Fun Ideas to Enrich Students' Vocabulary.

Creating a Dyslexia-Friendly Classroom. Reading Comprehension Checklist and Questions for Students. Prior Knowledge Improves Reading Comprehension. How to Facilitate Learning and Critical Thinking. Using Reading Comprehension in Lessons. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for ThoughtCo. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. Teachers can help students develop proficiency with this skill by making connections between predicting while reading and predicting in science.

Students will not necessarily make these connections independently, so teacher talk and questioning are important. Sometimes, teachers will use the terms prediction and hypothesis interchangeably in science. While the terms are similar, there are subtle differences between the two. A hypothesis is a specific type of prediction made when designing and conducting an investigation in which a variable is changed.

The distinction between a prediction and a hypothesis is not something that elementary students need to understand and explain.

However, teachers can be cognizant of how they use these words during science instruction — using prediction for statements of what might happen based on prior knowledge or evidence and hypothesis only when an investigation calls for a variable to be changed.

Predicting This page provides an overview of the reading strategy, an explanation of how predicting supports reading comprehension, and several activities that support students in predicting.