Good readers actively think about the text they are reading. They make predictions, connections and inferences. They ask themselves

questions, determine the importance of events and details, they create mental images from the text they read.

The following activities are designed to stimulate those behaviours in readers. By focusing on the kinds of thinking that helps readers

better understand the text they are reading, readers will develop the habit of engaging in these behaviours as they read.

Simply read a book you enjoy which is a good fit - not too easy and not too difficult. Then complete one of the Reader’s Workshop

activities from the following pages. Each activity will be different when applied to a new text.

(Developed from the First Steps resource)

Predicting

Crystal Ball

Choose a main character from the story, write their name in the crystal ball.Write a paragraph about your prediction of what

happens to this character in the future.

Judge a Book by its Cover(Before reading predicting)

1. What kind of book is this? Information/ narrative/ procedure/

2. List 5 words or phrases you expect to find in this kind of book?

3. Make a prediction about this book. Write it in your literacy book.

Predicting an ending Before Reading Prediciting:

[Type a quote from the document or the summary of an interesting point. You can position the text box anywhere in the document. Use the Text Box Tools tab to change the formatting of the pull quote text box.]

Read the next page of your text.What do you know so far?………………………………………..

Predict 3 different endings1. ............................................

.2. ............................................

.3. ............................................

.

Make 3 predictions about your text before you read

it.Give a reason for each

prediction.

Comparing

Comparing Venn Diagram

Use a Venn Diagram to compare part of your text such as a character, the events or illustrations to

another text you have read.

Book vs MovIe

Some texts are available in more than one text type, such as a book, movie, TV

series or even online series.Compare your book to another version giving 2 stars and a wish to each version.

Title..........................................................

First text type (book / movie/ internet/ tv series)

First text type (book / movie/ internet/ tv series)

Book / Movie / TV series / Poster

Compared to Me.Use a table to compare your life to that of a

character in the book.

My life Character’s life

1. 1.2. 2.3. 3.4. 4.5. 5.

Connecting

Linking texts1. Write the name of your text and the

name of another text you have made a text to text connection with.

2. Explain the reason for your connection in a few sentences.

Connecting -Text to World

Write a short paragraph about a text to world connection you can make with this text.

It was about the same topic as...

Connections WebText title………………......... Double Entry

Journal

Idea from the text Connection you made1. ………………………

2. ………………………

3. ………………………

1. ……………………

2. …………………..

3. …………………..

Self questioning

Clouds of WonderTrading Places

I wonder......I wonder......

I wonder......

I wonder......

I wonder......I wonder......

A situation in the text. What would I have done?

Text to world connection

Text to text connection

Text to self connection

Double Face

Name a character in your text.

Name a person this character reminds you of and explain why.

Stop and think Did I understand what

this was about? Write a paragraph to

explain what you have read to someone else.

Predict what might happen next

Write 2 questions about the text.

Inferring

Retell your text from another point of view. For example:

Illustrate a scene from your text.

List 3 things a character from your text was probably thinking.

What’s My Point of View?

Draw a cartoon scene or write about a time in your text when two or more characters had a different point of view. How did each character see the situation?

Examine the Clues:

(Complete the sentences)When the text said.....

I knew the message was..........

because…………………………………

Creating images

Creating Images – cartoon strip a scene from your book.

Title......................................Character description

Write a descriptive paragraph describing a mental image you have created about a character from your text.

What is happening?........ What is happening?.......

What is happening?.........

What is happening?.............

Draw a detailed scene that shows a main idea of your

text.

Setting the scene.

Write a paragraph describing a place from your text.

Determining importance

66 word summarySummarise what you have read in

66 words.Famous 5

key word searchMy famous five key words are:

1…….................because............................

2........................because...........................

3.......................because............................

4........................because............................

5.....................because................................

V.I.P.s(very important points)

Choose the three most important points from your text.Record them in each star.

Text message

Retell the text as a text message. Text messages are short, so make sure you include only the most important information.

Skimming and Scanning

Pick a Book!Choose 3 books that you

think look interesting.Read a few words or

sentences from each page.Which book seems most appealing to you now?

Write a short paragraph about why you chose this

book.

Investigator1.Choose a researchtopic and write it inyour workbook.(e.g. Insects, cats,horses...)2. Brainstorm some key words associated with your topic and write them in your work book.3. Now choose 3 books that look as though they might contain information on your topic. Write the titles and authors in your workbook.4. Scan your text looking for these or other key words.5. Tick the keywords you found and add others if you found more.6. Tick the book titles that did contain the information you needed.

Filling in the Blanks

1. Choose a text you have never read before.

2. Skim through the text.

3. Write a short paragraph summarising what you think the book might

What’s the answer?1. Choose an information book.

2. Think of 2 questions that are likely to be answered in this text and record

them in your workbook.3. Scan the text to find the answers

quickly and record them in your workbook.

be about.