No matter what grade or ability level we work with, a good prereading activity helps prepare our students for the task to come. Here are some ideas you might use with or modify for your students:

• Digital Booktalk's slogan is "Creating a community of avid readers, one video at a time." The catalog of titles includes a wide range of YA and standard high school titles, from Monster to Romeo and Juliet. Even better, as a postreading activity your students can submit a digital booktalk that they created!
• Have you used Wordle for prereading? Check out suggestions from master teacher Dawn Hogue!
• Anticipation Guides ask students to respond to questions before they read. The questions are connected to ideas found in the reading. At this site is a model Anticipation Guide for Hamlet. They work well with nonfiction writing, too.
• The KWL chart, a staple of prereading approaches, has evolved over time. This version, for example, encourages students to make connections between their reading and other experience.
• Vocabulary previews are key to successful reading on all grade levels. Follow up with study of affixes and root words, use puzzles, or get ready for the SAT and other standardized tests.

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Web English Teacher presents the best of K-12 English / Language Arts teaching resources: lesson plans, WebQuests, videos, biography, e-texts, criticism, jokes, puzzles, and classroom activities. Permission to link is granted to any educational site.

This page updated October 4, 2008.