Literature- Helping Students Work with the Text

Here are some ideas to help students work with the text, increasing comprehension and aiding in language development:

• Character review: Specific students become a character and provide background for other students' questions throughout the reading
• Image/theme development: Charts, graphs, pictures, and symbols can trace the development of images, ideas, and themes
• Read-along tapes/CD's/podcasts: These mediums encourage slower readers, allow absent students to catch up, and provide auditory input for students who learn through that modality
• Visual summaries: Groups of students create chapter reviews, character analyses, or problem-solutions

Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.