The Importance Of Reading In Reading

Most primary students have used the picture walk technique to preview text
(Stahl, 2004). By looking at and talking about the illustrations in a text, students activate prior knowledge, make predictions, and set a purpose for reading (Clay, 1991; Fountas
& Pinnell, 1996). Effective primary teachers use this instructional strategy when teaching students how to read (Taylor, 2002), yet this supportive practice is not as common when students read expository text and is often discarded as students move from reading picture books to chapter books.
When students enter the intermediate grades, they are required to read more textbooks and informational texts to learn, but reading textbooks and informational texts can be difficult for students due

Interestingly though, students often ignore these essential text features (Kelley & Clausen-Grace, 2008; Spencer, 2003), even though they have been taught their importance.
Common text features to explicitly teach students
Name of text feature Purpose of text feature
Title Quickly tells the reader what information they will learn about
Table of contents Shows students the different chapter or section titles and where

they are located

Index Directs students where to go in the text to find specific

information on a topic, word, or person

Glossary Identifies important vocabulary words for students and gives

This is best done using a think-aloud in a whole- group setting (Kelley & Clausen-Grace, 2007, 2008). Quickly bring students into the fold by having them read a text feature and explain how the information in the text feature may contribute to the main idea of the text. This guided practice under your supervision is important so that you can revert back to modeling and direct instruction if needed.
The entire text feature walk should be done before students actually read the main body of text. Then, have students read the main body of the text and debrief with them on what they learned and how the text feature walk assisted with comprehension.
Eventually, the goal is to move the text feature walk structure from whole-group to small-group use. To make this successful, you should cluster students, so each group is heterogeneous with varied strengths and no one group has all the quiet, reserved children. You might also think about which students have background knowledge of the topic. Groups of four work very well. Tell students they will take turns identifying