MAKING PREDICTIONS

•  Before you start reading a story, reading passage, or textbook chapter, it is a good idea to make some predictions.  Read the title and think about any connections you can make to the topic. Skim the part you will be reading to look for any visual aids like charts, pictures, and vocabulary. Use all of this information to form an opinion about what you think is likely to happen in the story, or what you think a non-fiction passage will be about. Remember, although you cannot be certain about your predictions until you read, they are likely to be correct if you have evidence to support your opinion. It is also true that different predictions may seem true, until one is proven to be an error after reading through to the conclusion.

•  Making predictions prepares your brain to receive the story or the information you are about to input by reading. It helps you focus your full attention on the reading, especially if your predictions have sparked some related questions in your mind. Without even thinking about it, your brain searches for the answers to those questions as you read.

• After you have finished reading, make sure to go back to your original predictions. See whether or not you were correct, and understand why you were incorrect if you were. If it is appropriate, predict what could happen next in the reading.

 Name:__________________________________

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm   your answers.

1)  What should you use to help you make connections and predictions?

2)  What can you use to support your opinion about what is likely to happen?

3)  What is one benefit of making predictions before you begin reading?

4)What should you do after you finish reading?

5)  Name one reading passage or text chapter for which you can make predictions before you read.