CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD READER SHIP
 
What GOOD READERS do:
What Struggling readers do:
Before Reading:   
1.  "Activate" their background knowledge on the subject
.  
2.  Question and wonder.
 
3.  Know their purpose for
reading.
  
4.  Look for the structure of the piece of reading.
  
5.  Believe they are in control of the reading process
Before Reading:   
1.  Start reading without thinking about the subject.  

2.  Do not know why they are reading -- except that it is an assignment.



During Reading:   
1.  Give their complete attention to the reading task.
 
2.  Keep a constant check on their comprehension of the 

reading material.  

3.  Stop to use a "figure-it-out" strategy when they do not 

understand what they read.  

4.  Know that they can make sense of it eventually with use of

strategies.

5.  Look for important ideas and see how details relate to the 

whole.  
6.  Visualize, "Go to the movies in their head."
 
7.  Make inferences and connections.  of being frustrated or confused and 

deal with it.
 
9.  Realize that the problem may be the way the author wrote

rather than the reader's inability to understand.
During Reading:  
1.  Do not know whether they understand or do not understand.
  
2.  Do not monitor their own comprehension.
 
3.  Seldom use any "figure-it-out" strategies.
 
4.  View reading as looking at words and turning pages -- the quicker the better.  

5.  Are sometimes adept at phonic analysis but do not go for meaning. 

6.  (They can say the words but don't know what they mean.)  

7.  Can be bored by the process of reading.
After Reading:   
1.  Decide if they achieved their goal for making
meaning from reading.
  
2.  Evaluate their comprehension.  

3.  Summarize what they read.  
4.  Seek additional information if curious to know more.  

5.  Think through the information and decide whether it was 

useful or not.  

After Reading:   
1.  Do not know what they have read.  

2.  Do not follow reading with comprehension self-check.  

3.  See no connections between what they read and anything else.
Good readers take chances - risk being wrong in order to learn more about the meaning. (They know it’s OK to make a mistake.)


1.  Good readers look for meaning instead of just looking at 
individual letters or words.  

2.  Good readers guess at words they are not sure of, or just 
skip those words (if the words are not essential to the 
meaning of the text.)  
3.  Good readers know that reading must make sense.  
4.  Good readers think about what they already know about a 
subject, before they start reading.  

5.  Good readers try not to read too slowly. 

6.  Use Prior Knowledge 

7.  Make and Confirm Predictions 

8.  Adjust Reading Rate – slower in more difficult text 

9. Self-Question 

10.  Create Mental Images 

11.  Use Context to Confirm Meaning infer – read between the lines 

12.  Use Text Structure and Format 

13.  Use Graphic Aids 

14.  Use Reference Resources 

15. Read Ahead 

16. Reread 
17.  Summarize and Paraphrase 

18.  Good readers select appropriately leveled reading material and 
19.  Improve as readers with practice  

20.  Good readers read for longer periods of time  
21.  Good readers read fluently, quickly and smooth  

22.  Good readers use a variety of strategies while reading  
23.  Good readers are members of a literate community of 
learners 
24.  Read from aesthetic (emotional, lived-through experience) or efferent (extracting factual information) stances & have an awareness of the author’s style and purpose. 
25.  Read both expository and narrative texts 
26.  Know that different genre require different reading 
strategies 
27.  Spontaneously generate questions at different points in the reading process 
28.  Are problem solvers who have the ability to discover new information for themselves 
29.  judge the narrator’s reliability (should we believe the 
narrator & to what degree) 
30.  identify plot elements – such as major & minor characters, select main ideas & significant & supporting details
1.  They cannot decode 

2.  Pauses during word attack, stumbles over the words 

3.  Doesn’t use pictures (illustrations) for meaning 

4. Small vocabulary 

5.  too few opportunities to read outside of school 

6.  Poor motivation, lack of confidence or lots of avoidance behavior 

7.  Unaware of reading strategies – view the purpose of reading as “knowing all the words.” 

8. Can’t predict 

9.  They have a poor attitude 

10.  Lacks phonemic awareness 

11. Often repeats 

12.  Lacks sight word vocabulary 

13.  Does not like to read,
won’t read 

14.  Chooses short books and or books with lots of pictures (or library 

books that are too difficult to impress others) 

15. Behavior problem 

16.  Can’t understand
what they have read 

17.  Lacks
background/language experiences 

18.  Fear of reading out loud in front of peers 

19.  Low frustration level 
20. Easily distracted 

21.  Lacks confidence – needs lots of teachers support 

22.  Not a risk taker 
23.  Needs more parental support with respect to learning, achievements, and school progress 
24.  View reading as boring and painful


















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