Taking Control of Reading

I have heard it said that struggling readers feel out of control when they are reading. To them, the act of reading is like a heart beat. They cannot take control of their reading, like they cannot take control of the beating of their hearts. Fluent readers, on the other hand, know when to take control of their reading. To fluent readers, the act of reading is like breathing. The majority of the time, people never think about the act of breathing. Breathing happens naturally; however, you can take control of your breathing, if you choose to do so. Similarly, fluent readers hardly ever think about the act of reading. Reading is as normal as breathing; yet, fluent readers know they can take control of their reading, if necessary. 

 Reading Control

I created this poster to give students a visual reminder of when they may benefit from taking control of their reading. Students are familiar with watching movies. While watching a movie, it is sometimes necessary to press the pause button, press the play button, rewind, or fast forward. Similarly, when students are reading, they must exercise these skills to comprehend the text:  

• read with fluency and exercise stamina
• stop and think when they come to tricky parts 
• reread text to gain understanding
• skip over some parts to prevent frustration