Purpose for Reading
Having a purpose for reading improves students’ focus and comprehension while reading. Without a purpose, students may have difficulty in determining what information is important to learn and understand. The ultimate goal is for students to be able to set their own purposes before reading a text.
One way to give students a purpose for reading is to provide questions to answer as they read. Download two examples:
"Slavery and the U.S. Constitution" is an activity in which students highlight the answers to two specific questions that set a purpose for their reading.
"Declaring Freedom: Watch It!" is a screen where students are given a purpose for viewing a video.
How did having a purpose for reading and/or viewing help students complete the "Highlight It!" activity and answer the text box question about the video? (Think about what difficulties students may have without the provided purpose.)
