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Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding by Stephanie Harvey
Since its publication in 2000, Strategies That Work has become an indispensable resource for teachers who want to explicitly teach thinking strategies so that students become engaged, thoughtful, independent readers. In this revised and expanded edition, Stephanie and Anne have added twenty completely new comprehension lessons, extending the scope of the book and exploring the central role that activating background knowledge plays in understanding. Another major addition is the inclusion of a section on content literacy which describes how to apply comprehension strategies flexibly across the curriculum. The new edition is organized around four
Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 25, 2021
Book: Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding
Author: Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
The main reason why I picked this one up is because my fifth graders really struggle with comprehension. While they are able to grasp a story, they struggle with adding another layer to it-they really struggle with higher level questioning. I got some new ideas to help them and I really liked the resources offered in this book.
One point that stuck out to me was the idea of the main idea. This book says that the main idea can be different to different people because of the way we understand the story. Different people think that different things are the main focus of the story. For example, we just did a comprehension test on Little Red Riding Hood and one of the questions involved the main idea of the text. There were two answers that very well could have been the main idea of the story. I had to accept both answers because both of them were actually correct-it was just up to how you viewed the overall story. To me, this one of the beauties of reading. It is up to the reader to come up with the meaning of the story and different readers construct different meanings.
When I did a novel study of Little House in the Big Woods, many of the questions focused on those higher level thinking questions. Again, a lot of it was up to how the students created that meaning. While their basic comprehension skills, such as plot and character, were the same, those higher level question responses were different. They saw the characters differently and saw interactions differently. At the start of the novel, they had a really hard time backing up those answers, but by the end, they could provide the necessary support. For example, some of them saw Pa as being solely a caregiver, while others saw him as being like their own father. All of the students were able to provide evidence to support their thinking. This book really stressed the idea of allowing students to interact with the text and form their own meaning.
Another thing the book focused on was pulling out important information. Again, this is something my fifth graders really struggle with. When asked to write a brief summary, they want to include everything. They do the same thing when asked to write a paragraph. As a result, things really don’t flow. The book brought up using the headings and different font styles to help them focus on certain information. I don’t know how much this will help my students. Then, it brought up using a Two-Column Topic/Detail Form, which I think will be more useful to my students. Our science book uses something similar to introduce new concepts and it helps then. I may need to expand on it and add it to all other areas.
Comprehension is all about enhancing understanding of what you are reading. I do believe that this is what blocks so many students from enjoying reading. Sometimes all it takes is just finding the right text as the right level. We, as educators, want to focus on making sure that everything our students are reading is grade level. However, we often forget that many of our students are above or below grade level. Those students often grow frustrated because either the text is too easy or too difficult. You don’t have to teach comprehension skills with the same text. Model the skills, then allow students to practice them on a text of their choosing. This way everyone has a chance to be successful.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book. Everything is presented in an easy way and the format is super easy to follow. Plus, the tips offered here, I thought, were pretty reasonable to put into a classroom.
Author: Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
The main reason why I picked this one up is because my fifth graders really struggle with comprehension. While they are able to grasp a story, they struggle with adding another layer to it-they really struggle with higher level questioning. I got some new ideas to help them and I really liked the resources offered in this book.
One point that stuck out to me was the idea of the main idea. This book says that the main idea can be different to different people because of the way we understand the story. Different people think that different things are the main focus of the story. For example, we just did a comprehension test on Little Red Riding Hood and one of the questions involved the main idea of the text. There were two answers that very well could have been the main idea of the story. I had to accept both answers because both of them were actually correct-it was just up to how you viewed the overall story. To me, this one of the beauties of reading. It is up to the reader to come up with the meaning of the story and different readers construct different meanings.
When I did a novel study of Little House in the Big Woods, many of the questions focused on those higher level thinking questions. Again, a lot of it was up to how the students created that meaning. While their basic comprehension skills, such as plot and character, were the same, those higher level question responses were different. They saw the characters differently and saw interactions differently. At the start of the novel, they had a really hard time backing up those answers, but by the end, they could provide the necessary support. For example, some of them saw Pa as being solely a caregiver, while others saw him as being like their own father. All of the students were able to provide evidence to support their thinking. This book really stressed the idea of allowing students to interact with the text and form their own meaning.
Another thing the book focused on was pulling out important information. Again, this is something my fifth graders really struggle with. When asked to write a brief summary, they want to include everything. They do the same thing when asked to write a paragraph. As a result, things really don’t flow. The book brought up using the headings and different font styles to help them focus on certain information. I don’t know how much this will help my students. Then, it brought up using a Two-Column Topic/Detail Form, which I think will be more useful to my students. Our science book uses something similar to introduce new concepts and it helps then. I may need to expand on it and add it to all other areas.
Comprehension is all about enhancing understanding of what you are reading. I do believe that this is what blocks so many students from enjoying reading. Sometimes all it takes is just finding the right text as the right level. We, as educators, want to focus on making sure that everything our students are reading is grade level. However, we often forget that many of our students are above or below grade level. Those students often grow frustrated because either the text is too easy or too difficult. You don’t have to teach comprehension skills with the same text. Model the skills, then allow students to practice them on a text of their choosing. This way everyone has a chance to be successful.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book. Everything is presented in an easy way and the format is super easy to follow. Plus, the tips offered here, I thought, were pretty reasonable to put into a classroom.
July 27, 2017
Good resource for 3rd grade ELAR teacher.
January 26, 2013
You can read this cover to cover or pieces at a time... whatever you do, just read it! There is a newer edition, but I read this one in 2001 and it changed my teaching!
Update: just returned from attending seminar with Ms. Harvey ..... And am inspired to reread this book. What she wrote in Strategies That Work is still relevant today ..especially in this day of test driven teaching. "Always trust your best judgement " ....no nonsense and practical.... I will reading the updated edition!
Update: just returned from attending seminar with Ms. Harvey ..... And am inspired to reread this book. What she wrote in Strategies That Work is still relevant today ..especially in this day of test driven teaching. "Always trust your best judgement " ....no nonsense and practical.... I will reading the updated edition!
October 7, 2016
This book was very influential when I first started teaching and has continued to influence how I teach and what I believe about teaching reading.
September 3, 2017
I took a class from Stephanie and really enjoyed it. I use what I learned often. I need to find my book again for a refresher!
September 6, 2021
Thanks again for welcoming me back to the classroom with this and more, Mo!
January 8, 2008
Places visualization, a comprehension technique I use in my work with kids as the centerpiece of a spectrum of increasingly complex strategies for understanding: Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Determining Importance and Synthesizing. While there's almost too much here, I guess that's not too much of a complaint (better than not enough) and for someone who wants to learn about kids' lit, there are great appendixes with lists of different types of books.
Good quote:
When we were in school, the teachers asked the questions, and we supplied the answers. Or tried to anyway, whether we knew them or not. The teachers knew the answers to the long litany of questions they asked or the questions we faced at the end of the story in our reading textbooks. And they asked these questions to check on us, to see whether we had done the homework, read the chapter, or memorized the facts…. Our own important questions were reserved for recess, walking home after school, or at the dinner table that night. School was not to be mucked up with a lot of tangential kid questions.
…We call these "sincere questions." Many schools, however, still focus primarily on what we have come to call "assessment questions."
Assessment questions are
• Questions we know the answers to
• Questions we ask in order to check or monitor our students
Sincere questions are
• Questions we don't know the answer to
• Questions we ponder and wonder about
• Questions that require further research by both student and teacher
Now, before launching a full frontal attack on assessment questions, we recognize that we are teachers and that we have both the right and the responsibility to ask assessment questions to monitor our kids' progress….But do we need to ask so many?
Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis, Strategies That Work
Good quote:
When we were in school, the teachers asked the questions, and we supplied the answers. Or tried to anyway, whether we knew them or not. The teachers knew the answers to the long litany of questions they asked or the questions we faced at the end of the story in our reading textbooks. And they asked these questions to check on us, to see whether we had done the homework, read the chapter, or memorized the facts…. Our own important questions were reserved for recess, walking home after school, or at the dinner table that night. School was not to be mucked up with a lot of tangential kid questions.
…We call these "sincere questions." Many schools, however, still focus primarily on what we have come to call "assessment questions."
Assessment questions are
• Questions we know the answers to
• Questions we ask in order to check or monitor our students
Sincere questions are
• Questions we don't know the answer to
• Questions we ponder and wonder about
• Questions that require further research by both student and teacher
Now, before launching a full frontal attack on assessment questions, we recognize that we are teachers and that we have both the right and the responsibility to ask assessment questions to monitor our kids' progress….But do we need to ask so many?
Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis, Strategies That Work
September 17, 2018
Several of us at work read this as a book club during the winter/spring of 2007. The idea is that together we would investigate various reading strategies and share our successes and frustrations.
Interestingly, Strategies That Work mirrors a lot of what we as a district are moving towards with adopting our L.E.A.D.S. model in the middle school; namely, restructuring the language program to teach strategies rather than details and incorporating other disciplines (Social Studies and Science) as we do.
What has not been understood by many, it seems, is that teaching these reading strategies has been the hallmark of elementary school since I began teaching. Teaching reading strategies by modeling the skill is key for student understanding. With my reading groups we use two books: one I model the strategy in and in the other the students practice. This also satisfies the need/requirement to read aloud to students daily.
Strategies That Work is not revolutionizing. It is, however, a good compilation for the teacher who may not be familiar with various comprehensions strategies and how they can be implemented into one's lessons.
Interestingly, Strategies That Work mirrors a lot of what we as a district are moving towards with adopting our L.E.A.D.S. model in the middle school; namely, restructuring the language program to teach strategies rather than details and incorporating other disciplines (Social Studies and Science) as we do.
What has not been understood by many, it seems, is that teaching these reading strategies has been the hallmark of elementary school since I began teaching. Teaching reading strategies by modeling the skill is key for student understanding. With my reading groups we use two books: one I model the strategy in and in the other the students practice. This also satisfies the need/requirement to read aloud to students daily.
Strategies That Work is not revolutionizing. It is, however, a good compilation for the teacher who may not be familiar with various comprehensions strategies and how they can be implemented into one's lessons.
April 6, 2008
This book had some great strategies for teaching making connections, questioning, inferring, visualizing and synthesizing information. I think the methods described would be a great help in teaching students comprehension strategies, but I think the program would work best if it was begun young and continued throughout the education of the student. They could be used as an intervention at any time, but I see this as a comprehensive program that would be most effective if implemented across grades and subjects.
The book emphasized the importance of nonfiction texts and the power of picture books to reach students of all ages, which I very much appreciated. The majority of what adults read is short-text nonfiction, yet in school, students primarily read long-text nonfiction or fiction. The book addresses learning styles needed for each kind of reading, which is an idea that may not be intuitive to everyone.
The book emphasized the importance of nonfiction texts and the power of picture books to reach students of all ages, which I very much appreciated. The majority of what adults read is short-text nonfiction, yet in school, students primarily read long-text nonfiction or fiction. The book addresses learning styles needed for each kind of reading, which is an idea that may not be intuitive to everyone.
July 16, 2015
This book gave a comprehensive run-down of major comprehension strategies for readers in Kindergarten through 8th grade. The strategies included Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Determining Importance, and Synthesizing. Each strategy had a chapter dedicated to its use, complete with possible lessons, literary resources to teach the strategy, and codes for students to annotate when using the strategy. The book also includes several appendices listing books to use with each strategy, book to use when teaching a specific content area, and books for educators to use to expand their own background knowledge. While some of the lessons in the chapters were a little too short for practical use, I found this book to be really helpful. It was written pre-Common Core, but when teaching the primary grades or students in intermediate/middle grades who are behind grade level, these strategies would be very useful to teach explicitly.
March 31, 2008
I read this book with a group of colleagues to help encourage reading in the classroom. It was actually quite interesting. I went into the reading study with the idea that I was a Social Studies teacher and I didn't have too many opportunities to teach reading in my classroom; after working with others, I am now seeing the many ways I can help my students become stronger readers on many different levels. I believe this is a great book because it opened my eyes of the opportunities I have to reach many different students. Regardless of the subject, it is all teachers' responsibility to teach students to read.
June 2, 2011
Didn't read this, just skimmed it. The advice is basically consistent with other reading comprehension resources: make connections between the text and your experience/other texts/other parts of the original text. Visualize. Ask questions.
This book contains much more detail than other similar books I've read (>300 pages), with many detailed lesson plans. Each technique is broken down into several possible variants and flavours, each of which is treated separately. Most of the examples relate to elementary schools.
For all of these reasons, this just wasn't the book I was looking for.
This book contains much more detail than other similar books I've read (>300 pages), with many detailed lesson plans. Each technique is broken down into several possible variants and flavours, each of which is treated separately. Most of the examples relate to elementary schools.
For all of these reasons, this just wasn't the book I was looking for.
July 11, 2007
I am always skeptical about reading strategies, just because so often they can be overused by the well-meaning and interfere with kids' enjoyment of reading. However, this one seems to focus on strategies for nonfiction, and the writers take care to point out that strategies are more appropriate for efferent (rather than aesthetic) reading.
July 31, 2009
I read this book in 2001 and it changed the way I teach reading comprehension. It is one of my comprehension bibles, along with Elen Keene's Mosaic of Thought and Debbie Miller's Reading with Meaning. I carry all three with me wherever I go. This is the first book I give to a new teacher. Outstanding!!
April 16, 2009
This book was packed full of strategies to help young readers become more successful students. It included questioning, visualizing, determining importance in text, synthesizing, and many other strategies.
March 22, 2014
A great book about teaching reading for teachers of any level of experience. Easy to reference comprehension strategies and a wonderful organized collection of texts make this a book I am sure I will be looking back at for years to come.
July 2, 2007
This book finally helped me answer the burning question, "What are fix-up strategies?"
July 24, 2007
Wonderful resource for those teaching comprehension strategies.
October 15, 2007
I'm just now reading this book for a literacy class, but Harvey writes everything well, so I feel confident with the rating.
November 5, 2007
Excellent, easy to read, applicable strategies. This book even includes model lessons.
August 5, 2010
EDR 622
May 28, 2008
Although this book gives some good ideas, it is a bit dry it is best for classroom teachers.
September 1, 2008
Maybe I could REALLY teach comprehension once we get rid of Houghton Mifflin.
July 13, 2009
Comprehensive discussion of reading strategies.
July 31, 2009
This book altered my teaching practices forever-- a seminal work in how to teach reading comprehension to children.
August 16, 2014
Another book that I wished I had more time to delve into while I was teaching! Brought back some great inservice moments though!
February 20, 2011
The book that shaped my language arts teaching. Fabulous!
June 24, 2012
I love this book. Read it when it was first ublished, and I still use it all the time in my classroom.
July 18, 2014
Simply put - my bible for teaching reading. I read edition one years ago and it changed the whole way I teach. The new edition is excellent. Every teacher should read this book.
May 26, 2007
Filled with mini-lessons to teach explicit reading strategies for K-12.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews