These strategies are the focus of my reading lessons; however, they are also used and applied in all subject or content area studies. 

·         Metacognition happens when the reader is able to analyze his/her own thinking.

·         Schema is prior knowledge and the background information the reader brings to a text.  It is created from the reader’s personal knowledge and experiences.  As new information is learned the schema of the reader changes by adding the new information and making connections to other information.  During this process inaccurate information is corrected or deleted. 

·         Connections are made when readers activate schema to relate to the reader or self, other text or the world.  Proficient readers use these connections to create visual images, interact with text, and bring meaning to the words.

·        Questioning causes the reader to become curious about the text which helps to increase his/her understanding of that text. . This strategy also allows the reader to make connections, infer, clear up confusion, and determine importance by asking themselves questions before, during, and after reading. Asking questions is a strategy that good readers use to become engaged in their reading. 

·         Determining importance is selecting the important information or key points in a chapter or section being read.  Knowing the difference between what is relevant and irrelevant is crucial to comprehension and reading purpose. 

·         Visualizing is making pictures in the mind of the reader.  This helps personalize reading and keeps the reader engages. 

·         Inference is reading between the lines.  Inferring during reading helps the reader move beyond the literal meaning of text and creates a new interpretation (Keene and Zimmerman 1997).

·         Synthesizing is taking individual pieces of information and combining it with schema to create an original idea, new perspective, or form a new line of thinking. 

·        Fix-up strategies are the strategies readers use to repair comprehension when it breaks down. These include reread, sound out words, make predictions, and use of content clues.