Using the Selective Reading Guide for:

So Far from the Bamboo Grove

Purpose:
The purpose of the Selective Reading Guide Strategy is to elicit engagement and
discussion through instructional frames that organize knowledge. By using this guide, students
will be able to think past the “right there” types of thought processes. By prompting thoughts
through this guide, students will make text-to-self and text-to-world connections more easily.

Rationale:
The Selective Reading Guide Strategy “shows students how to think with print. The
effective use of questions combined with signaling techniques helps model how readers interact
with text when reading and studying. Selective Reading guides have sometimes been referred to
as “Reading Roadmaps” because they provide location cues to focus students’ attention on
relevant segments of text, speed signals to model flexibility in reading, and mission statements
that initiate tasks that help students think and learn with text.” (Vacca 345-346)

How to Use this Strategy:

This strategy is best utilized during the reading process. It works well with most chapters
books, short stories, and text books. As a teacher, go through the section and mark any important
concepts or events. Pose questions that will force students to make connections between
themselves and the text. Ask them to vary their reading speeds or have them stop at certain parts
to ponder on what they have just read. This type of strategy will guide them through reading,
especially with text that is difficult or contains many different pieced of information. It will help
the students learn what is most important and what is less important in texts, whether literary,
functional, or instructional.

**Vacca, Richard T. & Vacca, Jo Anne L. Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across
the Curriculum. Boston:
Pearson Education, Inc. 2005

Camille Mook, BYU, 2005