Example Post-reading Activity 1

Post-reading Activity for Scaffolding of Extended

Nonfiction Readers
On the following page you will find teacher directions for a post-reading activity
that can be assigned in class following an at-home nonfiction-reader reading
assignment. Post-reading activities can help students develop a deeper
understanding of the text through comprehension work as well as guide students
in repackaging the reading content. The focus of a post-reading task can involve
summarizing, synthesizing, comprehending the text literally, drawing inferences
from the text, using the text for other purposes in addition to understanding,
and/or responding critically to the text (see Nation, 2009). In the example that
follows, we present directions for a post-reading activity that involves a
summarizing task. In this summary task, note the following:

We model the process/task.

We ask students to reread a section of the chapter for a well-defined

purpose, an excellent way to help students develop reading fluency.

We create opportunities for students to discuss aspects of the chapter,

thereby helping them consolidate their content knowledge and use key
vocabulary purposefully.

We provide opportunities for students to work individually and

collaboratively, the latter helping to foster a cohesive reading community.

We designate time, during the lesson, when the teacher can circulate and
provide students with feedback on content and language.

Example Post-reading Activity 2

Summary Statement Post-Reading Task
Directions for teachers:
1. Preview and model the task. Ask all students to (a) reread a section from a
chapter of an extended nonfiction reader that has already been read and
thoroughly reviewed in a previous lesson and (b) identify at least one main
idea from the section. Ask students to share main ideas while the teacher
writes the ideas on the board and then models transforming them into a
summary statement for the section.
2. Assign groups of students different sections of a chapter that theyve recently
read from the extended nonfiction reader. (Try to cover the full chapter. If it is
not possible to cover the entire chapter, make sure that key sections are
assigned.)
3. Ask students to reread their sections individually, identifying and then taking
notes on the main idea(s) and key terms of their assigned section.
4. In groups, ask students to compare notes and write a summary statement for
their section.
5. Circulate while student groups are writing to provide them with feedback on
content and language.
6. Ask a representative from each group to write the groups summary
statement on the board. Another representative can be asked to read the
summary statement aloud to the class.
7. After all of the groups summary statements are on the board, ask students to
then individually write a summary for the entire chapter. Depending on the
length and complexity of the chapter, students can be asked to write onesentence summaries or a short paragraph. This should be decided ahead of
time by the teacher. (The chapter summaries can be collected as tickets
out for teacher feedback or added to a cumulative set of summaries that
students keep for review at the end of the extended nonfiction reader.)