Matières
Niveaux
Reading Guides
Fiche | Anglais
Secondaire
1-5
Table des matières
- Haut de page
- What Are Reading Guides
- Reading Guides Uses
- Reading Guides Formats
- Reading Guides Contents
- Fiction Reading Guides
- Character Profile
- Character Comparison
- Timelines
- Story Events
- Chapter/Section Summary
- Book Report Worksheets
- Nonfiction Reading Guide Content
- KWL CHARTS
- Note-Taking Template
- Comparing Concepts
- Compare and Contrast Worksheet
- See Also
What Are Reading Guides
Reading guides are printed or electronic worksheets used by readers to:
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take notes
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organize information
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visually identify key elements
They can be used for personal readings as well as for assigned readings.
According to their format, they can be used before, while and/or after reading:
Reading Guides Uses
Using reading guides is an effective strategy for improving reading skills.
Reading guides allow readers to:
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ask themselves important comprehension questions.
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monitor their comprehension of texts.
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identify the key elements of texts.
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clearly organize the ideas presented in texts.
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think about the information they are reading.
Reading Guides Formats
There are several formats of reading guides.
Each format can be adapted according to:
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the reading purpose
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the type of reading
Reading Guides Contents
Fiction reading guides often include:
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character descriptions
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story events (listings & descriptions)
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story themes & symbols
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vocabulary definitions
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thoughts and notes
Nonfiction reading guides often contain:
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important information
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summaries
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thoughts and notes
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comparisons between concepts/ideas
Fiction Reading Guides
Character Profile
Character profiles in reading guides are used to note down information about a fictional character.
What is usually found in character profile worksheets:
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Name of the character
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Age
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Role in the story: protagonist, antagonist, sidekick
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Occupation
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Relationships to other characters
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Character-defining quote(s)
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Likes/dislikes
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Psychological traits
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Physical traits
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Character-defining actions
Character Comparison
Reading guides can also be used to compare characters.
Here is an example of a Venn diagram used to compare the features of two story characters.
Here are things that can be compared:
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Physical traits
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Psychological traits
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Background
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Beliefs/Values
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Behaviours/Ways to express themselves
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Relationships
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Dialogue
Timelines
Timelines* can be used as reading guides to note down the progress of:
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a story by ordering the key events.
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a character’s actions in a story (to illustrate character growth).
*Timelines can also be used with nonfiction texts to order historical events, instructions and progression.
Story Events
Reading guides can be used to understand the main events of a story.
A Plot diagram is an effective tool to visually organize and understand the six main stages of a story:
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Exposition: introduction
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Conflict: disturbing element
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Rising action: events building suspense
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Climax: point of no return
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Falling action: results of climax
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Resolution: conclusion
Chapter/Section Summary
Reading guides can be used to summarize book chapters or sections.
What is usually found in chapter/section summaries:
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Chapter/section number or title
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Setting: location, time and context of the story
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Characters: protagonist, antagonist, sidekicks
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Vocabulary: important, learned, searched words
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Events: plot points
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Thoughts: opinion, interrogation and reactions
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Predictions of what will happen in the next chapter.
Book Report Worksheets
Reading guides can be used to visually organize a book’s main information.
What is usually found in a book report worksheet:
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Title
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Author(s)
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Genre(s): adventure, romance, science fiction…
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Theme(s): central idea or topic of the story
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Setting: location, time and context of the story
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Plot: summary of key plot points
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Characters: protagonist, antagonist, sidekicks
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Thoughts: opinion, interrogation and reactions
Here is an example of a book report done with a concept map*.
*Concept maps can also be used as nonfiction reading guides.
Here’s another example of a book report worksheet.
Nonfiction Reading Guide Content
When reading nonfiction, there are several ways to take notes about a topic and organize the information found in the text.
Below are examples of reading guides that can facilitate note-taking.
KWL CHARTS
Using KWL charts is an effective way to take notes about a topic and organize information.
KWL charts are graphic organizers used before, during and after reading.
They contain three sections:
K: What I already know.
Before reading:
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activate prior knowledge
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write down what you already know about the topic
W: What I want to know.
Before reading:
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reflect on what you would like to learn about the topic
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write any questions you have about it
L: What I learned.
During and after reading:
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note down relevant information about the topic.
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complete the chart by writing down what you learned.
Note-Taking Template
Here’s a template example to organize information when taking notes.
Comparing Concepts
Venn diagrams are effective tools to visually compare two topics/concepts.
Compare and Contrast Worksheet
Here’s another way to compare concepts.
