What: An anticipation guide is a reading strategy used to teach comprehension. It is designed to activate and/or build prior knowledge and to challegenge students' preconceived notions about the text to be read. Anticipation guides use a guide that consists of statements that the students respond to before they read. The statements are usually true/false or agree/disagree.

 

Who: This stategy can be used in grades PK-8, or higher. Anticipation guides can be done in an individual, small group, or whole group setting.

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When: Anticipation guides are completed before reading, but may be used as a reference during reading. They are also used after reading to discuss what has been learned through reading the text.

 

Why: Anticipation guides stimulate students' intersts in a topic and set a purpose for reading. They teach students to make predictions, anticipate the text, and verify their predictions. They connect new information to prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic. 

 

How: First, create the anticipation guide. Write four to six statements about the key points in the text. Make some of them true and some of them false. Create a column for studentss to mark true/false or agree/disagree. Model the process. The teacher will introduce the text and share the guide with the students . Create discussions about the statements on the guide and have students make predictions. Students will mark a check on true/false or agree/disagree. The teacher will read the text aloud or have students read independently or in small groups. Revisit the antipation guide to discuss and make changes to the guide based on knowledge gained from the text.