A. Literacy Connections and Applications / C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts · Understanding and Responding to Texts

Before and During Reading: Using What I Know to Predict

C2.1 C2.3 C2.2About 35 minutes

Learning goals

I can think about what I already know from my life and from other books before I read.
I can make a prediction using what I know, text features and clues in the text.
I can check my prediction and change it when I find new evidence.

Words to know

prior knowledge
Everything you already know from your life and from other texts. Also called background knowledge.

prediction
A thinking guess about what will happen or what you will learn, based on clues.

evidence
Clues in the text (words or pictures) that show something is true.

confirm
To find out your prediction was right.

revise
To change your prediction because you found new evidence.

Remember from Grade 1

In Grade 1 you looked at the title and the cover and said, "I think ___ because ___." That is still a great start!

In Grade 2 you will use three kinds of clues to predict, and you will keep checking your predictions as you read.

Clue	Where it comes from	Example
What I already know	My life and other books I have read	"I know squirrels love seeds."
Text features	Title, headings, pictures, captions, table of contents	"The title is Who Ate the Birdseed?"
Evidence in the text	The words I have read so far	"The text says there are tiny tracks in the snow."

Three kinds of clues for good predictions

Before you read, wake up your brain

Before reading, ask yourself:

What do I know about this topic? (from my life)
What other books are like this one? (from other texts)
What kind of text is it? A mystery? A fact book? (This helps you know what to expect.)
Why am I reading it? For fun? To find information?

Good readers go around and around: predict, read on for evidence, then confirm or revise the prediction.

Read-aloud: Who Ate the Birdseed?

Picture on the cover: a bird feeder hanging from a tree in a snowy backyard. The feeder is empty.

Part 1

On Monday, Nana and Theo filled the bird feeder with sunflower seeds. On Tuesday morning, the feeder was empty!

"The birds must be very hungry," said Nana.

But Theo looked closely at the snow under the tree. He saw tiny tracks. They went from the tree to the fence. There were seed shells everywhere.

Stop and predict: Who ate the birdseed?

Part 2

Theo and Nana hid behind the kitchen curtain to watch. Soon something grey ran along the fence. It had a big fluffy tail.

Stop and predict again.

Part 3

The grey animal jumped onto the feeder. It hung upside down and stuffed its mouth full of seeds.

"A squirrel!" laughed Theo. "A very clever squirrel."

Nana smiled. "Tomorrow, let's put out a little dish of seeds just for him. Then maybe he will leave some for the birds."

The clues in Part 1: an empty feeder, seed shells under the tree, and tiny tracks that go to the fence. What could it be?

Worked example

Let's predict, check and revise

Use the three kinds of clues to predict who ate the birdseed.

Before reading: The title Who Ate the Birdseed? is a question, so this is a little mystery. I know from my life that birds, squirrels and chipmunks like seeds.
After Part 1: Evidence: tiny tracks from the tree to the fence, and seed shells everywhere. Nana thinks it was birds. But I know birds fly to a feeder; they do not need to walk to the fence. Prediction: "I think a small animal like a squirrel or a mouse ate the seeds because there are tiny tracks going to the fence."
After Part 2: New evidence: something grey with a big fluffy tail ran along the fence. A mouse does not have a fluffy tail. I revise my prediction: "I now think it is a squirrel."
After Part 3: It hung upside down and stuffed its mouth full of seeds, and Theo says A squirrel! My prediction is confirmed.

A squirrel ate the birdseed. We used what we know, the title, and evidence in the text, and we revised our prediction when we found new clues.

Worked example

Let's use text features to predict in a fact text

A fact book is called Animals in Winter. The table of contents shows: Sleeping Through Winter, Flying Away, Staying Active in the Snow. What do you predict you will learn?

What I know: Some animals, like bears, sleep a lot in winter. Some birds, like geese, fly south.
Text features: The headings name three ways animals handle winter.
Prediction: "I think I will learn about animals that sleep through winter, animals that fly away, and animals that stay active in the snow, because those are the headings."

I predict the book will teach three ways animals survive winter. My purpose for reading is to find information.

Predictions don't have to be right

A good prediction uses evidence. If a twist in the story surprises you, your prediction was still smart if it fit the clues you had. Good readers revise their predictions without worrying.

Just for fun

Squirrels can turn their back feet around to point backwards! That helps them run down trees head first and hang upside down, just like the birdseed thief.

Hands-on activity

Stop-and-predict sticky notes

You need: a picture book you have not read, 3 small pieces of paper (or sticky notes), a pencil.

Before reading, say what you already know about the topic and what kind of text it is.
Your grown-up places 2 or 3 paper markers in the middle of the book.
Read. At each marker, stop and write or say: "I predict ___ because ___."
Keep reading. Put a ✔ on the marker if you confirmed it, or an ✎ if you revised it.
At the end, tell your grown-up which clue helped the most: what you knew, a text feature, or evidence in the words.

Your turn

What did Theo see in the snow under the tree?

Why did Theo not believe it was birds?

After Part 2, what new evidence helped you revise your prediction?

What is Nana's plan at the end?

Name the three kinds of clues for predicting.

A book is called Lost on the Hiking Trail. Make a prediction with because.

More practice: warm-up

What does revise mean?

What does confirm mean?

Who filled the bird feeder?

What colour was the animal on the fence?

What word helps you explain your prediction?

More practice: on your own

Why is Who Ate the Birdseed? a good title for a mystery?

Why did the squirrel stuff its mouth full of seeds?

Before reading a book about hockey, write two things you already know about hockey.

Mila predicted the feeder thief was a raccoon after Part 1. Was that a good prediction? What should she do after Part 2?

Look at this table of contents: Eggs, Chicks, Grown-up Chickens. Predict the pattern of the book.

Challenge

Predict what might happen on the next day of the story, after Nana puts out the dish of seeds. Use evidence.

How did knowing the text was a mystery help you read it?

Make up a clue the writer could add to Part 1 that would make you think it was a bird instead.

Check your understanding

Quiz

What is prior knowledge?

Which is a text feature that can help you predict?

Which clue in Part 1 showed the seed-eater walked on the ground?

After Part 2, a reader changes their prediction from "a mouse" to "a squirrel". What did the reader do?

Which prediction is best?

What did the squirrel do on the feeder?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Before reading, children activate prior knowledge (from life and other texts) and think about the text form and their purpose. During reading, they predict using background knowledge, text features and evidence from the text, and then confirm or revise.

How to help at home:

Before a new book, ask: "What do you already know about this?" and "What kind of book is it?"
Stop at an exciting part and ask for a prediction with evidence: "What made you think that?"
Praise revising: "You changed your mind because of a new clue. That's what good readers do!"

Common difficulties:

Wild guesses with no clues. Ask, "What in the words or pictures made you think that?"
Feeling bad when a prediction is wrong. Explain that authors love to surprise readers.
Sticking to a prediction even when the text shows something else. Reread the new evidence together.