“Strategies That Work”

by Stephanie Harvey

Comprehension Strategy Booklist

Compiled by: Kelley Mowry

Note:  Abbreviated definitions for each strategy can be obtained on pages 10

through 11.  Longer definitions can be found on pages 21 through 25.

MAKING CONNECTIONS (Text to Text, Text to World, and Text to Self)

            Every Living Thing – Cynthia Rylant (page 68)

            Snippets – Charlotte Zolotow (page 68)

            A Country Far Away – Nigel Gray and Philippe Dupasquier (page 72)

            The Lotus Seed – Sherry Garland (page 75)

            Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs – Tomie dePaola

            Oliver Button is a Sissy – Tomie dePaola (page 269)

*Hey World, Here I Am! – Jean Little

            Three Brave Women – C.L.G. Martin

            Up North at the Cabin – Marsha Wilson Chall (pages 33, 35, and 47)

            Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge – Mem Fox

            Amazing Grace – Mary Hoffman (page 53)

            Going Home – Eve Bunting

            The Pain and the Great One – Judy Blume

            Mirette on the High Wire – Emily Arnold McCully (page 79)

            Dog Breath – Dav Pilkey

            The Art Lesson – Tomie dePaolo

            The Tenth Good Thing About Barney – Judith Viorst (pages 77 and 78)

            Amos and Boris – William Steig (page 67)

Owen or Chrysanthemum or Julius, the Baby of the World – Kevin Henkes (page

68)

Smoky Night, The Wall, A Day’s Work, or Fly Away Home – Eve Bunting (page

72)

QUESTIONING (Asking questions about the text, the author, or what could be)

            A Country Far Away

            The Lotus Seed

            Storm Boy – Paul Owen Lewis

            *The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy (pages 82 and 85)

            How Come? – Kathy Wollard

            Smoky Night – Eve Bunting

            The Librarian Who Measured the Earth – Kathryn Lasky

            A Day’s Work – Eve Bunting

            Charlie Anderson – Barbara Abercrombie (pages 83 and 84)

            Elisabeth – Claire Nivola (page 273)

            The Wall – Eve Bunting

Fly Away Home – Eve Bunting

Pink and Say – Patricia Polacco

The Potato Man – Megan McDonald

Amelia’s Road – Linda Jacob Altman

            Picture books about space – various authors (page 169)

The Stranger – Chris Van Allsburg

Why is the Sky Blue? and Other Outdoor Questions – Catherine Ripley

Assorted Wonder Books or non-fiction – various authors (pages 86, 87, 92,

and 93)

“Dreams” poem – Langston Hughes (page 90)

INFERRING (Reading what is not there)

            The Lotus Seed

            See the Ocean – Estelle Condra (page 115)

            *Bull Run – Paul Fleischman

            The Rag Coat Girl – Lauren Mills

            *Dateline Troy – Paul Fleischman

            Dandelions – Eve Bunting

            Fables – Arnold Lobel

            Rose Blanche – Roberto Innocenti (page 47)

            Encounter – Jane Yolen (page 114)

            Teammates – Peter Golenbock (page 109)

            Any Science textbook – various authors/publishers (page 111)

            Town Mouse, Country Mouse – Jan Brett

            The Tenth Good Thing About Barney

            Tight Times – Barbara Shook Hazen (page 106)

            Redcoats and Petticoats – Katherine Kirkpatrick (page 281)

VISUALIZING (Making pictures in your mind)

            See the Ocean (pages 95 and 289)

            Picture books about space – various authors (page 169)

            Fire Flies! – Julie Brinckloe

            The Rag Coat Girl

            Ever Heard of an Aardwolf? – Madeline Moser

            The Seashore Book – Charlotte Zolotow

            I’m in Charge of Celebrations – Byrd Baylor

            Twilight Comes Twice – Ralph Fletcher

            Abuela – Arthur Dorros

            Good Dog Carl – Alexandra Day (page 97)

            Bad Day at Riverbend – Chris Van Allsburg

            Charlotte’s Web – EB White (page 100)

            Various non-fiction books – various authors (page 101)

Baseball, the American Epic series (Shadow Ball: The History of the Negro

Leagues, 25 Great Moments, etc.) – various authors (page 102)

SYNTHESIZING (Summarizing or breaking something down into its parts)

            Sleeping Ugly – Jane Yolen

            A Boy Called Slow – Joseph Bruchac (page 154)

            Kids Discover, Time for Kids, etc. – various authors (pages 147 and 149)

            Any Science/Social Studies textbook – various authors (page 149)

            Any cake recipe’s list of ingredients – no author (page 145)

            How Come? – (pages 159 and163)

*The Triumphant Spirit: Portraits and Stories of Holocast Survivors, Their

Messages of  Hope and Compassion – Nick Del Calzo (page 165)

            YehShen A Cinderella Story from China – Ai-Ling Louie

            Cindy Ellen A Wild West Cinderella – Susan Lowell

            Cinderella Skeleton – Robert D. San Souci

            A Christmas Carol

Any picture book biography (Martin Luther King, Abe Lincoln, etc.) – various

authors (page 153)

*The Devil’s Arthmetic – Jane Yolen (page 156)

            An Angel for Solomon Singer – Cynthia Rylant (page 151)

            The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

            The Stinky Cheese Man

            For Every Child a Better World – L. Gikow (page 146)

DETERMINING IMPORTANCE (Deciding what is most important to know or

understand)

            Exploring the Titanic – Robert Ballard (pages 132 and 286)

            Bull Run – Paul Fleischman (page 139)

            Weekly Reader series, Time for Kids, Kids Discover (page 131, 134, and 137)

            How Come?

Any Social Studies/Science textbook or nonfiction book – various authors

(page 122, 125, 126)

Hungry, Hungry Sharks – Joanna Cole (page 122)

The Unhuggables – National Wildlife Federation (page 130)

OTHER

            Strategies that Work

            Mosaic of Thought

            Nonfiction Matters – Stephanie Harvey

            The Read Aloud Handbook – Jim Trelease

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