Anticipation Guides
What is an Anticipation Guide?
Anticipation Guides are series of statements that students must respond to individually BEFORE reading the cooresponding informational text. Students should use prior knowledge and the ability to make thoughtful predictions to answer the prior questions. Students will get a sense of the ideas they're going to be reading about in the text and will have to analyze their predictions/answers after the reading. While reading they should keep in mind the questions they've answered as well.
While constructing & using an anticipation guide, keep these 6 guidelines in mind as a teacher:
1. Analyze the material to be read. Make the main ideas clear to the students.
2. Write main ideas in short, clear statements. These are the statements students will be relying on predictions/prior knowledge to answer and will set the tone for the information to be read.
3. The statements should be put into a format that will elicit anticipation and prediction.
4. Before reading the text, discuss the predictions and anticipation of the students.
5. Allow students to read the text.
6. Contrast their initial predictions with the author's intended meaning now that they have completed the reading.
Example:
-The Anticipational Guide below is created for high school students learning about the Holocaust.
-Informational Text being used: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
-Materials Needed: Informational text (each student should have their own copy). Pre Made Guides (each student should have their own copy) Pencils (each student should have their own)
Time: 30-35 minutes to complete guide, reading, and discussion before/after reading.
This exercise will work best with a class that has some prior knowledge to the Holocaust.
________
Students, please read the following questions about The Holocaust and answer true or false for each one. Consider what you've already learned when answering. Be ready to explain your answer after you're done.
T/F Jewish people were the only people to die in the holocaust.
T/F Nearly 1 million people died in the Holocaust.
T/F The Holocaust occurred from 1940-1945.
T/F The term 'Holocaust' means 'sacrifice by fire'
T/F The Holocaust ended when WWII did.
*
After students have completed the questions- discuss the questions and answers as a class and why they answered what they did. They should be thinking about prior social study and history lessons as well as gaining ideas as to what is going to be taught in the upcoming text. It's the teacher's role during the discussion to activate thought.
In my opinion, the Holocaust is a heavy subject that should be taught allowing much discussion, which this strategy does.
Allow students to read the provided text and when they've finished the reading, discuss their previous thoughts compared to the actual reading. All of the questions are facts they should find while reading and be able to discuss.
The T/F format may seem basic for a high school setting but I feel that the reading level and material is appropriate as well as the T/F questions being asked. The questions being asked call for prior knowledge to be engaged as well as ideas to be remembered while reading the text for information. The T/F questions also give an idea as to what the main ideas are in the article- what exactly was the holocaust, who did it affect, and when/how did it end.
Anticipation Guides are series of statements that students must respond to individually BEFORE reading the cooresponding informational text. Students should use prior knowledge and the ability to make thoughtful predictions to answer the prior questions. Students will get a sense of the ideas they're going to be reading about in the text and will have to analyze their predictions/answers after the reading. While reading they should keep in mind the questions they've answered as well.
While constructing & using an anticipation guide, keep these 6 guidelines in mind as a teacher:
1. Analyze the material to be read. Make the main ideas clear to the students.
2. Write main ideas in short, clear statements. These are the statements students will be relying on predictions/prior knowledge to answer and will set the tone for the information to be read.
3. The statements should be put into a format that will elicit anticipation and prediction.
4. Before reading the text, discuss the predictions and anticipation of the students.
5. Allow students to read the text.
6. Contrast their initial predictions with the author's intended meaning now that they have completed the reading.
Example:
-The Anticipational Guide below is created for high school students learning about the Holocaust.
-Informational Text being used: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
-Materials Needed: Informational text (each student should have their own copy). Pre Made Guides (each student should have their own copy) Pencils (each student should have their own)
Time: 30-35 minutes to complete guide, reading, and discussion before/after reading.
This exercise will work best with a class that has some prior knowledge to the Holocaust.
________
Students, please read the following questions about The Holocaust and answer true or false for each one. Consider what you've already learned when answering. Be ready to explain your answer after you're done.
T/F Jewish people were the only people to die in the holocaust.
T/F Nearly 1 million people died in the Holocaust.
T/F The Holocaust occurred from 1940-1945.
T/F The term 'Holocaust' means 'sacrifice by fire'
T/F The Holocaust ended when WWII did.
*
After students have completed the questions- discuss the questions and answers as a class and why they answered what they did. They should be thinking about prior social study and history lessons as well as gaining ideas as to what is going to be taught in the upcoming text. It's the teacher's role during the discussion to activate thought.
In my opinion, the Holocaust is a heavy subject that should be taught allowing much discussion, which this strategy does.
Allow students to read the provided text and when they've finished the reading, discuss their previous thoughts compared to the actual reading. All of the questions are facts they should find while reading and be able to discuss.
The T/F format may seem basic for a high school setting but I feel that the reading level and material is appropriate as well as the T/F questions being asked. The questions being asked call for prior knowledge to be engaged as well as ideas to be remembered while reading the text for information. The T/F questions also give an idea as to what the main ideas are in the article- what exactly was the holocaust, who did it affect, and when/how did it end.