High-Yield Strategies to Use with ​Into Reading​ Instructional Routines 

Weekly Strategy Tracker​ - Please complete one entry for each week. 
 

Instructional Routine  Strategy  Explanation/Additional Resource(s) 

  Respectful Talk Moves  These sentence starters help students frame their thinking and 
Active Listening  assist them in holding a productive conversation where active 
listening is required. 

  Mark It Up! 
   
  Read with a Pencil 
   
Close Reading  Close Reading Annotation 
Symbols 
 
Students require a great deal of modeling when introducing 
close reading strategies. Utilize the gradual release method to 
explicitly teach (think aloud) and model for students how to 
annotate when reading. 

  Consensus Mapping  You might use this strategy with a text, to build background 
  (You might do this on chart  knowledge, or with vocabulary words. The possibilities are 
  paper to give students more  endless! 
  room.)  1. Pose a question or ask students to reflect on a specific 
  topic. 
Collaborative Discussion  2. Divide students into small groups (3-5), and have each 
  student write their individual answer in one of the outer 
  sections of the map. 
  3. Once all group members write their individual responses, 
  have each student share his/her ideas with the group. 
  4. After all group members have shared, students must 
  collaborate to reach a consensus on their group’s answer. 
  This responses should be recorded in the middle section. 
   Fan-N-Pick  This strategy assigns students different roles as they answer a 
  set of text-related questions or review vocabulary terms. Be 
  sure to incorporate higher order thinking questions to elicit 
  thoughtful discussion. Active listening is required for this 
  activity as well! 
 
  Cooperative Learning Mat  This strategy can be used to assign specific roles to students 
  while they are working in groups, or completing a 
Collaborative Discussion  Think-Pair-Share or Turn and Talk routine. Put this mat in the 
center of your groups to help students know which student 
should be talking and with whom they should be speaking. 

Think Dot  This activity incorporates the use of dice, which typically keeps 
students engaged! On the template, write six high level 
questions for students to answer. Divide students into pairs and 
have them take turns rolling a die to determine which question 
they will work on next. You might require the person who rolls 
to take the lead on answering the question; their partner must 
add to the answer and both should agree before they write the 
answer down or move to the next question. 

  Say Something  Select a text for students to read or reread and have them work 
  in pairs. Designate stopping points for reading. Have students 
Partner Reading  read to the stopping point and then “say something” about the 
text to their partner (they might pick any item from the chart). 
Repeat until students reach the end of the text.  

  ACTIVE Reading Strategies  These strategies can be used and referred to often when 
Read for Understanding  reading various texts. You can focus on one or two at a time, 
and they can assist you in setting a purpose for reading. 

  Somebody, Wanted, But, So  This strategy offers students a structure for writing a summary. 
Responsive Writing  Then  The flap book makes it a bit more interactive, but students can 
  also simply do this on a piece of notebook paper. 
   Sketch to Stretch - Mental  This strategy can be used in many ways! Allowing students to 
  Images/Sequencing  draw/illustrate their ideas helps them to capture their thoughts 
    creatively, and may serve as a good starting point for their 
  Sketch to Stretch - Mental  writing. You can use one of the templates, or simply ask 
  Images for one part of the  students to fold a sheet of paper into four sections and provide 
  story  stopping points for them to sketch their mental images while 
    reading. Students might add captions to their sketches after 
  Sketch to Stretch - Mental  reading, or use their images to write a summary of the text. 
  Images w/ Partners 
 
  It Says, I Say, And So  This strategy helps students make inferences while reading. 
  You might use a simple text, like G
​ oldilocks and the Three 
Responsive Writing  Bears​, to model the process for and with students! 
 
 

RACE  The RACE strategy gives students a structured format for 

responding to specific questions about the text. Utilize the 
gradual release method to help students learn to use this model 
effectively. 

  Inside-Outside Circles  This strategy allows students to interact in a structured 

  “Think-Pair-Share” and get out of their seats. 
  1. Split the Class: Have students form an inside circle and 
Think-Pair-Share  an outside circle. 
  2. Pose a question or write a statement on the board. Give 
  students at least fifteen second to think of an answer on 
   their own. 
  3. Ask students in the inside circle to share their response 
  with the classmate facing them in the outside circle. 
  When they have finished talking, ask them to say “pass” 
  at which point their partner in the outside circle will 
  share their response. 
  4. Rotate! On your signal, have the outside circle move one 
  step to the left or right and discuss the same question 
  with their new partner, or pose a new question a start 
  the process again! 
 
  Musical Mix-Pair-Share  This strategy allows students to interact in a structured 
    “Think-Pair-Share” while moving around the room to their 
  favorite (appropriate) music. 
  1. Have students get up, push in their chairs, and mingle 
  around the room while you play music. 
Think-Pair-Share  2. When the music stops, students must find someone near 
them to partner up with. There are two ground rules: 1) 
No “drive-bys”, meaning students can’t bypass someone 
to partner with a friend, and 2) No “me and my shadow”, 
meaning students can’t walk around the room with their 
friends to ensure they are partners 
3. Any student left without a partner, raises his/her hand 
to locate others in need of a partner or form a group of 
three (if needed).  
4. Once pairs have been established, pose a question or put 
a statement on the board for students to consider. 
Require students to take at least fifteen seconds of 
“think” time before sharing their ideas. 
5. When ready, give students a signal to begin discussing. 
You might also give them a specific directive about who 
should talk first...ex. The person with the birthday 
closest to today, the person closest to the wall with 
 cubbies, etc. When finished, the first speaker says 
“pass”, and their partner begins talking. 
6. Repeat! Typically about three rotations works well. 
*Having three higher order thinking questions typed into a 
PowerPoint that will appear “on click” is ideal for this strategy! 

Turn and Talk  Guidelines for Turn and  Giving students ample opportunities to talk about their learning 
Talk  is so important, but students often need structure to converse 
  effectively. You might teach students the “Guidelines for Turn 
  and Talk” and have them practice using fun, simple topics to 
build their discussion skills. Have students utilize the 
“Respectful Talk Moves” listed in the Active Listening Routine 
to provide them sentence starters to frame their thinking. You 
might also provide students with direction about who should 
speak first. 
Partnering Options for Turn and Talk: 
Clock Partners 
 
Colored Conversations 

 
 Vocabulary  Roll A Word  This strategy can be used to interact with new vocabulary 
  words in pairs or small groups. The use of a di makes it seem 
Marzano’s Six Step Process  like a game, which will keep students engaged. 
 
Game Ideas  Vocabulary Short Story  This strategy encourages students to make connections 
between vocabulary words and use them correctly in context. 

Frayer Model  The Frayer Model strategy is a great way to help students 
remember new vocabulary terms by having them engage with 
the word in various ways. 

Vocabulary Sketching  Visual imagery helps students remember the meaning of new 
vocabulary words. Challenge students to capture a word’s 
definition through art with this strategy. 

Word Sort  A simple small group activity where students identify the 
meaning and properties of selected words and then sort them 
into categories based on similarities. The sorting process helps 
students think critically about the connections between words. 
 
Closed Word Sort​–The teacher provides the categories (and the 
specific features of each) to the students. The students then 
match the words with the features to create the word 
collections. 
 
Open Word Sort​–The teacher provides only the list of words. 
Students work together to discern the common features and to 
describe the categories for collecting the word groups. 

Word Detective  Prior to giving students the definition of new vocabulary words, 
have them read the word in context and attempt to use context 
clues to reveal its meaning.