Approximate time to complete: 45 minutes 

Download the Course Companion document before starting this course. You can use the Companion Document to take notes on your learning, address reflection prompts, and as an easy way to retrieve course resources. 

Learning Objectives: 

Participants will be able to: 

  • Reflect on their current instructional approaches to identify areas to incorporate before, during and after reading scaffolds
  • Design effective before, during and after reading scaffolds to support all readers in grades 4-8 classrooms.

Consider This Scenario

Connection Point

In your Course Companion Document, consider these questions:  

  • Can you relate to this scenario? In what ways are your challenges in literacy instruction similar or different? 

Ms. Swanson has worked with her 6th grade social studies students on text comprehension from the beginning of the year. While her students made some progress, many are still struggling to understand and recount what they read. She has tried several comprehension strategies and even devotes a short block of time to silent reading every day. However, she does not see the progress that she hoped to see.  

What is Meant by "Before, During and After Reading"?

Dr. Dianna Townsend describes reading as a journey. There is a planning phase, a traveling phase and a reflection phase. Teachers and students can approach reading like a physical trip: 

Before:

  • Teachers can help students to prepare to read by providing them strategies such as activating background knowledge and setting a purpose for reading. 

During:

  • Teachers can help students to make meaning of the text as they read and work to understand the words they encounter.

After: 

  • Teachers can help students to reflect on what they read. 

Before, During and After Reading Support, Grades 4-8 with Dr. Dianna Townsend

In this video, Dr. Townsend provides more detail about how to support students in grades 4-8 before, during and after reading. There is a place in your Course Companion to take notes. 

Knowledge Check

Take the following quiz to check your knowledge on before, during and after reading strategies. Click on the square button to expand the quiz. 

Resources

Download this simple Before, During and After Reading Planning Tool. This tool can be used to sketch a plan for engaging students at all phases of the comprehension process. 

Course Reflection

Answer the following reflection questions in response to Dr. Townsend's video. There is a place in your Course Companion to respond. 

  • How does the before, during and after reading approach affirm your current practice? 
  • Are there areas in your current approach to reading instruction that can be improved by the strategies and resources outlined in the video? How? 

 

To Learn More

The Before, During and After, 4-8 Supplemental Resources  document by Dr. Dianna Townsend, provides a comprehensive list of strategies and resources. Please note: These resources are collected by Dr. Townsend to support teachers to implement learning from this course. The inclusion of a resource in this document does not constitute an endorsement from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. 

Feedback: 

Please take a moment to fill out this feedback form. We will use your feedback to improve this and other courses. 

Last Modified: 1/7/2025 9:36:56 AM