Kendra PeoplesTuscaloosa, AL"I am an educator who goes above and beyond to ensure you reach your goals."
When I use the Reciprocal Teaching technique with my 4th graders, I guide them through four key steps: Predicting, Questioning, Clarifying, and Summarizing.
Predicting: Before we start reading, I ask my students to look at the title, headings, and any pictures. Together, we make predictions about what the text might cover. I encourage them to share what they think might happen or what the main idea could be. This helps set a purpose for reading and gets them curious about what’s next.
Questioning: As we read, I stop periodically and ask them to come up with questions about the text. They might ask why a character acts a certain way or what a tricky word means. I let them share questions with a partner, which gets them thinking deeper and helps make connections.
Clarifying: After reading a section, I check in to see if anyone found anything confusing, like unfamiliar words or complex ideas. We discuss these together, and sometimes, I break down tricky words or concepts. This step really helps them build vocabulary and clear up any misunderstandings along the way.
Summarizing: Finally, after we finish reading, I ask them to summarize the main points or events. We talk about what happened and why it was important. This helps reinforce their understanding and encourages them to focus on the big ideas.
Using this technique regularly helps my students become more active, engaged readers and builds their confidence in understanding different texts.
