Five Stages of the Reading Process

The five stages of the reading process:

1. Pre-reading is the time spent choosing topics for books. An example would be for the teacher to have some idea concerning each student’s interests. At this point, the class could discuss several possible book choices and pick the one they would most likely enjoy reading.

2. Reading involves exactly this: reading. Although this can be done through several different means, I like the shared reading and reading the text out loud.

3. Responding is getting the students’ reactions on what they are reading. During this process, students are asking questions, using a journal to show they understand what they are reading, and discussing the book with others in class.

4. Exploring is going a little deeper than responding. The students can take on different roles in a literature circle, or students can study the background of the author and discuss the relationship between the author‘s life with the text.

5. Applying is the last stage in the reading process. An example would be having the students create a pamphlet of the book they just read in order to entice other students to read the book.