Characteristics of Good Readers:

Things that are Never Taught,

but are Somehow Learned
To list all the many things good readers learn that are not taught in school is
almost impossible. There are so many. But I am starting a list here on this
website and hope that others will add to it.

1. Good readers learn to automatically read letter combinations at the

ends of words differently than the same letter combinations that form a
word. For example, a good reader reads the letters t-r-y as "tree" when
it comes at the end of words such as entry, pantry, country, etc.
Likewise, a good reader reads the letters t-y at the end of a word as
"tee" as in party, county, jaunty, nasty, and empty. At the beginnings of
words t-y is usually pronounced tie as in Tyrone, tyre (British spelling),
typhoid, and typist. Tries becomes "trees" in entries, pantries,
countries, etc. Ties becomes "tees" in parties, counties, and empties.
2. Good readers learn how to pronounce the -sque letter combination as
sk as in Basque, masquerade, mosque, grotesque, and bisque. They
learn that que at the end is /k/ as in unique, technique, and pique.
View more of the specific phonic patterns that are not taught.
3. Good readers learn how to scan without being systematically taught
how to scan.
4. Good readers can use a dictionary and without being systematically
taught have learned to correctly pronounce any word by using the
dictionary diacritics.
5. Good readers can read dialects in print. For example, the following are
definitions from Dictionary for Yankees and other uneducated people
by Bil Dwyer. Bad--a place for sleep or rest. Bail--this rings on Sunday
mornings. Bait--What people do on "hawse" racing.
6. Good readers know the conventions cartoonists use to indicate
thinking, motion, speed, dreaming, as well as talking.
7. Good readers catch satire and puns.
8. Good readers enjoy reading.
9. Good readers know how to find things in catalogs and can use
telephone directories and anything with an index
Anticipate Meaning

Good readers use their prior experiences and information from text to make predictions and
speculations

Become Lifelong Readers

By being in the continued presences of reading and writing with parents, teachers and
schoolmates, good readers develop lifelong literacy habits

Choose Their Own Reading Material

From the very early stages, good readers select a variety of books and literature.

Do Not Read Every Word or Letter

The more the mind works, the less hard the eyes have to work as good readers focus on the
larger more meaningful chunks of text.

Elaborate on Important Parts of the Text

Good readers generate elaborations or embellishments during reading. This instills grater
comprehension, recall and use of the material read.
Focus on Fluency by Reading

One of the best ways good readers become fluent is by wide reading.

Get Books

Good readers go where the books are. They use the library, brose in bookstore, borrow
books from friends and give then as gifts.

Have a Purpose for Reading

Good readers know that reading can serve many purposes. Reading can be informational,
enjoyable, enriching and a useful tool in solving problems.

Image when They Read

To facilitate comprehension, good readers make mental pictures as they read.

Just Skim Sometimes and Read Slowly Other Times

Good readers shift speeds depending on their purpose and the type of book they are reading.

Know About Their Own Mental Skills

Good readers continuously appraise and self monitor their comprehension as they are
reading. They are aware of what they know, what they want to know and how to do that.
Listen & Enjoy Stories & Books Being Read Aloud

An important factor in helping build the background for becoming a good reader is reading
aloud to students of all ages.

Make Personal Connections

Good readers make links and applications between literature and their own lives.

Negotiate Meaning by Integrating a Number of Cues or Sources of

Information

Good readers use and cross-check four types of cues : their knowledge of the world; oral
language (what sounds right); work meanings; visual information in the text (letter/sound
association).

Often Self Correct

Good readers use monitoring and problem solving strategies such as skipping unknown
words, rereading, reading ahead and using outside sources.

Paraphrase Periodically

While reading, good readers put their own words into the gist of what they've been reading.
Question

Good readers ask questions and then read to seek the answers.

Respond to Literature

Good readers gradually learn to make internal responses and personal reflections to literature
by making external responses (reconstructions, retelling and drawings).

Share with Others

God readers are always joining together to discuss and share what they are reading with
others. Book habits are acquired naturally as the result of these interactions.

Take Time to Read, Read, Read

ogging lots of reading mileage, good readers take advantage of many opportunities in and out
of class to read.

Use Prior Knowledge

Good readers use their background, knowledge, experiences and knowledge of the world to
make inferences, think critically, relate new discoveries to old knowledge and construct
meaning from the text.
Validate Predictions

Good readers verify their predictions as they read. Comprehension equals confirmed
predictions.

Write

Engaging in writing as it relates to reading is a good way for readers to enhance both reading
and writing abilities.

Expect Reading to Make Sense

As a priority, good readers have a meaning orientation to print, always seeking to make sense
when they read.

Yearn to Read

Always having a book and choosing to engage in reading during leisure time is a hallmark of
a good reader.

Zero in on Learning Strategies When They Need Them

As they need strategies and skills to communicate with an author, good readers learn them in
the context of reading.
Good readers read daily and read a variety of texts. They do not keep
choosing the same types of material to read.

Good readers determine how much they know about the subject before
they read. They know if this is something they are interested in or not
interested in.

Good readers take chances and relate their own experience to the text.
They do this by using what they know about the world, what they have read
before and what they already know about themselves to relate to the words
on the page and to make meaning.

Good readers figure out what the difficult words mean, by looking for whole
meanings instead of just looking at individual letters or words. They are able
to make inferences; by using sentences before and after, or paragraphs
before and after to draw conclusions about what they are reading.

Good readers guess at words they are not sure of. Sometimes they have
to skip words and then go back and say the sentence again. Or sometimes by
the time they finish the paragraph they have already understood what the
skipped word meant.

Good readers instinctively know how to adjust their reading rate and vary it
to match purpose and difficulty. They know when they are stumbling and will
stop and restart. They re-read to make sure they are on the right track.

Good readers are active readers who think about what they are reading and
use their reading experiences for support. They bring their own knowledge of
the world to the material they are reading.

Good readers ask themselves questions as they go along. They may use
sticky notes to mark the places they were wondering about. They know when
their mind begins to wander and are able to get back on track.

Good readers create mental pictures as they read descriptive passages.

They visualize and create mental pictures as they read.

Good readers expect the material to get easier and read on, using the
context to make sense or help them make meaning of what they read.

Good readers know how to use pictures, graphs, marginal notes, bold
words, titles and other text supports on the page to figure out the meaning of
the difficult or long passages they are trying to read.

Good readers try not to read too slowly and are able to change their
approaches for special materials depending on the purpose of their reading.
They understand that they read the newspaper differently than a non-fiction
selection.
 Good readers know reading for meaning is a process that requires active
participation from the reader- whether when reading for pleasure, to complete
an assignment, or to find information to help with questions they may have.

Good readers recognize when what they read is difficult; they identify parts
of the text that confuse them. They use I'M Stuck-fix-up strategies such as
rereading, changing their reading rate, or go for a dictionary. They work to
correct the difficulty. They don't just give up.

Good readers know if they liked what they have just read, why or why not it
appealed to them, and whether or not they would recommend it to anyone
else.

Good readers use story details to support their opinion.

Good readers use Comprehension Strategies to draw conclusions,

analyze, synthesize, and to compare and contrast. (Bloom's Taxonomy) They
may use strategies such as predicting, summarizing, questioning the text, and
questioning author's purpose in order to make sense of what they read.

What Do Good Readers Do?

In the 1980's researchers were able to identify the specific thinking

strategies that are used by all proficient readers when interacting with text.
These important strategies have unlocked the mystery of how we can help
kids understand what they read. Teaching these seven key strategies is
essential for children to reading with meaning:

Create Visual Images- Good readers make movies in their mind as they
read. They can create a wide range of sensory images while they read. A
child that creates pictures in their mind while they read is emotionally involved
with the story- she may even laugh or cry out loud while reading!

Use Background Knowledge- Good readers activate their schema. Schema

is all of the readers relevant prior knowledge which helps them relate to the
story.

Ask Questions- Proficient readers are always wondering while they read.
They wonder what will happen next or why a character acted the way they
did. Questioning helps a reader focus in on what's important in the text.
Make Inferences- All good readers make predictions while they read.
Inferring is how readers go beyond what is on the written page. Readers who
infer are able to personalize what they read to build deeper meaning.

Determine Importance- Proficient readers can distinguish between important

and unimportant information in the text.

Synthesize- Good readers make sense of what they read with synthesis-
summarizing important information and adding their own unique thinking and
experiences.

Fix It Up- Good readers know when they don't get it. Proficient readers have
a variety of tools to help fix-up their reading when they are struggling.