Prepare,+Assist,+Reflect+(PAR)

**Prepare, Assist, Reflect (PAR)**

**Content** Reading comprehension. This particular strategy will assist students in taking steps to understand nonfiction readings.

**Grade Level** This can be used as early as 3rd or 4th grade up until through high school.

**Curriculum Standards** For a seventh grade class, the following standards apply to this strategy:
 * RLA.0.7.1.4 use pre-reading strategies and comprehension strategies to critically analyze and evaluate the composition of text by generalizing to establish a purpose for reading.
 * RLA.0.7.1.6 relate and analyze connections/themes among ideas in literary and informational texts, such as text to self, text-to-text, and text to world connections.
 * RLA.0.7.1.7 summarize explicit and implied information from literary and informational texts to recognize the relationships among the facts, ideas, events, and concepts.

**Description of Practices** When introducing nonfiction texts to students, this strategy will be useful in helping the students understand how to make connections and comprehend what they are reading. There are three steps to teach students that in turn will help them through the process of reading nonfiction texts. With this strategy, it is important to understand that each step will take time. Not all students think the same way, thus it might be beneficial to do one step at a time support until students are ready to complete the steps independently. It might also be helpful for students to have the chart of steps up on the wall to help remind them of where they are at in their comprehension.
 * 1) **__Prepare:__** The first step is to activate prior knowledge based upon the topic of the text. It literally prepares students in their thinking to ask questions about the text as well as figure out what they might already know. This allows students to hypothesize and question what the text will tell them. Lastly, it gives them a chance to preview the text by glancing at pictures or graphs to help them predict, similar to a picture walk in pictures books.
 * 2) **__Assist:__** This next steps is key for students, especially those who are struggling with understanding nonfiction texts. These are different questions for students to ask themselves while they're reading that in turn will assist in comprehension. For example, a student might not understand a term. In this stage, the students are told to re-read the area of concern. They are also given strategies such s taking notes or making mental pictures in order to comprehend what they have just read. It also reminds them to find connections in their reading that are meaningful as well as continue to ask questions.
 * 3) **__Reflect:__** In this last step, students are asked to look back at what they read and attempt to make meaning to the text. This is especially important in middle school and high school when texts become wordy and vocabulary driven in nonfiction selections. Students are asked to examine how they felt reading the text as well as revisit their original questions in order to see if any were answered. Lastly, they are asked to explain what they learned to another individual in the class. This will be a test of comprehension. If students are able to explain to another student what they have learned from the text, the comprehension is there.

**Implementation Considerations** I think that this strategy would be useful in any type of setting. However, teachers might need to modify the lesson depending on the levels of students. Extra supports might need to be given to students. Whole group instruction would be appropriate when introducing the strategy and supports could be given in small groups or individually.

**Example** [|PAR] **Citation** Gonzalez. //PAR Reading Strategies//. Retrieved from: http://educatoral.com/PAR.html
 * Here is a site that gives an example of the chart that could be posted to help assist students.