This document provides a reading strategy called A.N.C.H.O.R. for middle school students to use when reading non-fiction passages. The strategy involves analyzing passages, noting new vocabulary words, using context clues, making hypotheses or predictions, organizing thoughts, and rereading. It encourages students to treat their paper like a map as they read, making notes and answering questions at before, during, and after reading stages. The overall goal is to help students comprehend and retain information from what they read.

1. Set Sail With Reading
Strategic Reading for Middle School Grades
Non Fiction
Shyanna Andresen

2. Analyze
New vocabulary
Context clues
Hypothesize
Organize thoughts
Reread
Use your A.N.C.H.O.R.

3. Analyze
 Analyze what you are reading.
 Analyzing will help you group your ideas into separate
compartments.
 Those idea compartments will keep you afloat as you
sail through the rest of your reading.
 Keep analyzing until you finish reading the whole
passage.

4.  Write down any new vocabulary words you find in
your reading as “stops” you made on your map.
 After you are finished reading the passage, you can
go back to the vocabulary words on your map, and
look them up in a dictionary to better understand
what they mean.
 Learning new vocabulary will help expand your
horizon for your next reading sailing adventure!
New Vocabulary

5. Think about context clues as points on your map:
looking at the land you just left and where you want to
go on your journey can help you determine where your
ship is now.
 Always look at your context clues to help you with
new vocabulary.
 In doing so, you are looking at the words before the
vocabulary word and the words after the vocabulary
word to infer what it means.
Context Clues

6. You are making a prediction about the passage and the
information that it will pertain to in the passage.
 Make predictions in question forms, this way you can give
before reading answers, during reading answers, and after
reading answers and compare them at the end to test
validity.
Ask:
 Who is the story/passage about?
 What is the story/passage about?
 Why is this story/ passage useful?
 Where is the story/passage taking place?
 Does the story/passage seem of my interest?
Hypothesize

7.  One definition for the word organize is coordinate.
 You can do this on your map with your thoughts by
writing them under the places you stop (idea points
you analyzed and put into compartments).
 Organizing your thoughts properly will help you
dramatically when you need to go back to answer
questions about the passage or you are studying for a
quiz.
Organize thoughts

8.  Rereading a passage can help you:
 Find ideas, vocabulary words, and important points
you may have sailed past before.
 Help the information you read make more sense to
you.
 Help you retain the information for tests or projects
later.
 Make you a better and faster reader.
Reread

9. Use your paper like you would a map and as you read
the path you write will lead you to your final
destination.
 Set a purpose for reading.
 Use your prior knowledge about the subject.
 Predict what the story will be.
 Ask questions.
Before Reading

10. On your map write predictions, prior knowledge, and
these questions with your before reading answers:
 Who is the story/passage about?
 What is the story/passage about?
 Why is this story/ passage useful?
 Where is the story/passage taking place?
 Does the story/passage seem of my interest?
Before Reading Map

11. Before Reading Map
 Before reading you
will start
conducting your
‘Hypothesize’ part
of your anchor.

12.  Answer your prediction questions again on your map
as you come across them in the passage.
 Search for new vocabulary.
 Use context clues to help you understand the new
vocabulary.
 Analyze the passage and make compartments.
 Organize your thoughts.
 Reread the passage.
During Reading

13. During Reading

14.  Analyzing and organizing your thoughts will require
you to use your thinking skills, and will help you
answer your questions better.
During Reading

15. By rereading you are able to see things
you may not have noticed before.
During Reading

16. Get ready to hoist your reading anchor!
After Reading

17.  Were your answers to your questions similar to the
ones you made before reading and during reading?
 What did you find the second time you read the
passage you did not find the first time?
 Review what you already know, and what you have
learned.
 Look up new vocabulary words you wrote down on
your map from your journey.
After Reading

18.  Did you enjoy the passage?
 What about it interested you?
 Make a text-to-self or text-to-world connection with
the information from the passage you read.
After Reading

19. Great Job Sailor!