Anticipation Guides

Question: What are the values of anticipation guides to comprehending expository texts?

Answer: An anticipation guide provides statements about the contents of the text with which the student agrees or disagrees.

Quote: “Beginning with fourth grade or thereabouts, there is a discernible shift from learning to read, the customary vehicle of which is narrative text, to reading to learn, for which expository text is the chief medium. The significance of this shift lies in the fact that expository text is generally more difficult to comprehend….” P. 452.

Quote: “As a pre-reading strategy the Anticipation Guide has much to offer: It can activate students’ prior knowledge, stimulate thinking, challenge students’ beliefs, raise expectations about meaning, motivate active reading and help convince students to modify erroneous beliefs. In short, the Anticipation Guide can promote reading to learn from expository text.” P. 457.

Comment: I wish I had known about Anticipation Guides when I was teaching. I can recognize their value. RayS.

Title: “Effective Anticipation Guide Statements for Learning from Expository Prose.” FA Duffelmeyer. Journal of Reading (March 1994), 452-457.

Note: For the last month and a half, this blog has been concerned with techniques for teaching English as a second language (ESL) students. I learned right along with my readers. Now I plan to return to past articles that still have value in today’s teaching of English. RayS.