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Anticipation Guide
An anticipation guide is a comprehension strategy that is used before reading to activate students' prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic. Before reading, students listen to or read several statements about key concepts presented in the text; they're often structured as a series of statements with which the students can choose to agree or disagree. Anticipation guides stimulate students' interest in a topic and set a purpose for reading.
Why use anticipation guides?
- They teach students to make predictions, anticipate the text, and verify their predictions.
- They connect new information to prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic.
| When to use: | Before reading | During reading | After reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to use: | Individually | With small groups | Whole class setting |
How to use an anticipation guide
- Construct the anticipation guide. Construction of the anticipation guide should be as simple as possible for younger students. Write four to six statements about key ideas in the text; some true and some false. Include columns following each statement, which can be left blank or can be labeled Yes, or No (Maybe can also be used).
NOTE: Teachers may wish to create an additional column for revisiting the guide after the material has been read.
- Model the process. Introduce the text or reading material and share the guide with the students. Model the process of responding to the statements and marking the columns.
- Read each of the statements and ask the students if they agree or disagree with it. Provide the opportunity for discussion. The emphasis is not on right answers but to share what they know and to make predictions.
- Read the text aloud or have students read the selection individually. If reading aloud, teachers should read slowly and stop at places in the text that correspond to each of the statements.
- Bring closure to the reading by revisiting each of the statements.
Download blank templates
Examples
Language Arts
Learn how anticipation guides can be used for children's books such as Stellaluna.
Learn how anticipation guides can be used for children's books such as Miss Rumphius.
Using anticipation guides with fiction and nonfiction children's books, including several books in Spanish.
Science
Use anticipation guides to help students understand about fungi.
Use anticipation guides to help students understand about dinosaurs.
Social Studies
Use anticipation guides to help students organize their reading about topics such as the Panama Canal.
Children's books to use with this strategy
Barack
Picture book biography
The journey of Barack Obama to national prominence and the US Presidency began with his diverse heritage and self questioning but resulted in hope.
What Darwin Saw: The Journey That Changed the World
Nonfiction
What Charles Darwin saw and chronicled on his long journey is told here in text and illustration.
River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
Picture book biography
He made a living as a family physician, but Willy was an unusual child with a love of language and the ability to see the world as a poet.
Differentiated instruction
For second language learners, students of varying reading skill, students with learning disabilities, and younger learners
- Anticipation guides can be completed orally.
- The number of statements can be modified to suit learner's needs.
- Teachers may assign different reading passages about the same topic based upon reading skills.
- Color code columns so that the child can clearly tell the difference between the "before" and "after" column.
- Use simple sentences so that the student focuses on the content, rather than understanding the sentence. Example: "Ringworm and athlete's foot are caused by fungi" to "Fungi causes ringworm and athlete's foot."
See the research that supports this strategy
Duffelmeyer, F. (1994). Effective Anticipation Guide statements for learning from expository prose. Journal of Reading, 37, 452-455.
National Institute for Literacy. (2001). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read Kindergarten Through Grade 3. Jessup, MD: ED Pubs.
Head, M. H., and Readence, J. E. (1992). Anticipation guides: Using prediction to promote learning from text. In E.K. Dishner, T. W. Bean, J. E. Readence and D. W. Moore (Eds), Reading in the content areas: Improving classroom instruction (3rd ed., pp. 227-233). Dubugue: Kendall/Hunt.
Wood, K. D., D. Lapp, J. Flood, and D. B. Taylor. 2008. Guiding Readers Through Text: Strategy Guides for New Times. 2nd ed. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Wood, K.D., & Mateja, J. A. (1983). Adapting secondary level strategies for use in elementary classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 36, 492-496
