Preview the selection by reading the Prereading page carefully, thinking about the title, and looking at maps, art, and photographs throughout the selection. Think about what the story may be about. Who are the characters? What is the setting? What is the conflict or problem? Write down your preliminary predictions before you begin reading.
1. Listen as your teacher reads aloud the first two paragraphs of the selection. Does the information in these paragraphs match your preliminary predictions? Adjust your predictions as necessary based on the new information or make a new prediction. Each time you make a prediction, write it down. Then write the page number and column where you stopped after the prediction.
2. As you read the rest of the story on your own, keep adjusting your predictions and making new ones.
If you are having trouble making predictions, try answering the Guided Reading Questions. These questions will help you identify some of the key ideas or events in the story. Focus on these ideas or events to help you predict what will happen.
Go through your list of predictions. Put a star next to every prediction that you were right about. Put a check next to every prediction where you changed your ideas from a previous prediction. Share your predictions with a partner. Talk about what clues in the story led you to make the predictions.