The Five Mental Actions

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The Five Mental Actions

• A Gateway to Comprehending Literature and
  Composing Literary Responses

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At a Glance

• Monitoring Comprehension Checking for
  Understanding
• Making Connections
• Predicting
• Reformatting
• Summarizing

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STEP 1 Monitor Comprehension Check for
Understanding

• This means that we check our understanding of
  words, phrases, and sentences. Vocabulary is the
  first prerequisite for understanding.

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STEP 2 Make Connections

• This means that we link stated information with
  our prior knowledge to infer or elaborate.

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The mole has a very strange way of digging its
tunnels.

• Read and write this sentence in your notes.

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Check one.

• I understand every word.
• I understand most every word. (List the words
  that you do not understand).

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• I am thinking that a mole must be a type of
  animal since he digs tunnels.
• I have monitored my comprehension and made
  connections with the unfamiliar word mole with
  the other words in the sentence.

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STEP 3 Make Predictions

• This means we use stated information and prior
  knowledge to forecast, make educated guesses
  about actions, events, or outcomes, and check to
  see if our predictions were accurate.

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Prediction about the mole

• I think that this is an informative passage about
  moles and how they build tunnels.

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• I have predicted the type of writing and the
  topic.
• I will read on to see if I am correct in my
  prediction.

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Write these sentences.

• The mole has a long, pointed nose which extends
  far beyond its mouth. It is very hard, and the
  mole uses it to bore into the earth.

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• I understand every word except bore.
• My father uses this word to describe the way his
  drill can make a hole in wood. Maybe bore means
  that the mole uses its nose like a drill to dig
  into the earth.

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• MONITORED COMPREHENSION
• CHECKED FOR UNDERSTANDING
• MADE CONNECTION FOR VOCABULARY BORE

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DIGGING DEEPER!

• These sentences give me more detail about how
  moles use their noses to dig into the earth.
  Therefore, I think that the first sentence is the
  topic sentence and the topic of this paragraph is
  moles and how they dig.

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• CHECK YOUR PREDICTIONS
• Is this really an informative piece?

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• I am sure that this is an informative
  paragraph because there are no personified moles
  as characters and there are just facts given
  about how they dig. The authors purpose seems to
  be to inform me about moles and how they dig.

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STEP 4 Reformatting

• This means we reorganize information into new
  forms like outlines by filing incoming
  information or using it as the basis for new
  tasks.

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Create an Outline

• Essential Information
• A. Moles are small animals with hard, long,
  pointed noses that bore into the earth.
• Additional Information
• A. How Moles Dig

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• WORD WEB

Long, pointed, hard noses E
Moles E
Nose extends beyond its mouth. A
Dig tunnels with nose E
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Write these sentences.

• The mole uses its short, wide forefeet like
  shovels to push the earth back. It works fast and
  is one of the best diggers in the animal world.

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• I understand every word except forefeet.
• I know what feet means, and I also know that fore
  means front so forefeet must mean front feet.
• ? MONITORED COMPREHENSION
• ? CHECKED FOR UNDERSTANDING
• ? MADE A CONNECTION

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Reformat

• I am going to reformat this information and add
  it to my files on moles and how they dig.

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• Essential Information
• A. Moles are small animals with hard, long,
  pointed noses that bore into the earth.
• B. How Moles Dig
• 1. Uses its forefeet to push earth back.
• II. Additional Information
• A. Moles are one of the best diggers in the
  animal world.

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STEP 5 Summarizing

• This means we use stated and implied
  information and prior knowledge to identify the
  main idea.

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Stated vs. Implied Information

• Stated
• A complete sentence written in the paragraph
  tells the central point of the paragraph and is
  supported by the details in the paragraph.

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Stated vs. Implied Information

• Implied
• The main idea is not written in the paragraph.
  You have to read the paragraph, analyze the
  details, and determine what idea or topic they
  are supporting.

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Summarize this paragraph

• Moles have a strange way of digging tunnels.
• They have hard, long, pointed noses that they use
  to bore into the earth.
• They also use their wide forefeet like shovels to
  push the earth back.
• They can work very fast.

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Strategies for Reading

• The following strategies can be applied to all
  types of writing.

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• Questioning
• Active readers ask themselves questions along
  the way.
• Connect
• Good readers connect what they are reading to
  prior knowledge.

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• Predict
• Good readers make predictions before, during,
  and after they read. Often, the title is an
  excellent way to predict the content of the
  literature.

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• Clarify
• Good readers clarify or summarize what theyve
  read along the way. They paraphrase the authors
  words.
• Evaluate
• Good readers evaluate the information theyve
  read and form opinions about the content.

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RECAP

• Monitor Comprehension Check for Understanding
  Are there words and phrases that are unclear to
  you?
• Make Connections from text or prior knowledge
  (use a dictionary if you cant)

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• Predict the type of writing, main idea, and
  events
• Reformat create a graphic organizer of the
  essential and additional information
• Summarize the theme and main ideas

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The End