two elementary students working on tablet together in class

Classroom Strategy Library

Our library provides effective, research-based classroom strategies to help strengthen your students’ skills in phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.

Welcome to our strategy library! 

All of the reading and writing strategies in our collection are evidence-based and can be adapted for all learners. Many of the strategies support collaborative learning and give your students a chance to work independently and in small groups.

Find the strategies that support the specific literacy skills you are teaching — the filters below can help you get started. As you introduce a strategy, clearly model how the strategy will be used, and let the kids know if they will be working as a whole class, in small groups, or individually. Demonstration and modeling, follow-up independent practice, and class or small group discussion are keys to success. Instruction should encourage active participation and lots of conversation!

Each strategy includes:

  • Instructions on how to use the strategy
  • Classroom video
  • Downloadable templates and examples
  • Differentiation for second language learners, students of varying reading skill, and younger learners
  • Supporting research
  • Recommended children’s books to use with the strategy

Reading Rockets is made possible with generous support from the National Education Association.

Which strategy?

The chart below lists all of the strategies currently in our library. To quickly find the strategies you need, use the filters below.

For many of the strategies, you can also see which are best used before, during, and/or after reading (B/D/A). “Before” strategies activate students’ prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading. “During” strategies help students make connections, monitor their understanding, generate questions, and stay focused. “After” strategies provide students an opportunity to summarize, question, reflect, discuss, and respond to text.

Select a strategy

elementary student reading a picture book aloud to another student in class

Classroom Strategy

Partner Reading

Focus:
Comprehension, Fluency
When:
During reading
closeup of student writing in assignment book in class

Classroom Strategy

Possible Sentences

Focus:
Comprehension, Vocabulary
When:
Before reading, After reading
row of elementary students concentrating on writing in class

Classroom Strategy

RAFT

Focus:
Writing
Closeup of elementary school girl in striped sweater reading a book

Classroom Strategy

Reading Guides

Focus:
Comprehension
When:
During reading
group of four elementary students practicing comprehension strategy together

Classroom Strategy

Reciprocal Teaching

Focus:
Comprehension
When:
Before reading, During reading, After reading
elementary girl completing a comprehension strategy graphic organizer

Classroom Strategy

Semantic Feature Analysis

Focus:
Comprehension, Vocabulary
When:
Before reading, During reading, After reading
elementary student arranging colorful sticky notes on a board

Classroom Strategy

Semantic Gradients

Focus:
Comprehension, Vocabulary, Writing
When:
Before reading, During reading, After reading
diagram flow chart

Classroom Strategy

Story Maps

Focus:
Comprehension
When:
During reading, After reading
colorful map of path from beginning to end

Classroom Strategy

Story Sequence

Focus:
Comprehension
When:
Before reading, During reading, After reading
second grade teacher writing on whiteboard with students around her

Classroom Strategy

Summarizing

Focus:
Comprehension
When:
After reading
Elementary teacher reading aloud and talking about the story with the class

Classroom Strategy

Think-alouds

Focus:
Comprehension
When:
During reading
two young elementary students having a lively conversation in class

Classroom Strategy

Think-Pair-Share

Focus:
Comprehension
When:
Before reading, During reading
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