We know, as teachers, that using easy strategies when reading with your students can have a HUGE IMPACT.  However, finding a way to teach them all can be hard to remember for children, especially a struggling reader. When I first started teaching, I was handed a chart of reading strategies with 12 squares on the paper. It had various strategies like reading subheadings, circling keywords, etc. All of them were great strategies students needed to use, but I quickly realized that they were tough to remember.

I remember a handful of times when working with students in a small group and asking them about their reading strategies, and they would give me blank stares. I knew that I needed to find a way to show them all their strategies in an easier way. When I later transferred schools, my 5th-grade team introduced me to a great acronym that helped my students.

We used an easy reading strategy that incorporated the school mascot. Kids could tell you what each process was, and I saw AWESOME results when I was repetitively using them. Years later, when I was tutoring more consistently, I needed something that wasn’t my home school specific. This was when I came up with the phrase, “When we read, we take a TRIP!”

EASY STRATEGIES WHEN READING

This acronym is simple to memorize and incorporates many strategies with each step. Please read below to see how to use it with kids.

T – THINK
R – READ
I – INQUIRE
P – PROVE

Once I teach my students about the TRIP reading strategies, I will also provide them with a way to explain what each one of the strategies means.

You can see below the activity…

And bookmarks…

Plus POST-IT notes

There are many ways for students to practice and use these easy strategies when reading.

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