Specific Reading Skills & GED® Strategies and Tools

The following specific skills should be taught in context of a complex text and contextualized to real-world application. The following strategies may be taught using the Strategic Teaching Learning Cycle (342K PDF).

Fluency

• Strategies for Teaching Fluency Guide (45K PDF) provides fundamental ideas in teaching students to improve fluency when reading text, which research shows enhances comprehension.

Vocabulary

• Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary Guide (184K PDF) provides fundamental basic strategies to assist student in improving vocabulary, which highly affects comprehension of complex text.
• Improving Students Academic Vocabulary with Mini Lessons Slides (200K PDF)  and Handout (216K PDF) provides numerous quick and simple vocabulary lessons that may be integrated into any lesson.
• Understanding Language and Vocabulary Development (174K PDF) is a journal article describing how language develops and evidence-based strategies to increase vocabulary development.
• Nine Things Every Teacher Should Know About Words and Vocabulary Instruction (175K PDF) -- This article from the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy describes the nine research-based approaches to teaching vocabulary.
• The Academic Word List shares the most common Tier Two words in the English language. The word list also shares word families for each word.

Vocabulary Graphic Organizers

• Vocabulary Study (39K PDF)
• Frayer Model (89K PDF)
• In My Own Words (18K PDF)

Context Clue Tools

• Types of Context Clues (48K PDF)
• A Five Step Process for Teaching Word Meanings (123K WORD)
• Word Detectives (49K PDF)

Inference

• Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions Guide (679K PDF) This guidebook offers an overview of teaching inference along with many strategies and tools.
• Making Inferences about Print Advertisements (228K PDF) This quick reference guide provides a strategy and tool on how to teach inference for print advertisements.

Inference Tools

• KIS Strategy for Inference (674K PDF)
• QAR Census Bureau Example (370K PDF)
• Inferences Graphic Organizer (109K PDF)
• Inference Graphic Organizers (769K PDF)
• What Do You See Activity (119K PDF)

Text Structure

• Text Structure Guide (736K PDF) provides the basics in introducing students to strategies and tools in order to identifying and analyze text structure.
• 20 Strategies for Teaching Text Structure (198K PDF)

Text Structure Tools

• Text Frames (94K PDF)
• Various graphic organizers for text structure (sequencing, compare/contrast, problem/solution, cause/effect) (46K PDF)

These may be reproduced for the use with students.

• Graphic Organizers 1 (46K PDF)
• Graphic Organizers 2 (580K PDF)

GED® Strategies and Tools for All Content Areas

• Free Classroom Materials from the GED® for the RLA Social Studies and Science Tests including tutorials and practice tests. 
• GED® Study guides explain the skills that are covered in each GED® test subject and include sample questions. Use these with your students to help them prepare for each test subject.
• GED® Educator Handbook provides basic information about the GED® test.
• GED® Extended Response Guide and Scoring Tools
• GED® Professional Development Webinar Series provides instructional strategies for teachers in the areas of RLA, Graphic Literacy, Science, and Social Studies.