Before:  
Have you ever thought you were too small to do something?  
Have you ever had a goal or dream that you wanted to accomplish?  
What did you do (or could you do) to accomplish that goal?

During:
How do you think this story will end? 
What does (pick a word) mean? 
Is this important?

After: 
What did I learn?
Do I need to read this again?

Model this strategy by summarizing a book read in a previous lesson or the day prior. State the main ideas and use story elements to organize the summary. Then, after reading this text, ask students:

What is this text about? 
What are the main ideas of this text? What is your evidence? 
What is not important to remember in this text? Why?

Sometimes, when you’re reading, a word might not sound quite right. That’s your clue to try a different sound to see if it makes more sense.

Let’s try it with a word from Dex, The Heart of a Hero.

Look at the word circle—you might first try saying it with a k sound, like "kir-cle." But wait! That doesn’t sound right. If you flip the c sound to an s sound, you get circle—a word you know!

Or take the word ruffle—if you read it as "roo-fle," that might not make sense. But if you flip the u sound and say "ruff-le," it sounds right!

If a word doesn’t sound right or make sense, stop and try a different sound to see if another way makes more sense. It’s like being a word detective—looking for clues to solve tricky words.  

Other possible words from this text to use in modeling this strategy: little, except, comic, movie, library, bored, slid

This text uses a variety of punctuation where characters ask questions, make statements, and exclaim their thoughts. Use this punctuation to model for students how to read with meaning and feeling. Then, encourage students to do the same.

Possible words to focus on include: plump, underside, trot, fatigue, vaulted, courage, yipping, slender, yeowling, catapult, billowing.