Reading Stems

(For Growing Our Thinking)

I’m thinking______because______

and that makes me think/feel/realize ______.

I’m wondering ______because______

and that makesme think/feel/realize ______.

I learned ______

and that makes me think/feel/realize ______.

My favorite part was ______because______

and that makes me think/feel/realize ______.

The sad part was when______because______

and that makes me think/feel/realize ______.

The most important part was when _____ because ______

and that makes me think/feel/realize ______.

I laughed out loud when ______because ______

and that makes me think/feel/realize______.

Visualizing
Making a picture in my mind
Using all of my senses to connect to the text
  • I visualized…
  • I could hear…
  • I could smell…
  • I could taste…
  • I could feel…
  • I could picture…
  • A mental image I had was…
…because…and this makes me think/feel/realize / Asking Questions
Asking questions and looking for answers BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER reading
  • I wonder…
  • I was confused when…
  • I am not sure why…
  • I am curious about…
  • How does…
  • Why did/didn’t
  • What would happen if…
…because…and this makes me think/feel/realize
Inferring
Drawing conclusions, making predictions, evaluating, judging, and reflecting on my reading
  • I am guessing that…
  • I predict…
  • It would be better if…
  • I really liked how…
  • If I were the main character…
  • What I did not like was…
…because…and this makes me think/feel/realize / Determining Important Ideas
Knowing what the main ideas are and what the author thinks is important
  • The most important ideas are…
  • So far, I have learned that…
  • The most interesting points…
  • I noticed that…
  • The story was about…
…because…and this makes me think/feel/realize
Making Connections (Schema)
Using what I know to help me understand the text
  • That reminds me of…
  • It makes me think of…
  • I read another book where…
  • This is just like…
  • This is different from…
…because…and this makes me think/feel/realize / Synthesizing
Combining new ideas with what I already know to get something new and different
  • Now I know that…
  • This gives me an idea…
  • This compares to…
  • This was different from…
  • Now I am thinking that…
  • I have changed my mind because…
  • I used to think…, now I think…
…because…and this makes me think/feel/realize

Nonfiction Reading Stems

  • The important thing about….
  • I can picture how…
  • I am noticing…
  • I was surprised to learn…
  • I did not know that… This makes me think…
  • The author wants me to know…
  • This makes me think…
  • The convention ______helped me….
  • After reading this text, I understand… which I did not understand before.
  • I used to think…, but now I know…
  • I already knew…, but now I know…

Character Reading Stems

  • One character is ______. He/She is ______because

name trait

______. This makes me think/feel/realize ______.

evidence big idea

  • At first I thought ______was ______, but then______.

name trait change

This makes me think that he/she is really ______

new trait

because ______.

big idea

  • The character _____said _____. This makes me think _____.

name dialogue big idea

  • The character _____acts _____. This makes me think _____.

name action/ big idea

movement/

gesture

  • ______thinks _____. This makes me think _____.

character’s name thinking big idea

  • ______has a ______relationship with _____ because _____.

character’s name good/bad character’s name evidence

This makes me think _____.

big idea

  • ______is ______because _____. I ______like ______

character’s name trait evidence am/am not character’s name because I ______. This makes me think _____.

evidence big idea