If you’ve ever taught comprehension strategies one at a time—summarizing one week, predicting the next—you’re not alone. But here’s the thing: students don’t read that way, so why should we teach that way?

The Science of Reading (SoR) has shown that students benefit most when comprehension strategies are taught together, not in isolation. Research supports a more integrated approach where strategies are introduced and reinforced across multiple contexts​ (Keys to Literacy). The key to better comprehension instruction lies in a more integrated approach - one that makes it easy to spiral your instruction naturally as you read aloud.

And that’s exactly what BookPagez makes easy.

The old approach to teaching comprehension—focusing on one strategy at a time—made it difficult for students to see how these strategies work together. But research now shows that proficient readers naturally combine strategies as they read, engaging with texts in more meaningful ways. According to the Science of Reading, spiraling instruction—where strategies are revisited and applied across different texts—leads to stronger comprehension, retention, and engagement​ (Reading Rockets)​ (Keys to Literacy).

Why?

Because spiraling gives students multiple chances to observe, practice, and apply strategies in varied contexts. Instead of isolated lessons, this approach allows them to develop a coordinated, flexible use of comprehension strategies. As a result, students are better equipped to think critically and actively engage with any text they encounter.

Here’s how you can put the research into practice, step by step, using BookPagez resources:

1. Pick a Book
   Each book in the BookPagez library comes with 3-5 comprehension strategy resource sets. Instead of teaching just one strategy, you can layer strategies into your read-aloud. For example, start with predictions—ask students to guess what will happen next, then reinforce it by asking them to infer why a character made a certain choice.
   
   
2. Weave Strategies into the Read-Aloud
   Rather than separating strategies, infuse them into your reading. For instance, while reading The Name Jar, you can have students predict what Unhei might choose, infer how she feels about her name, and summarize the key events along the way. This keeps students engaged with the text on multiple levels and helps them make deeper connections.
   
   
3. Spiral Strategies Across Multiple Books
   After introducing strategies with one book, use a new book to revisit and reinforce them. This allows students to see how strategies like summarizing or questioning can be applied to different stories, strengthening their ability to transfer these skills across texts. With BookPagez, you can teach prediction one day and revisit it with a new book the next.
   
   
4. Reinforce with Follow-Up Activities
   After the read-aloud, BookPagez resources make it easy to reinforce strategies with quick, effective activities. Use task cards, discussion prompts, or small group work to deepen comprehension and ensure students are actively applying what they’ve learned.

Watch the video to see how to spiral your instruction using the books you want to teach with.