Previewing text: a routine students with IEPs can run alone
By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated
Short answer
Previewing text means looking over a passage before reading it: the title, headings, pictures, captions, bold words and the first and last paragraphs. The reader uses that look to guess the topic, recall what they know and set a question to read for. Teach it as a 3-minute routine with a card, then fade the card.
Previewing is the warm-up a skilled reader does without noticing. Before the first sentence, they have already glanced at the title, the headings and the pictures and decided roughly what the text is about. Many students with IEPs skip straight to line one and read every word with the same weight. By paragraph three they have lost the thread.
Each step below has an example, and the worked example follows one fictional 6th grader from baseline to mastery. Numbers are illustrations, not benchmarks. For where previewing fits among the other strategies, start with the cluster pillar on reading comprehension strategies.
Why previewing is worth teaching
The What Works Clearinghouse guide for kindergarten through grade 3 lists activating prior knowledge and predicting among the comprehension strategies worth teaching explicitly.[1] Previewing is how a reader does both before reading. For older students, the WWC adolescent literacy guide recommends direct, explicit comprehension strategy instruction with modeling and guided practice.[2]
Previewing also pays off for students who struggle with attention or working memory. A reader who knows the text has four sections, and roughly what each covers, has a map. Details have somewhere to go.
What you need before you start
- Texts with features. Informational passages with a title, 3 to 5 headings, at least one visual with a caption and a few bold words. Textbook sections work well.
- Text the student can read. About 95% word accuracy, or read the text aloud. Previewing cannot rescue a passage the student cannot decode.
- A preview card. Five lines, one per step below, with a box to check.
- A probe plan. Five short previews per probe, scored with the 4-point rubric in the measurement section.
Step-by-step previewing routine
Step 1: Read the title and say the topic
The student reads the title and says the topic in 1 to 3 words. For a section titled "How Volcanoes Form," the topic is "volcanoes." Keep it that short. A long answer here usually means the student has started guessing details.
Step 2: Read each heading and turn it into a question
The student reads each heading aloud and turns it into a question. "Magma Under the Crust" becomes "What is magma and where is it?" These questions become the purpose for reading each section. A section with no heading gets its first sentence read instead.
Step 3: Look at every visual and caption
The student names what each picture, diagram or map shows and reads the caption. Ask one question per visual: "What does this show that the words might explain?" Students with IEPs often skip captions entirely. The caption is frequently where the clearest single sentence in the section lives.
Step 4: Find the bold words
The student points to each bold or highlighted word and rates it: know it, seen it, or new. New words get a quick look in the glossary box or margin note before reading. Do not turn this step into a vocabulary lesson. Two minutes is the limit.
Step 5: Read the first and last paragraph, then predict
The student reads the introduction and the conclusion, or the summary box if there is one. Then they say one sentence: "I think this will tell me ..." This prediction gets checked after reading. Predictions that turn out wrong are still useful, because checking them makes the student reread.
Worked example: one student from baseline to mastery
Student (fictional): Dani, grade 6, reads grade 4 text with about 96% word accuracy. In science, Dani reads assigned sections start to finish and answers fewer than half of the section review questions.
Baseline, September 9 to 13. Across 3 probes, Dani was handed a 4-section science passage and asked to "look it over before you read." Each preview was scored on a 4-point rubric (below). Scores were 0, 1 and 1 out of 4. The median was 1. Dani read the title and started reading.
Goal. Given an unpracticed grade 4 informational passage with headings and visuals, Dani will preview the text and state the topic, two heading questions and a prediction, scoring 3 of 4 rubric points on 4 of 5 previews across 3 consecutive weekly probes. The closest template is preview a textbook chapter and predict.
Instruction. Three 15-minute sessions a week in a resource setting. Weeks 1 and 2: teacher models the full routine on one passage and thinks aloud. Weeks 3 to 5: Dani runs the routine with the card while the teacher prompts. Weeks 6 to 8: the card is turned face down and only flipped if Dani stops.
Data.
| Week | Support | Previews at 3 or 4 points (of 5) | Median rubric score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | None | 0 of 5 | 1 |
| 3 | Card, prompts | 2 of 5 | 2 |
| 5 | Card, no prompts | 3 of 5 | 3 |
| 7 | Card face down | 4 of 5 | 3 |
| 8 | No card | 4 of 5 | 3 |
| 9 | No card, new topic (weather) | 5 of 5 | 4 |
Check that it mattered. In week 9, the teacher compared section review answers. Dani answered 6 of 10 correctly after previewing, up from 3 of 10 in September on a similar section. That one comparison is not proof, but it is a reason to keep the routine and add the self-questioning strategy next.
How to measure previewing
Use rubric scoring on 5 previews per probe, once a week. Each preview earns 1 point for each part:
| Point | What earns it |
|---|---|
| Topic | States the topic in a few words that match the title |
| Questions | Turns at least 2 headings into questions |
| Visuals | Names what at least one visual shows, using the caption |
| Prediction | States a prediction that fits the title and headings |
Record each probe on a rubric scoring data sheet: one row per passage, one column per rubric point, the total at the end. Graph the number of previews at 3 or 4 points.
Common mistakes
- Weak: Previewing a story with no headings. Better: Start with informational text that has strong features. Fiction previews are thinner: the title, the cover and the first page.
- Weak: Letting the preview stretch to 10 minutes. Better: Set a 3-minute timer. The preview is a map, not a first read.
- Weak: Asking for a prediction and never checking it. Better: Return to the prediction after reading: "Were you right? What did the text actually say?"
- Weak: Teaching with practiced passages and testing with the same ones. Better: Probe on passages the student has not seen.
- Weak: Writing the goal as "will preview text before reading." Better: Name the passage type, the parts of the preview and the rubric criterion, as in Dani's goal.
Goals and next strategies
Previewing works best as the first step of a longer routine. Pair it with questioning during reading and a summary after reading. For more goal wording, see the comprehension goals page and the reading comprehension strategies goal hub. For goals across every comprehension skill, see IEP goals for reading comprehension. Before the meeting, paste your draft into the goal checker.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between previewing and predicting?
Previewing is the look at the text features before reading. Predicting is one part of it: the guess the reader makes from that look. A student can predict from a title alone, but a full preview gives the prediction more to work with.
Does previewing work with fiction?
It works, but there is less to look at. Have the student read the title, look at the cover or first illustration, and read the first page or the back cover. Then ask who the story seems to be about and what might happen.
How long should a preview take?
About 2 to 3 minutes for a textbook section of 3 to 5 pages. If a preview runs longer, the student is usually reading instead of scanning. Use a timer while the routine is new.
Use it in IEP Atlas
- Comprehension goals (reading)
- Reading comprehension strategies goal hub
- Preview a textbook chapter and predict (goal template)
- Rubric scoring data sheet
- Reading comprehension in the IEP glossary
- IEP goal checker
Related guides
- Reading comprehension strategies for struggling readers
- The self-questioning strategy for reading: how to teach it
- Reading comprehension IEP goal examples
- How to measure reading comprehension without a percent-of-questions trap
- IEP goals for text features and text structure: 20 examples
- Text structure signal words: chart, template and strategies
- Genre IEP goals: poetry, drama, folktales and informational text
Sources
- Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
- Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.