Self-Monitoring Approach to Reading and Thinking (SMART)
Good readers are constantly thinking as they read. Not only are they thinking about the content of the reading selection, but they are also monitoring their own comprehension. Good readers know when meaning breaks down and they have strategies on hand to correct their comprehension. Most of this happens subconsciously. Struggling readers, however, do not have this internal monitoring system, or metacognition, about their own thinking. Struggling readers plow through text and continue reading even if nothing is making sense. The good news is that struggling readers can be taught to activate their self-monitoring system.
One strategy that helps students monitor their own understanding is SMART. SMART is based on the idea that successful reading starts with recognizing what is understood and what is not understood.
The SMART protocol for reading is as follows:
1. Read. Read a section of the text. Using a pencil, lightly place a check mark next to each paragraph that you understand. Place a question mark next to each paragraph that contains something you do not understand.
2. Self-Translate. At the end of each section, stop and explain to yourself, in your own words, what you read. Look back at the text as you go over the material.
3. Troubleshoot. Go back to each question mark and see if you can now make sense of the paragraph.
a. Re-Read the trouble spot to see if it now makes sense. If it still does not make sense:
b. Pinpoint a problem by figuring out why you are having trouble:
- Is it a difficult word or unfamiliar vocabulary?
- Is it a difficult sentence or confusing language?
- Is it a subject about which you know very little?
c. Try a fix-up strategy:
- Use the glossary or some other vocabulary aid.
- Look over the pictures or other graphics
- Examine other parts of the chapter (summary, review section, diagrams, etc.)
d. Explain to yourself exactly what you do not understand or what confuses you.
e. Get Help. Ask the teacher or a classmate.
One strategy that helps students monitor their own understanding is SMART. SMART is based on the idea that successful reading starts with recognizing what is understood and what is not understood.
The SMART protocol for reading is as follows:
1. Read. Read a section of the text. Using a pencil, lightly place a check mark next to each paragraph that you understand. Place a question mark next to each paragraph that contains something you do not understand.
2. Self-Translate. At the end of each section, stop and explain to yourself, in your own words, what you read. Look back at the text as you go over the material.
3. Troubleshoot. Go back to each question mark and see if you can now make sense of the paragraph.
a. Re-Read the trouble spot to see if it now makes sense. If it still does not make sense:
b. Pinpoint a problem by figuring out why you are having trouble:
- Is it a difficult word or unfamiliar vocabulary?
- Is it a difficult sentence or confusing language?
- Is it a subject about which you know very little?
c. Try a fix-up strategy:
- Use the glossary or some other vocabulary aid.
- Look over the pictures or other graphics
- Examine other parts of the chapter (summary, review section, diagrams, etc.)
d. Explain to yourself exactly what you do not understand or what confuses you.
e. Get Help. Ask the teacher or a classmate.