An Anticipation Guide is a strategy, presented by Adlit.org, that is used before reading to “activate students’ prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic”. Before reading, students use the guide to respond to thinking about their prior knowledge of a subject before engaging with the text. Using this strategy stimulates students’ interest in a topic and sets a purpose for reading.

“Anticipation Guides are loved by teachers because of their ability to engage all students in the exploration of new information by challenging them to critically think about what they know or think they know about a topic. In doing so, anticipation guides set a purpose to the reading, even for those students who initially may not be engaged by the topic.”

To download an Anticipation Guide from AdLit, visit their website.

To check out other classroom strategies to build vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills, check out the Classroom Strategy Library.