What is the core purpose of Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA)?

• A. To memorize vocabulary before reading.
• B. To activate predictions and monitor understanding during reading.
• C. To summarize the entire book after reading.
• D. To compare texts from different genres.

Answer: (B)

The main idea behind this strategy is to make reading active and thoughtful by having students form predictions and then continually check their understanding as they read. By predicting what might happen or what a text means and then monitoring whether the reading matches those expectations, students become aware of their own thinking and use strategies to adjust when confusion arises. This during-reading engagement helps deepen comprehension because students are not passively taking in information; they are constantly testing and revising their ideas as they read, with guidance from the teacher through purposeful questions and discussion. After reading, you might connect the new ideas to prior knowledge or reflect on strategies used, but the core focus is on predicting and monitoring understanding while reading itself.

Memorizing vocabulary before reading isn’t the aim, since DR-TA centers on active thinking during reading. Summarizing the entire book after reading shifts emphasis to end-of-text recap rather than ongoing comprehension checks. Comparing texts from different genres isn’t the central purpose, which is why those options don’t fit DR-TA’s focus.