After reading a text its very important that one can understand what they just read and piece the work together. Not only do they have to understand the plot, but also the motives that drive the plot. I think one of the best ways to exercise this understanding is through Beers's Somebody Wanted But So chart. I think this is a great way to see how the plot is driven forward. It's important though that the teacher ask what happens next, or what else was happening. The only thing that bothers me about this exercise is that it may not work with a book that has a lot of different plots that come together to create the story. You might need a LOT of these charts in that case!
I feel like the It Says-I say- So exercise would really bother me. I'm one of those people that believe it a book says it then its true, so let's leave it at that. I would find the exercise so repetitive because the "I say" section for me would just be me writing whatever the book says or eleaborating on it. However, this is also a good strategy for making the students think about questions that the book doesn't just come out and ask. They have to search for the answers to better understand them.
And maybe it would depend on what type of text you were using... if students were reading an editorial you would want them to have an opinion on their reading.
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