5 Key Reading Strategies     

 

Divide the reading into thirds.  Write at least a paragraph about each of the following.  Read the first third.  Stop.

 

a.    Predict: What is the rest of this text going to be about?  What kinds of things do you see us talking about in relation to this text?

 

Read the next third.  Try to write more than a paragraph for this one.

 

b.   Connect: What kinds of things does this text remind you of?  What do you know about the topic of this text?  Think of magazines, news programs, television programs, movies, gossip, hearsay, conversations with family or friends….

 

Finish the reading.

 

c.    Summarize: What is the text about, overall?  What seems to be the point?  Underline or note a specific place that you think best embodies a main idea or point.

 

Finally, respond to the last two questions.

 

d.   Question: Why is the writer writing this?  What point do you think she/he wants us to get or understand about what she/he has written?

 

e.    Analyze:  What should or could this text mean to you, in your class, at this time, where you live?  Why is it or could it be important?