Lesson 4 — Activity 2: Reading Strategies

When we read, there are many strategies (skills) we can apply to help ourselves understand the material. This activity will review some of the most common methods for following reading material easily.

Skimming is one way of finding out the main ideas when we read. When you skim, you read quickly through a paragraph, page, chapter, or article to find a few (but not all) of the details. We are most likely to skim through material when we are looking for information about one particular idea and do not want to read through information that does not apply to what we want to learn. When we skim, we notice things such as:

chapter titles


paragraph headings

words that stand out from most of the writing because of the way they look (words that are italicized, underlined, or bolded)

the first sentence (usually the topic sentence) in a paragraph

the last sentence (usually the concluding sentence) in a paragraph

pictures, diagrams, or charts — their captions may help you to understand the main idea in the text

Reading may be easier if we use helpful strategies.

Scanning allows you to find a single fact, date, name, or a word quickly in a text without trying to read or understand all of the text. You may need that fact or word later to answer a question or to add detail to something you are writing.  When you scan, you move your eyes quickly down a page or list to find one specific detail.

Reading out loud is another good way to be sure we understand what we are reading. When we read out loud, we have to put more thought into what we are reading. When reading aloud, we cannot skim over the material and miss important information. We may also find that we understand something better by listening to someone else read aloud.

Forming questions can help us be sure we understand what we are reading. To form good questions, we must think about what we are reading. If there are things we are unsure about or do not understand, we can think of questions to ask ourselves as we read. This will help us to make sense of what we are reading.

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Making a prediction about what is going to happen can help us to read and understand better. To make a reasonable guess about what might happen next in a story, we have to be paying close attention to the events. Making a prediction also helps us to see how well we understand a story. If our prediction is right, we can be sure we are following the story well. If our prediction is wrong, we know we may need to look more closely at the events of the story to see what we didn't understand.

Using text organizers can also help us to understand what we read, whether skimming or reading for details. Text organizers include the index, the table of contents, the titles of chapters or units, the glossary, the charts or illustrations (pictures) included, and the bibliography. These organizers can help us to understand the main ideas more clearly.

We may not need to apply all of these reading strategies at once, but the more ways we are willing to approach reading, the better our chances for a clear understanding.

Digging Deeper!