Strategies for developing reading skills

Strategies that can help students read more quickly and effectively include:

1)    Previewing : reviewing titles, section headings, and photo captions to get a sense of the structure and content of a reading selection

2)    Predicting: using knowledge of the subject matter to make predictions about content and vocabulary and check comprehension ; using knowledge of the text type and purpose to make predictions about discourse structure ; using knowledge about the author to make predictions about writing , vocabulary and content. 

3)  Skimming: using to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading.

4)     Scanning: a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what you're looking for, so you're concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to determine whether it will answer your questions. Once you've scanned the document, you might go back and skim it.

5)    Guessing from context: using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the text as clues to the meanings of unknown words , instead of stopping to look them up.

6)    Paraphrasing : stopping at the end of a section to check comprehension by restating the information and ideas in the text.

Instructors can help students learn when and how to use reading strategies in several ways:

1)  By modeling the strategies aloud , talking through the processes of reviewing, predicting, skimming and scanning, and paraphrasing. This shows students how the strategies work and how much they can know about a text before they begin to read word by word.

2)   By allowing time in class for group and individual previewing and predicting activities as preparation for in- class or out of class reading.

3)   By using cloze (fill in the blanks) exercises to review vocabulary items. This help students learn to guess meaning from context.

4)   By encouraging students to talk about what strategies they think will help them approach a reading assignment, and then talking after reading about what strategies they actually used.