Boosting reading skills
- 1. Boosting Reading Skills Basic Strategies
- 2. Reading Strategies Skimming for gist- move eyes quickly across the page Scanning for details- move eyes diagonally up and down looking for specific words, phrases or information Highlighting and underlining- do not be afraid to write and make notes on texts. This is what they are for and is the best way of interrogating them. Once you find a detail or piece of text you are looking for, mark it. All close reading texts (and question papers) should be annotated, and drawn / written all over.
- 3. Reading Strategies Predicting: Look for clues- what type of text is it? Where is it from? Who is it aimed at? How can you tell? What is its purpose? How does the opening statement set up the reader for what is to come next? Use information like this to help you get a quick grip on new texts.
- 4. Reading Strategies Sequencing: events will not necessarily be told in order- use numbers, lines etc to help you be clear what is happening. Summarising: Read for gist. What are the main points? This provides an overview for more detailed reading.
- 5. Reading Strategies Inferring: reading between the lines. What is said, is often not said, but implied. Using the context: be aware of what a piece is about and where words lie. This will provide clues as to what it is actually about. Extend your vocabulary: use a dictionary and build a glossary of new terms. Use them- in your own essays across the school.
- 6. Reading Strategies Deconstruction and derivatives. Words are built from prefixes, suffixes and roots. Use clues like this to help you understand new vocabulary. Questioning: ask your self questions- so if…then …? Writing questions about a new text is the best way to get a good grip of it because you have to understand it and it highlights the tricky bits
- 7. Reading Strategies Clarifying: Check it makes sense. Read back and forward to make sure you understand all the links and that the ideas in your head fit with what is on the paper Visualising: use diagrams or images. Transforming a text into notes and diagrams means understanding the writer’s message and the relationships of ideas to each other. It can also make sense of things in your own head.