Active Reading Strategies

When you skim a passage or text, what information should you gather?

• A basic idea of what the passage/text is about.

• Details about the life of the author.

• Information about where, when, and how the book was published.

• The names of all the characters in the passage.

What are some strategies to use during your reading?

• Write notes/comments in the margins, ask questions, write down words you don't know (so you can look them up), and visualize what the text is saying (picture in your mind).

• Skim the text before you read.

• Ask your teacher questions about the topic.

• Mark out all of the unimportant information in the passage and summarize the main idea of the section.

Why is background knowledge important when you are reading?

• It shows how smart the reader already is.

• It allows the reader to read the passage/text faster because they already know what it's about.

• It helps the reader connect to what they are reading and improves their understanding of the passage/text.

From the following things, what should every reader do first?

• Skim/preview the passage/text.

• Discuss the passage/text with a friend or classmate.

• Take notes as they read the passage/text.

• Ask the teacher a bunch of questions about the passage/text.

What is the main reason a reader should make notes about what they are reading?

• It allows you to memorize the text exactly as it's written.

• It allows you to find answers to questions while you read the passage.

• It helps you recognize and review key ideas.

• It proves to your teacher that you have done the reading.

What are some things I can do after I have read a passage to better understand what I read?

• Answer the test questions that my teacher gives me.

• Ask new questions about a different topic that I thought of when I was reading the passage.

• Read over my notes, answer any questions I may have had, look up the words I didn't know to find out what they mean, and talk about the passage with someone else who has read it.

• Take a nap because reading can be hard work and my brain needs to rest.

Read the statement below and choose which reading strategy it is describing.

"As I quickly look over the passage, I notice the words 'creature' and 'myth' in bold.

• skim

• reread

• visualize

• take notes

If you realize that you don't understand a part of a text, what should you immediately do?

• Keep reading and hope that you can figure out what the confusing part was about.

• Stop and reread the part of the text that you don't understand.

• Stop reading and guess what the confusing part was about.

• Ask your teacher to explain that part of the text to you.

Why is it important to read when you are in a quiet setting?

• So that you can hear the voices in your head.

• So that you can hear someone sneaking up on you when you're reading.

• So that you can fall asleep when you're reading.

• So the noises around you don't distract you from understanding what you are reading.

Why would you use a dictionary when you're reading a book for your ELA class?

• To look up information about the book's author.

• To find a list of synonyms for a word in the book.

• To look up historical information about the novel.

• To look up what a word means in a book.