3 Active Reading Strategies
What is Active Reading
Active reading simply means reading something with a determination to understand and evaluate it for its relevance to your needs.
Simply reading and re-reading the material isn’t an effective way to understand and learn. Actively and critically engaging with the content can save you time.
Active Reading Skills:
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- Scanning to locate specifically required information.
- Surveying a text. (Links to an external site.)
- Using the title. Sometimes you have to make quick decisions based on the title.
- Skimming a text to get an overall impression. Skimming is useful when you want to survey a text to get a general idea of what it is about.
Reading Fluency
The ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression.
Active Reading
Asking questions, clarifying, and connecting to what you are reading.
Preview
Become familiar with a text before you start reading. Look at title, graphics, photos and subheadings. Skim first paragraph.
Purpose
Know why you are reading…information or entertainment.
Connect
Find something you can personally relate to…do the characters remind you of someone you know… would you react the same way as a character did?
Prior Knowldege
Recall what you know about a topic. Before reading jot down what you already know about a topic. As you read, connect what you know to what you are learning.
Predict
Guess what’s going to happen next. Pay attention to clues such as important statements made by characters or repeated details.
Visualize
Get a clear mental picture of what is being described.
Monitor
Check your own understanding. Ask questions, Clarify by rereading confusing parts, Evaluate and ask how well am I understanding this?
Make Inferences
Make logical guesses by considering the text and your own experiences. Record details about characters and events “read between the lines”.
