Reading doesn’t only include the ability to identify words; it also entails the ability to comprehend sentences. In order for effective reading to take place, there are specific steps that should be applied to the reading process in order to experience reading success. Steps to reading success can be viewed below.
Previewing
Have you ever gone to a library, for instance, and turned the pages of a few books to see what was inside before selecting one? That is how previewing works. You quickly scan the content to get a general understanding of the text’s topic. You can skim the content for important words and images to get a sense of why you are reading it.
Why is it crucial to preview a text ?
According to research, previewing a text can help you understand it better. It enables the reader to get themselves psychologically ready for what they are going to read.You can preview a text both before and after reading. By previewing a text, you can examine the information you already know and want to learn about a subject.
Included among previewing strategies is:
- KWL-What I know. What I want to know. What I learned.
- The 4 P’s – Purpose, Preview, Prior Knowledge, Predict
- Sq3r strategy -Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review and Reflect
Predict
A reader is speculating on what they believe will happen next when they make a prediction while reading. Without even realizing it, most readers make predictions on a regular basis. Imagine seeing an animal-themed book next to a man holding a pan in his hand while sporting a jumpsuit and cap. We instinctively assume that the book is about a farm and that the man in the jumpsuit is a farmer even before we have read the title or the contents. Skilled readers also frequently predicting what will happen next after finishing a chapter.
Anticipating aids in maintaining the reader’s attention during the text. It creates curiosity since readers will want to keep reading to find out if their prediction came true.
How to Teach Children to Make Meaningful Predictions
- Explicit Prediction Instruction -T chart Organizer
- Before, During and After Reading Task
- Illustrate the Ending
Question
Posing queries to oneself while you read encourages active engagement with the content. By posing queries like who, what, where, when, why, and how, the reader remains engaged with the material. Prior to, during, and following their reading of a piece of writing, students ought to pose questions. Readers ought to:
1. Question the author
2.Question the text ( characters, settings, plots)
Infer
The act of drawing conclusions, as we read, is referred to as making an inference. When we infer, we are basically reading between the lines. We infer by making a prediction, coming to a conclusion, or generating new ideas.
Let’s say your friend watches Tuesday night football at his cousin’s house every week. If someone asks you about the location of your friend on a Tuesday night, you will infer that he’s at his cousin’s house watching football. You would use your prior knowledge of his whereabouts on a Tuesday to form a conclusion. The same way in which you would use prior knowledge to make an inference about your cousin’s location; it’s the same way we can use prior knowledge and textual information to make critical
judgments, draw conclusions, and form interpretations of text while we read.
Connect
When a connection is made to a text, it allows us to understand how the characters feel.
This will allow us to be more engaged while reading. We can try to make a connection to a text by identifying the author’s objectives and asking ourselves what the story means to us? For example, if you are reading a text about cricket and you have never played a game of cricket, you can make a connection with a character in the story who has never engaged in the game, or if you are a great cricket player, you can make a connection with a character in the story who already knows how to play cricket.
When you summarize, you condense what you’ve read to its most crucial points. When reading, pay attention to the major points and significant details to assist in creating a summary.
Review
The last step in the academic reading process is reviewing. The information was ingrained in your mind by all the previous reading strategies you employed. Reviewing ensures that the information is retained and helps to cement it in place for future use.
