Read Like a Reader
When we break apart the skills involved in reading comprehension, we are constantly amazed at how many skills there really are.
Question
One important way to understand a difficult passage is to ask questions as you read. To help, stop after reading a paragraph, and ask yourself what is happening or not happening. Ask about the characters and why they are acting in a particular fashion or why they are saying the things they are saying. Ask yourself about the author's purpose for using certain words or figurative language.
Predict
It's always fun to predict and then read on to see if your predictions were or were not accurate. Again, readers need to remember to stop reading in order to attempt true predictions about what is to come for the characters in the tale. Predicting will aid in comprehension as long as readers remember to constantly modify their predictions as they continue reading.
Infer
Perhaps one of the most magical parts of reading comes with reading "what the author did not write". I would point out that what the author left out of a story may be just as important as what s/he chose to write. This is the part of reading where a reader finds clues and begins to put the story together.
Connect
It is important to find connections in your reading. Whether you are learning to read or reading to learn, you must continually make connections between the text and your own experiences in life, connections with other things you have read, and connections with current events.
Feel
How does the passage make you feel? Does it make you feel joyous or sad? Does it make you laugh or cry? Does it make you angry, or does it satisfy? Every emotional connection does not have to be extreme, though; sometimes the emotion is much more subtle. As a conscientious reader, you must train yourself to be aware of the emotions in a passage.
Evaluate
Ultimately, we want to choose wisely when we pick something to read, but in the event that a book or a text is badly written or above our reading levels, we must be prepared to put a book back on the shelf and find one that is more appropriate. If it is "good read", I'm going to want you to tell me why you consider it to be so great.
Question
One important way to understand a difficult passage is to ask questions as you read. To help, stop after reading a paragraph, and ask yourself what is happening or not happening. Ask about the characters and why they are acting in a particular fashion or why they are saying the things they are saying. Ask yourself about the author's purpose for using certain words or figurative language.
Predict
It's always fun to predict and then read on to see if your predictions were or were not accurate. Again, readers need to remember to stop reading in order to attempt true predictions about what is to come for the characters in the tale. Predicting will aid in comprehension as long as readers remember to constantly modify their predictions as they continue reading.
Infer
Perhaps one of the most magical parts of reading comes with reading "what the author did not write". I would point out that what the author left out of a story may be just as important as what s/he chose to write. This is the part of reading where a reader finds clues and begins to put the story together.
Connect
It is important to find connections in your reading. Whether you are learning to read or reading to learn, you must continually make connections between the text and your own experiences in life, connections with other things you have read, and connections with current events.
Feel
How does the passage make you feel? Does it make you feel joyous or sad? Does it make you laugh or cry? Does it make you angry, or does it satisfy? Every emotional connection does not have to be extreme, though; sometimes the emotion is much more subtle. As a conscientious reader, you must train yourself to be aware of the emotions in a passage.
Evaluate
Ultimately, we want to choose wisely when we pick something to read, but in the event that a book or a text is badly written or above our reading levels, we must be prepared to put a book back on the shelf and find one that is more appropriate. If it is "good read", I'm going to want you to tell me why you consider it to be so great.
To apply these six skills in a different way, check our Watch Like a Reader pages.