This document outlines reading strategies to use before, during, and after reading. Before reading, strategies include previewing, setting a purpose, predicting, questioning, and activating prior knowledge to prepare for the text. During reading, strategies involve visualizing, re-reading, questioning, inferring, and learning vocabulary. After reading, one should re-read, summarize, reflect, review, and question to check comprehension. The goal is to be an active reader who thinks critically about the text.

1. Reading Strategies
for
Before, During and After Reading
Jane Reif
reifjc@mail.irsc.edu

2. Reading Comprehension
The active process of
obtaining meaning
from written text

3. Before Reading
•Preview
•Set a Purpose
•Predict
•Question
•Activate Prior Knowledge
These strategies will prepare you for what you are about to read

4. PREVIEW
• Read headlines and subtitles
• Read captions and side bars
• Look at pictures and other graphics
You will get some information about what you will be
reading

5. SET A PURPOSE
• Why are you reading this?
• Is it to learn about a something?
• Is it to learn how to do something?
• Is it to get information on a subject, place or person?

6. PREDICT
About information that you expect to find
Write down what you think will happen next

7. QUESTIONS
Write down questions that you want answered
What information do you do you want from the text?
Write the questions in the margin or on sticky notes

8. ACTIVATE PRIOR
KNOWLEDGE
Think about what you already know about the subject
• Text to self- are there connections between the text and your personal
experiences?
• Text to world-are there connections between text and facts and information
about the world?
• Text to text-is there a connection between the text and something else you have
read?
This will help understand the meaning of what you are reading

9. DURING READING
Visualize
Re-read
Question
Infer
Vocabulary

10. VISUALIZE
Use pictures to help you create mental pictures
Use your own experiences to add images
This will create a “Mental Movie” to help you better
understand what you are reading

11. RE-READ
If you have read a sentence that doesn’t make sense to you
RE-READ IT
If you do not understand what a paragraph is telling you
RE-READ IT
Is there a word that doesn’t sound right in the sentence?
RE-READ IT
If you stop and re-read you will not continue reading with the wrong
information

12. QUESTIONS
Create questions that you want answered while reading
What more would you like to know?
Think about what the author is not telling you

13. VOCABULARY
When you come across a word that you don’t know the meaning of use context clues. Read the
sentence again and look at the words around it. This may help you understand the meaning
Look at text structure of the word. See if there is a familiar prefix,root or suffix
If the word is in bold print or has a footnote indication(small number next to it), look for the
definition on the page
 Use the glossary
If necessary, get a dictionary and look it up.
Vocabulary knowledge is important to understand what you
are reading

14. INFER
As you read, make predictions about what the text will tell you.
Use clues from the author and your knowledge to draw conclusions
Revise these as you read more

15. AFTER READING
Re-Read
Summarize
Reflect
Review
Question

16.  REFLECT
Think about what the text was mainly about
Talk about it
Write about it
Draw it

17. RE-READ
Re-read for clarification
If something was unclear or confusing,
re-read it

18. SUMMARIZE
Read the first sentence of each paragraph
Write down the most important points
Talk about the most important points

19. REVIEW
Look back
Were your questions answered?
Did you get the important information?

20. Question
Ask yourself if you have any questions that are still unanswered.
Was there more that you wanted to know?
Were your questions before reading answered?

21. R E M E M B E R
Reading
is
Thinking

22. REFERENCES
• Study Skills Activities:Reading as a Study Skill. Montana State Literacy
Resources: A Service of the National Institute of Literacy.
• http://www.nwlincs.org/mtlincs/pilotproject/studyskillsindex.htm
• Beers, K. (1998). When Kids Can't Read.
• Bursuck, W. D., & Damer, M. (2011). Teaching Reading to Students Who Are
at Risk or Have Disabilities. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
• Keene, E. O. (2002). Comprehension Strategies.