Reading has several layers to it, which requires children to apply different strategies for comprehension depending on the text that is being read.
Learning to read and processing text on a page is the first step, in which children make sense of the relationship between letters, words, and sound.
Readers usually develop into what we can refer to as meta-cognitive thinkers once the basic foundation has been laid.
What this means is that they become aware of what they are reading and always thinking about the text while they are reading.
With the use of a chain of reading strategies while reading, they will be able to develop their reading skills and their intelligence as well.
Here are the reading strategies that students need to be taught in order to gain a fantastic reading experience and extract all the information there is in what they are reading.
Making Predictions
For experienced readers, the act of guessing and using clues to predict as they read is a very essential strategy that helps to read a lot faster and also helps with comprehension.
Teaching this strategy to students will help them learn how to make generalized predictions about what the next page or chapter could be about.
The author of a book will not always make the lesson or the point of the book/reading material obvious.
In a case where some information might be left out, the job of the reader to figure out the puzzle by using the gathered information to make inferences about the point or idea that the author may have left out.
Monitoring Comprehension and Asking Questions
In addition to making predictions about the next page or chapter, readers need to always ask themselves whether they truly comprehend what they are reading.
In many occasions, readers may find themselves reading a book fluently and following the idea up to a point where they realize that they might not have retained part of the information in the past few minutes.
In this situation, it is best to take a few steps back and read all over again, rather than forging ahead blindly.
Many good readers will go back to the paragraph where they may have strayed and pay attention to it.
If the reader still does not understand after reading again, then the best option is to ask a teacher to read along and help them figure out where the trouble is.
Doing so will help students comprehend better and become even more comfortable asking questions that may arise.
Summarizing
A developed reader knows that the reading session continues after reading the text.
This is where summarizing what has been read comes in.
This could be about points or information derived from a textbook or even a novel.
Summarizing gives readers the opportunity to probe further, having at the back of their minds that there could be more information to obtain.
Summarizing helps readers to retain more of what they have read.
Evaluation
Students should be encouraged to evaluate their experience after a reading session.
Did they enjoy the reading session?
Was the argument or concept expressed in the book convincing?
These are questions that readers should ask which can help develop their critical thinking.