Strategies for Becoming a Successful Reader: 6 Steps to Improve Your Skills

1. Reading Procedures Can I be a successful reader? How do I help myself improve my reading skills? Why do I need to self-monitor my reading?

2. Step 1 of Successful Reading • Read the title of the story. • The title of the story can give you hints about what the story will be about.

3. Step 2 of Successful Reading • Skim and Scan the passage. • We skim and scan to gather as much about the passage as possible, short story or chapter of a novel as we can. This will allow us to begin to understand the story.

4. Step 3 of Successful Reading • Make a prediction about what you think you will read. • By making a prediction, we are more excited about what we are reading. We begin to invest a little bit of anticipation into what we are about to read. Am I right?

5. Step 4 of Successful Reading • Create 3 questions related to the text that you would like to see answered as you read. • By creating questions, we are again more excited about what we are reading. We continue to invest a little bit of anticipation into what we are about to read. Will they get answered?

6. Step 5 of Successful Reading • Read the passage. As you read, leave your footprints in the sand. • Bulldog prints…these are helpful for keeping you on task and allow you to monitor your comprehension.

7. Step 6 of Successful Reading • Answer your questions. Did they get answered as you read or were your questions too far fetched? • If they did not get answered, was your prediction inaccurate?