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10 Strategies to Improve Your Reading Comprehension for College

Some college students struggle with assignments because they lack sufficient reading comprehension skills. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy , 43% of U.S. adults lacked the basic skills to read and understand college-type and other such dense texts. They also can’t determine cause and effect, make simple inferences, summarize, or recognize an author's purpose.

In high school, some savvy students can get by with doing little reading and relying on class discussions to prepare them for quizzes and tests. It’s not easy to do the same in college—especially if you’re taking classes online. If some reading is assigned, you are expected to do it.

If you are out of practice or your comprehension isn’t up to standard, you can find yourself in trouble. Putting assignments off until the last minute won’t help, either.

One way to make sure you’re getting all you can from your assignments is to brush up on your reading comprehension skills. Here are some active reading strategies and tools you can use to bolster your reading for college.

1. Find Your Reading Corner

The right reading environment should fit with your learning style. The right spot will increase your focus and concentration. Consider four factors:

• Atmosphere: Is there sufficient lighting? Do you have a comfortable chair?
• Distractions: Is there enough quiet? Have you muted or turned off your phone?
• Location: Is this spot convenient to things you need?
• Schedule: Have you given yourself enough time to complete the reading and assignments?

2. Preview the Text

Survey the material and ask some questions before you start reading. What’s the topic? What do you already know? What can you learn from the text from any table of contents, glossary, or introduction? What do titles, subheadings, charts, and graphs tell you?

3. Use Smart Starting Strategies

When you start reading, don’t let the text overwhelm you. Use these strategies to keep your reading assignment under control.

• Break up the reading: If an assignment seems daunting, break it into bite-sized sections.
• Pace yourself: Dense material, such as that in textbooks, can be tough to read. Manage your time well and schedule regular breaks.
• Check for understanding: As you read, occasionally ask yourself if you understand what is being communicated. If not, you may need to go back and reread a paragraph or section.

4. Highlight or Annotate the Text

Watch for important terms, definitions, facts, and phrases and highlight them or add annotations within the document—digitally if you’re on a computer. However, don't get carried away with the highlighting.

If you would rather not use a highlighter, try to annotate the text with notes in the margins or in comment mode, or underline key phrases. Also, look for and mark the main idea or thesis.

5. Take Notes on Main Points

This is different from highlighting because you can take your own notes separately. Here are a few note-taking strategies:

• Have your own style: Try bullet points, mind mapping, outlines, or whatever method works for you.
• Turn subtitles into questions: By making section headers into questions, that can help you find the answers.
• Summarize as you read: After reading a paragraph, write a sentence to summarize the paragraph’s main points. Is the author’s thesis supported? Is an opposing view introduced?

6. Write Questions as You Read

Asking questions can help your comprehension. The tactic also works when reading. Ask questions in your notes—who, what, when, where, how—and then look for answers as you continue. That helps you understand what you read.

7. Look Up Words You Don’t Know

Don’t let unfamiliar words derail you. Look them up in a dictionary before you go any further. It can be hard to recover if you miss the main point because of new words. You may want to bookmark an online dictionary, like Merriam-Webster , so you can easily find word definitions.

8. Make Connections

Look for links and connections between the text and your experiences, thoughts, ideas, and other texts.

9. Review and Summarize

After you finish reading, summarize the text in your own words. This will help you understand main ideas and take better notes. If you don’t understand what you’ve read, reread carefully.

10. Discuss What You've Read

Describe what you have learned to someone else. Talk to your professor or another classmate. Join discussion groups. This will move the information (or content) from short-term to long-term memory.

Additional Reading Comprehension Strategies and Tools

Sometimes, charting what you learned will help you digest what you’ve read. Here are some sites and tools you can use to help.

• 10 Tips to Improve Your Reading Comprehension —This YouTube video features an instructor talking about reading and sharing tips.
• Inspiration —Create concept or mind maps, graphic organizers, webs, and more to make sense of reading materials.
• Purdue Global Academic Success Centers —Assistance with business, math, science, technology, and writing is available through Purdue Global’s online Academic Success Centers.
• Purdue Global Study Essentials —This student support website offers action plans, study skills, hints on time management, and other tools to help students.
• Quizlet —Create flashcards, quizzes, and other study aids with this website.
• Rewordify —Turn arcane language into readable modern words with this free tool.
• Snap&Read —Rephrase complicated text into simpler language with this Google Chrome extension.

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5.2 Effective Reading Strategies

Questions to Consider:

• What methods can you incorporate into your routine to allow adequate time for reading?
• What are the benefits and approaches to active reading?
• Do your courses or major have specific reading requirements?

Allowing Adequate Time for Reading

You should determine the reading requirements and expectations for every class very early in the semester. You also need to understand why you are reading the particular text you are assigned. Do you need to read closely for minute details that determine cause and effect? Or is your instructor asking you to skim several sources so you become more familiar with the topic? Knowing this reasoning will help you decide your timing, what notes to take, and how best to undertake the reading assignment.

Depending on the makeup of your schedule, you may end up reading both primary sources—such as legal documents, historic letters, or diaries—as well as textbooks, articles, and secondary sources, such as summaries or argumentative essays that use primary sources to stake a claim. You may also need to read current journalistic texts to stay current in local or global affairs. A realistic approach to scheduling your time to allow you to read and review all the reading you have for the semester will help you accomplish what can sometimes seem like an overwhelming task.

When you allow adequate time in your hectic schedule for reading, you are investing in your own success. Reading isn’t a magic pill, but it may seem like it when you consider all the benefits people reap from this ordinary practice. Famous successful people throughout history have been voracious readers. In fact, former U.S. president Harry Truman once said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Writer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, inventor, and also former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson claimed “I cannot live without books” at a time when keeping and reading books was an expensive pastime. Knowing what it meant to be kept from the joys of reading, 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” And finally, George R. R. Martin, the prolific author of the wildly successful Game of Thrones empire, declared, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.”

You can make time for reading in a number of ways that include determining your usual reading pace and speed, scheduling active reading sessions, and practicing recursive reading strategies.

Determining Reading Speed and Pacing

To determine your reading speed, select a section of text—passages in a textbook or pages in a novel. Time yourself reading that material for exactly 5 minutes, and note how much reading you accomplished in those 5 minutes. Multiply the amount of reading you accomplished in 5 minutes by 12 to determine your average reading pace (5 times 12 equals the 60 minutes of an hour). Of course, your reading pace will be different and take longer if you are taking notes while you read, but this calculation of reading pace gives you a good way to estimate your reading speed that you can adapt to other forms of reading.

So, for instance, if Marta was able to read 4 pages of a dense novel for her English class in 5 minutes, she should be able to read about 48 pages in one hour. Knowing this, Marta can accurately determine how much time she needs to devote to finishing the novel within a set amount of time, instead of just guessing. If the novel Marta is reading is 497 pages, then Marta would take the total page count (497) and divide that by her hourly reading rate (48 pages/hour) to determine that she needs about 10 to 11 hours overall. To finish the novel spread out over two weeks, Marta needs to read a little under an hour a day to accomplish this goal.

Calculating your reading rate in this manner does not take into account days where you’re too distracted and you have to reread passages or days when you just aren’t in the mood to read. And your reading rate will likely vary depending on how dense the content you’re reading is (e.g., a complex textbook vs. a comic book). Your pace may slow down somewhat if you are not very interested in what the text is about. What this method will help you do is be realistic about your reading time as opposed to waging a guess based on nothing and then becoming worried when you have far more reading to finish than the time available.

Chapter 3 , offers more detail on how best to determine your speed from one type of reading to the next so you are better able to schedule your reading.

Scheduling Set Times for Active Reading

Active reading takes longer than reading through passages without stopping. You may not need to read your latest sci-fi series actively while you’re lounging on the beach, but many other reading situations demand more attention from you. Active reading is particularly important for college courses. You are a scholar actively engaging with the text by posing questions, seeking answers, and clarifying any confusing elements. Plan to spend at least twice as long to read actively than to read passages without taking notes or otherwise marking select elements of the text.

To determine the time you need for active reading, use the same calculations you use to determine your traditional reading speed and double it. Remember that you need to determine your reading pace for all the classes you have in a particular semester and multiply your speed by the number of classes you have that require different types of reading.

Practicing Recursive Reading Strategies

One fact about reading for college courses that may become frustrating is that, in a way, it never ends. For all the reading you do, you end up doing even more rereading. It may be the same content, but you may be reading the passage more than once to detect the emphasis the writer places on one aspect of the topic or how frequently the writer dismisses a significant counterargument. This rereading is called recursive reading.

For most of what you read at the college level, you are trying to make sense of the text for a specific purpose—not just because the topic interests or entertains you. You need your full attention to decipher everything that’s going on in complex reading material—and you even need to be considering what the writer of the piece may not be including and why. This is why reading for comprehension is recursive.

Specifically, this boils down to seeing reading not as a formula but as a process that is far more circular than linear. You may read a selection from beginning to end, which is an excellent starting point, but for comprehension, you’ll need to go back and reread passages to determine meaning and make connections between the reading and the bigger learning environment that led you to the selection—that may be a single course or a program in your college, or it may be the larger discipline, such as all biologists or the community of scholars studying beach erosion.

People often say writing is rewriting. For college courses, reading is rereading.

Strong readers engage in numerous steps, sometimes combining more than one step simultaneously, but knowing the steps nonetheless. They include, not always in this order:

• bringing any prior knowledge about the topic to the reading session,
• asking yourself pertinent questions, both orally and in writing, about the content you are reading,
• inferring and/or implying information from what you read,
• learning unfamiliar discipline-specific terms,
• evaluating what you are reading, and eventually,
• applying what you’re reading to other learning and life situations you encounter.

Let’s break these steps into manageable chunks, because you are actually doing quite a lot when you read.

Accessing Prior Knowledge

When you read, you naturally think of anything else you may know about the topic, but when you read deliberately and actively, you make yourself more aware of accessing this prior knowledge. Have you ever watched a documentary about this topic? Did you study some aspect of it in another class? Do you have a hobby that is somehow connected to this material? All of this thinking will help you make sense of what you are reading.

Application

Imagining that you were given a chapter to read in your American history class about the Gettysburg Address, write down what you already know about this historic document. How might thinking through this prior knowledge help you better understand the text?

Asking Questions

Humans are naturally curious beings. As you read actively, you should be asking questions about the topic you are reading. Don’t just say the questions in your mind; write them down. You may ask: Why is this topic important? What is the relevance of this topic currently? Was this topic important a long time ago but irrelevant now? Why did my professor assign this reading?

You need a place where you can actually write down these questions; a separate page in your notes is a good place to begin. If you are taking notes on your computer, start a new document and write down the questions. Leave some room to answer the questions when you begin and again after you read.

Inferring and Implying

When you read, you can take the information on the page and infer , or conclude responses to related challenges from evidence or from your own reasoning. A student will likely be able to infer what material the professor will include on an exam by taking good notes throughout the classes leading up to the test.

Writers may imply information without directly stating a fact for a variety of reasons. Sometimes a writer may not want to come out explicitly and state a bias, but may imply or hint at his or her preference for one political party or another. You have to read carefully to find implications because they are indirect, but watching for them will help you comprehend the whole meaning of a passage.

Learning Vocabulary

Vocabulary specific to certain disciplines helps practitioners in that field engage and communicate with each other. Few people beyond undertakers and archeologists likely use the term sarcophagus in everyday communications, but for those disciplines, it is a meaningful distinction. Looking at the example, you can use context clues to figure out the meaning of the term sarcophagus because it is something undertakers and/or archeologists would recognize. At the very least, you can guess that it has something to do with death. As a potential professional in the field you’re studying, you need to know the lingo. You may already have a system in place to learn discipline-specific vocabulary, so use what you know works for you. Two strong strategies are to look up words in a dictionary (online or hard copy) to ensure you have the exact meaning for your discipline and to keep a dedicated list of words you see often in your reading. You can list the words with a short definition so you have a quick reference guide to help you learn the vocabulary.

Intelligent people always question and evaluate. This doesn’t mean they don’t trust others; they just need verification of facts to understand a topic well. It doesn’t make sense to learn incomplete or incorrect information about a subject just because you didn’t take the time to evaluate all the sources at your disposal. When early explorers were afraid to sail the world for fear of falling off the edge, they weren’t stupid; they just didn’t have all the necessary data to evaluate the situation.

When you evaluate a text, you are seeking to understand the presented topic. Depending on how long the text is, you will perform a number of steps and repeat many of these steps to evaluate all the elements the author presents. When you evaluate a text, you need to do the following:

• Scan the title and all headings.
• Read through the entire passage fully.
• Question what main point the author is making.
• Decide who the audience is.
• Identify what evidence/support the author uses.
• Consider if the author presents a balanced perspective on the main point.
• Recognize if the author introduced any biases in the text.

When you go through a text looking for each of these elements, you need to go beyond just answering the surface question; for instance, the audience may be a specific field of scientists, but could anyone else understand the text with some explanation? Why would that be important?

Analysis Question

Think of an article you need to read for a class. Take the steps above on how to evaluate a text, and apply the steps to the article. When you accomplish the task in each step, ask yourself and take notes to answer the question: Why is this important? For example, when you read the title, does that give you any additional information that will help you comprehend the text? If the text were written for a different audience, what might the author need to change to accommodate that group? How does an author’s bias distort an argument? This deep evaluation allows you to fully understand the main ideas and place the text in context with other material on the same subject, with current events, and within the discipline.

When you learn something new, it always connects to other knowledge you already have. One challenge we have is applying new information. It may be interesting to know the distance to the moon, but how do we apply it to something we need to do? If your biology instructor asked you to list several challenges of colonizing Mars and you do not know much about that planet’s exploration, you may be able to use your knowledge of how far Earth is from the moon to apply it to the new task. You may have to read several other texts in addition to reading graphs and charts to find this information.

That was the challenge the early space explorers faced along with myriad unknowns before space travel was a more regular occurrence. They had to take what they already knew and could study and read about and apply it to an unknown situation. These explorers wrote down their challenges, failures, and successes, and now scientists read those texts as a part of the ever-growing body of text about space travel. Application is a sophisticated level of thinking that helps turn theory into practice and challenges into successes.

Preparing to Read for Specific Disciplines in College

Different disciplines in college may have specific expectations, but you can depend on all subjects asking you to read to some degree. In this college reading requirement, you can succeed by learning to read actively, researching the topic and author, and recognizing how your own preconceived notions affect your reading. Reading for college isn’t the same as reading for pleasure or even just reading to learn something on your own because you are casually interested.

In college courses, your instructor may ask you to read articles, chapters, books, or primary sources (those original documents about which we write and study, such as letters between historic figures or the Declaration of Independence). Your instructor may want you to have a general background on a topic before you dive into that subject in class, so that you know the history of a topic, can start thinking about it, and can engage in a class discussion with more than a passing knowledge of the issue.

If you are about to participate in an in-depth six-week consideration of the U.S. Constitution but have never read it or anything written about it, you will have a hard time looking at anything in detail or understanding how and why it is significant. As you can imagine, a great deal has been written about the Constitution by scholars and citizens since the late 1700s when it was first put to paper (that’s how they did it then). While the actual document isn’t that long (about 12–15 pages depending on how it is presented), learning the details on how it came about, who was involved, and why it was and still is a significant document would take a considerable amount of time to read and digest. So, how do you do it all? Especially when you may have an instructor who drops hints that you may also love to read a historic novel covering the same time period . . . in your spare time , not required, of course! It can be daunting, especially if you are taking more than one course that has time-consuming reading lists. With a few strategic techniques, you can manage it all, but know that you must have a plan and schedule your required reading so you are also able to pick up that recommended historic novel—it may give you an entirely new perspective on the issue.

Strategies for Reading in College Disciplines

No universal law exists for how much reading instructors and institutions expect college students to undertake for various disciplines. Suffice it to say, it’s a LOT.

For most students, it is the volume of reading that catches them most off guard when they begin their college careers. A full course load might require 10–15 hours of reading per week, some of that covering content that will be more difficult than the reading for other courses.

You cannot possibly read word-for-word every single document you need to read for all your classes. That doesn’t mean you give up or decide to only read for your favorite classes or concoct a scheme to read 17 percent for each class and see how that works for you. You need to learn to skim, annotate, and take notes. All of these techniques will help you comprehend more of what you read, which is why we read in the first place. We’ll talk more later about annotating and note-taking, but for now consider what you know about skimming as opposed to active reading.

Skimming is not just glancing over the words on a page (or screen) to see if any of it sticks. Effective skimming allows you to take in the major points of a passage without the need for a time-consuming reading session that involves your active use of notations and annotations. Often you will need to engage in that painstaking level of active reading, but skimming is the first step—not an alternative to deep reading. The fact remains that neither do you need to read everything nor could you possibly accomplish that given your limited time. So learn this valuable skill of skimming as an accompaniment to your overall study tool kit, and with practice and experience, you will fully understand how valuable it is.

When you skim, look for guides to your understanding: headings, definitions, pull quotes, tables, and context clues. Textbooks are often helpful for skimming—they may already have made some of these skimming guides in bold or a different color, and chapters often follow a predictable outline. Some even provide an overview and summary for sections or chapters. Use whatever you can get, but don’t stop there. In textbooks that have some reading guides, or especially in text that does not, look for introductory words such as First or The purpose of this article  . . . or summary words such as In conclusion  . . . or Finally . These guides will help you read only those sentences or paragraphs that will give you the overall meaning or gist of a passage or book.

Now move to the meat of the passage. You want to take in the reading as a whole. For a book, look at the titles of each chapter if available. Read each chapter’s introductory paragraph and determine why the writer chose this particular order. Depending on what you’re reading, the chapters may be only informational, but often you’re looking for a specific argument. What position is the writer claiming? What support, counterarguments, and conclusions is the writer presenting?

Don’t think of skimming as a way to buzz through a boring reading assignment. It is a skill you should master so you can engage, at various levels, with all the reading you need to accomplish in college. End your skimming session with a few notes—terms to look up, questions you still have, and an overall summary. And recognize that you likely will return to that book or article for a more thorough reading if the material is useful.

Active Reading Strategies

Active reading differs significantly from skimming or reading for pleasure. You can think of active reading as a sort of conversation between you and the text (maybe between you and the author, but you don’t want to get the author’s personality too involved in this metaphor because that may skew your engagement with the text).

When you sit down to determine what your different classes expect you to read and you create a reading schedule to ensure you complete all the reading, think about when you should read the material strategically, not just how to get it all done . You should read textbook chapters and other reading assignments before you go into a lecture about that information. Don’t wait to see how the lecture goes before you read the material, or you may not understand the information in the lecture. Reading before class helps you put ideas together between your reading and the information you hear and discuss in class.

Different disciplines naturally have different types of texts, and you need to take this into account when you schedule your time for reading class material. For example, you may look at a poem for your world literature class and assume that it will not take you long to read because it is relatively short compared to the dense textbook you have for your economics class. But reading and understanding a poem can take a considerable amount of time when you realize you may need to stop numerous times to review the separate word meanings and how the words form images and connections throughout the poem.

The SQ3R Reading Strategy

You may have heard of the SQ3R method for active reading in your early education. This valuable technique is perfect for college reading. The title stands for S urvey, Q uestion, R ead, R ecite, R eview, and you can use the steps on virtually any assigned passage. Designed by Francis Pleasant Robinson in his 1961 book Effective Study, the active reading strategy gives readers a systematic way to work through any reading material.

Survey is similar to skimming. You look for clues to meaning by reading the titles, headings, introductions, summary, captions for graphics, and keywords. You can survey almost anything connected to the reading selection, including the copyright information, the date of the journal article, or the names and qualifications of the author(s). In this step, you decide what the general meaning is for the reading selection.

Question is your creation of questions to seek the main ideas, support, examples, and conclusions of the reading selection. Ask yourself these questions separately. Try to create valid questions about what you are about to read that have come into your mind as you engaged in the Survey step. Try turning the headings of the sections in the chapter into questions. Next, how does what you’re reading relate to you, your school, your community, and the world?

Read is when you actually read the passage. Try to find the answers to questions you developed in the previous step. Decide how much you are reading in chunks, either by paragraph for more complex readings or by section or even by an entire chapter. When you finish reading the selection, stop to make notes. Answer the questions by writing a note in the margin or other white space of the text.

You may also carefully underline or highlight text in addition to your notes. Use caution here that you don’t try to rush this step by haphazardly circling terms or the other extreme of underlining huge chunks of text. Don’t over-mark. You aren’t likely to remember what these cryptic marks mean later when you come back to use this active reading session to study. The text is the source of information—your marks and notes are just a way to organize and make sense of that information.

Recite means to speak out loud. By reciting, you are engaging other senses to remember the material—you read it (visual) and you said it (auditory). Stop reading momentarily in the step to answer your questions or clarify confusing sentences or paragraphs. You can recite a summary of what the text means to you. If you are not in a place where you can verbalize, such as a library or classroom, you can accomplish this step adequately by  saying  it in your head; however, to get the biggest bang for your buck, try to find a place where you can speak aloud. You may even want to try explaining the content to a friend.

Review is a recap. Go back over what you read and add more notes, ensuring you have captured the main points of the passage, identified the supporting evidence and examples, and understood the overall meaning. You may need to repeat some or all of the SQR3 steps during your review depending on the length and complexity of the material. Before you end your active reading session, write a short (no more than one page is optimal) summary of the text you read.

Reading Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary sources are original documents we study and from which we glean information; primary sources include letters, first editions of books, legal documents, and a variety of other texts. When scholars look at these documents to understand a period in history or a scientific challenge and then write about their findings, the scholar’s article is considered a secondary source. Readers have to keep several factors in mind when reading both primary and secondary sources.

Primary sources may contain dated material we now know is inaccurate. It may contain personal beliefs and biases the original writer didn’t intent to be openly published, and it may even present fanciful or creative ideas that do not support current knowledge. Readers can still gain great insight from primary sources, but readers need to understand the context from which the writer of the primary source wrote the text.

Likewise, secondary sources are inevitably another person’s perspective on the primary source, so a reader of secondary sources must also be aware of potential biases or preferences the secondary source writer inserts in the writing that may persuade an incautious reader to interpret the primary source in a particular manner.

For example, if you were to read a secondary source that is examining the U.S. Declaration of Independence (the primary source), you would have a much clearer idea of how the secondary source scholar presented the information from the primary source if you also read the Declaration for yourself instead of trusting the other writer’s interpretation. Most scholars are honest in writing secondary sources, but you as a reader of the source are trusting the writer to present a balanced perspective of the primary source. When possible, you should attempt to read a primary source in conjunction with the secondary source. The Internet helps immensely with this practice.

What Students Say

• How engaging the material is or how much I enjoy reading it.
• Whether or not the course is part of my major.
• Whether or not the instructor assesses knowledge from the reading (through quizzes, for example), or requires assignments based on the reading.
• Whether or not knowledge or information from the reading is required to participate in lecture.
• I read all of the assigned material.
• I read most of the assigned material.
• I skim the text and read the captions, examples, or summaries.
• I use a systematic method such as the Cornell method or something similar.
• I highlight or underline all the important information.
• I create outlines and/or note-cards.
• I use an app or program.
• I write notes in my text (print or digital).
• I don’t have a style. I just write down what seems important.
• I don't take many notes.

You can also take the anonymous What Students Say surveys to add your voice to this textbook. Your responses will be included in updates.

Students offered their views on these questions, and the results are displayed in the graphs below.

What is the most influential factor in how thoroughly you read the material for a given course?

What best describes your reading approach for required texts/materials for your classes?

What best describes your note-taking style?

Researching Topic and Author

During your preview stage, sometimes called pre-reading, you can easily pick up on information from various sources that may help you understand the material you’re reading more fully or place it in context with other important works in the discipline. If your selection is a book, flip it over or turn to the back pages and look for an author’s biography or note from the author. See if the book itself contains any other information about the author or the subject matter.

The main things you need to recall from your reading in college are the topics covered and how the information fits into the discipline. You can find these parts throughout the textbook chapter in the form of headings in larger and bold font, summary lists, and important quotations pulled out of the narrative. Use these features as you read to help you determine what the most important ideas are.

Remember, many books use quotations about the book or author as testimonials in a marketing approach to sell more books, so these may not be the most reliable sources of unbiased opinions, but it’s a start. Sometimes you can find a list of other books the author has written near the front of a book. Do you recognize any of the other titles? Can you do an Internet search for the name of the book or author? Go beyond the search results that want you to buy the book and see if you can glean any other relevant information about the author or the reading selection. Beyond a standard Internet search, try the library article database. These are more relevant to academic disciplines and contain resources you typically will not find in a standard search engine. If you are unfamiliar with how to use the library database, ask a reference librarian on campus. They are often underused resources that can point you in the right direction.

Understanding Your Own Preset Ideas on a Topic

Laura really enjoys learning about environmental issues. She has read many books and watched numerous televised documentaries on this topic and actively seeks out additional information on the environment. While Laura’s interest can help her understand a new reading encounter about the environment, Laura also has to be aware that with this interest, she also brings forward her preset ideas and biases about the topic. Sometimes these prejudices against other ideas relate to religion or nationality or even just tradition. Without evidence, thinking the way we always have is not a good enough reason; evidence can change, and at the very least it needs honest review and assessment to determine its validity. Ironically, we may not want to learn new ideas because that may mean we would have to give up old ideas we have already mastered, which can be a daunting prospect.

With every reading situation about the environment, Laura needs to remain open-minded about what she is about to read and pay careful attention if she begins to ignore certain parts of the text because of her preconceived notions. Learning new information can be very difficult if you balk at ideas that are different from what you’ve always thought. You may have to force yourself to listen to a different viewpoint multiple times to make sure you are not closing your mind to a viable solution your mindset does not currently allow.

Can you think of times you have struggled reading college content for a course? Which of these strategies might have helped you understand the content? Why do you think those strategies would work?

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• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/college-success/pages/5-2-effective-reading-strategies

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Teach the Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers

To improve students’ reading comprehension, teachers should introduce the seven cognitive strategies of effective readers: activating, inferring, monitoring-clarifying, questioning, searching-selecting, summarizing, and visualizing-organizing. This article includes definitions of the seven strategies and a lesson-plan template for teaching each one.

To assume that one can simply have students memorize and routinely execute a set of strategies is to misconceive the nature of strategic processing or executive control. Such rote applications of these procedures represents, in essence, a true oxymoron-non-strategic strategic processing. — Alexander and Murphy (1998, p. 33)

If the struggling readers in your content classroom routinely miss the point when “reading” content text, consider teaching them one or more of the seven cognitive strategies of highly effective readers. Cognitive strategies are the mental processes used by skilled readers to extract and construct meaning from text and to create knowledge structures in long-term memory. When these strategies are directly taught to and modeled for struggling readers, their comprehension and retention improve.

Struggling students often mistakenly believe they are reading when they are actually engaged in what researchers call mindless reading (Schooler, Reichle, & Halpern, 2004), zoning out while staring at the printed page. The opposite of mindless reading is the processing of text by highly effective readers using cognitive strategies. These strategies are described in a fascinating qualitative study that asked expert readers to think aloud regarding what was happening in their minds while they were reading. The lengthy scripts recording these spoken thoughts (i.e., think-alouds) are called verbal protocols (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). These protocols were categorized and analyzed by researchers to answer specific questions, such as, What is the influence of prior knowledge on expert readers’ strategies as they determine the main idea of a text? (Afflerbach, 1990b).

The protocols provide accurate “snapshots” and even “videos” of the ever-changing mental landscape that expert readers construct during reading. Researchers have concluded that reading is “constructively responsive-that is, good readers are always changing their processing in response to the text they are reading” (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995, p. 2). Instructional Aid 1.1 defines the seven cognitive strategies of highly effective readers, and Instructional Aid 1.2 provides a lesson plan template for teaching a cognitive strategy.

Instructional aids

Liked it? Share it!

McEwan, 2004. 7 Strategies of Highly Effective Readers: Using Cognitive Research to Boost K-8 Achievement. Wood, Woloshyn, & Willoughby, 1995. Cognitive Strategy Instruction for Middle and High Schools.

McEwan, E.K., 40 Ways to Support Struggling Readers in Content Classrooms. Grades 6-12, pp.1-6, copyright 2007 by Corwin Press. Reprinted by permission of Corwin Press, Inc.

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Reading strategies & tips.

Reading is a foundational learning activity for college-level courses. Assigned readings prepare you for taking notes during lectures and provide you with additional examples and detail that might not be covered in class.  Also, according to research, readings are the second most frequent source of exam questions (Cuseo, Fecas & Thompson, 2007). 

Reading a college textbook effectively takes practice and should be approached differently than reading a novel, comic book, magazine, or website. Becoming an effective reader goes beyond completing the reading in full or highlighting text.  There are a variety of strategies you can use to read effectively and retain the information you read.

Consider the following quick tips and ideas to make the most of your reading time:

• Schedule time to read . Reading is an easy thing to put off because there is often no exact due date.  By scheduling a time each week to do your reading for each class, you are more likely to complete the reading as if it were an assignment.  Producing a study guide or set of notes from the reading can help to direct your thinking as you read.
• Set yourself up for success .  Pick a location that is conducive to reading.  Establish a reasonable goal for the reading, and a time limit for how long you’ll be working. These techniques make reading feel manageable and make it easier to get started and finish reading. 
• Choose and use a specific reading strategy .  There are many strategies that will help you actively read and retain information (PRR or SQ3R – see the handouts and videos).  By consciously choosing a way to approach your reading, you can begin the first step of exam preparation or essay writing.  Remember: good readers make stronger writers.
• Monitor your comprehension . When you finish a section, ask yourself, "What is the main idea in this section?  Could I answer an exam question about this topic?" Questions at the end of chapters are particularly good for focusing your attention and for assessing your comprehension. If you are having difficulty recalling information or answering questions about the text, search back through the text and look for key points and answers. Self-correction techniques like revisiting the text are essential to assessing your comprehension and are a hallmark technique of advanced readers (Caverly & Orlando, 1991).
• Take notes as you read . Whether they’re annotations in the margins of the book, or notes on a separate piece of paper. Engage with the reading through your notes – ask questions, answer questions, make connections, and think about how these ideas integrate with other information sources (like lecture, lab, other readings, etc.)

Want to dive in a little deeper? Take a look at Kathleen King's tips below to help you get the most out of your reading, and to read for success. You'll see that some are similar to the tips above, but some offer new approaches and ideas; see what works for you:

• Read sitting up with good light, and at a desk or table.
• Keep background noise to a minimum . Loud rock music will not make you a better reader. The same goes for other distractions: talking to roommates, kids playing nearby, television or radio. Give yourself a quiet environment so that you can concentrate on the text.
• Keep paper and pen within reach .
• Before beginning to read, think about the purpose of the reading . Why has the teacher assigned the reading? What are you supposed to get out of it? Jot down your thoughts.
• Survey the reading . Look at the title of the piece, the subheadings. What is in the dark print or stands out? Are there illustrations or graphs?
• Strategize your approach : read the introduction and conclusion, then go back and read the whole assignment, or read the first line in every paragraph to get an idea of how the ideas progress, then go back and read from the beginning.
• Scan effectively : scan the entire reading, and then focus on the most interesting or relevant parts to read in detail.
• Get a feel for what's expected of you by the reading . Pay attention to when you can skim and when you need to understand every word.
• Write as you read . Take notes and talk back to the text. Explain in detail the concepts. Mark up the pages. Ask questions. Write possible test questions. Write down what interests or bores you. Speculate about why.
• If you get stuck : think and write about where you got stuck. Contemplate why that particular place was difficult and how you might break through the block.
• Record and explore your confusion . Confusion is important because it’s the first stage in understanding.
• When the going gets difficult, and you don’t understand the reading , slow down and reread sections. Try to explain them to someone, or have someone else read the section and talk through it together.
• Break long assignments into segments . Read 10 pages (and take notes) then do something else. Later, read the next 10 pages and so on.
• Read prefaces and summaries to learn important details about the book. Look at the table of contents for information about the structure and movement of ideas. Use the index to look up specific names, places, ideas.

(Reading strategies by Dr. Kathleen King. Many of the above ideas are from a lecture by Dr. Lee Haugen, former Reading specialist at the ISU Academic Skills Center. https://www.ghc.edu/sites/default/files/StudentResources/documents/learn... )

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Reading is one of the most important components of college learning, and yet it’s one we often take for granted. Of course, students who come to Harvard know how to read, but many are unaware that there are different ways to read and that the strategies they use while reading can greatly impact memory and comprehension. Furthermore, students may find themselves encountering kinds of texts they haven’t worked with before, like academic articles and books, archival material, and theoretical texts.  

So how should you approach reading in this new environment? And how do you manage the quantity of reading you’re asked to cover in college? 

Start by asking “Why am I reading this?”

To read effectively, it helps to read with a goal . This means understanding before you begin reading what you need to get out of that reading. Having a goal is useful because it helps you focus on relevant information and know when you’re done reading, whether your eyes have seen every word or not. 

Some sample reading goals:

• To find a paper topic or write a paper; 
• To have a comment for discussion; 
• To supplement ideas from lecture; 
• To understand a particular concept; 
• To memorize material for an exam; 
• To research for an assignment; 
• To enjoy the process (i.e., reading for pleasure!). 

Your goals for reading are often developed in relation to your instructor’s goals in assigning the reading, but sometimes they will diverge. The point is to know what you want to get out of your reading and to make sure you’re approaching the text with that goal in mind. Write down your goal and use it to guide your reading process. 

Next, ask yourself “How should I read this?”  

Not every text you’re assigned in college should be read the same way.  Depending on the type of reading you’re doing and your reading goal, you may find that different reading strategies are most supportive of your learning. Do you need to understand the main idea of your text? Or do you need to pay special attention to its language? Is there data you need to extract? Or are you reading to develop your own unique ideas?  

The key is to choose a reading strategy that will help you achieve your reading goal. Factors to consider might be: 

• The timing of your reading (e.g., before vs. after class) 
• What type of text you are reading (e.g., an academic article vs. a novel) 
• How dense or unfamiliar a text is 
• How extensively you will be using the text 
• What type of critical thinking (if any) you are expected to bring to the reading 

Based on your consideration of these factors, you may decide to skim the text or focus your attention on a particular portion of it. You also might choose to find resources that can assist you in understanding the text if it is particularly dense or unfamiliar. For textbooks, you might even use a reading strategy like SQ3R .

Finally, ask yourself “How long will I give this reading?”  

Often, we decide how long we will read a text by estimating our reading speed and calculating an appropriate length of time based on it. But this can lead to long stretches of engaging ineffectually with texts and losing sight of our reading goals. These calculations can also be quite inaccurate, since our reading speed is often determined by the density and familiarity of texts, which varies across assignments. 

For each text you are reading, ask yourself “based on my reading goal, how long does this reading deserve ?” Sometimes, your answer will be “This is a super important reading. So, it takes as long as it takes.” In that case, create a time estimate using your best guess for your reading speed. Add some extra time to your estimate as a buffer in case your calculation is a little off. You won’t be sad to finish your reading early, but you’ll struggle if you haven’t given yourself enough time. 

For other readings, once we ask how long the text deserves, we will realize based on our other academic commitments and a text’s importance in the course that we can only afford to give a certain amount of time to it. In that case, you want to create a time limit for your reading. Try to come up with a time limit that is appropriate for your reading goal. For instance, let’s say I am working with an academic article. I need to discuss it in class, but I can only afford to give it thirty minutes of time because we’re reading several articles for that class. In this case, I will set an alarm for thirty minutes and spend that time understanding the thesis/hypothesis and looking through the research to look for something I’d like to discuss in class. In this case, I might not read every word of the article, but I will spend my time focusing on the most important parts of the text based on how I need to use it. 

If you need additional guidance or support, reach out to the course instructor and the ARC.  

If you find yourself struggling through the readings for a course, you can ask the course instructor for guidance. Some ways to ask for help are: “How would you recommend I go about approaching the reading for this course?” or “Is there a way for me to check whether I am getting what I should be out of the readings?” 

If you are looking for more tips on how to read effectively and efficiently, book an appointment with an academic coach at the ARC to discuss your specific assignments and how you can best approach them! 

Seeing Textbooks in a New Light

Textbooks can be a fantastic supportive resource for your learning. They supplement the learning you’ll do in the classroom and can provide critical context for the material you cover there. In some courses, the textbook may even have been written by the professor to work in harmony with lectures.  

There are a variety of ways in which professors use textbooks, so you need to assess critically how and when to read the textbook in each course you take.  

Textbooks can provide: 

• A fresh voice through which to absorb material. For challenging concepts, they can offer new language and details that might fill in gaps in your understanding. 
• The chance to “preview” lecture material, priming your mind for the big ideas you’ll be exposed to in class. 
• The chance to review material, making sense of the finer points after class. 
• A resource that is accessible any time, whether it’s while you are studying for an exam, writing a paper, or completing a homework assignment.

Textbook reading is similar to and different from other kinds of reading . Some things to keep in mind as you experiment with its use: 

The answer is “both” and “it depends.” In general, reading or at least previewing the assigned textbook material before lecture will help you pay attention in class and pull out the more important information from lecture, which also tends to make note-taking easier. If you read the textbook before class, then a quick review after lecture is useful for solidifying the information in memory, filling in details that you missed, and addressing gaps in your understanding. In addition, reading before and/or after class also depends on the material, your experience level with it, and the style of the text. It’s a good idea to experiment with when works best for you!

 Just like other kinds of course reading, it is still important to read with a goal . Focus your reading goals on the particular section of the textbook that you are reading: Why is it important to the course I’m taking? What are the big takeaways? Also take note of any questions you may have that are still unresolved.

Reading linearly (left to right and top to bottom) does not always make the most sense. Try to gain a sense of the big ideas within the reading before you start: Survey for structure, ask Questions, and then Read – go back to flesh out the finer points within the most important and detail-rich sections.

Summarizing pushes you to identify the main points of the reading and articulate them succinctly in your own words, making it more likely that you will be able to retrieve this information later. To further strengthen your retrieval abilities, quiz yourself when you are done reading and summarizing. Quizzing yourself allows what you’ve read to enter your memory with more lasting potential, so you’ll be able to recall the information for exams or papers. 

Marking Text

Marking text, which often involves making marginal notes, helps with reading comprehension by keeping you focused. It also helps you find important information when reviewing for an exam or preparing to write an essay. The next time you’re reading, write notes in the margins as you go or, if you prefer, make notes on a separate document. 

Your marginal notes will vary depending on the type of reading. Some possible areas of focus: 

• What themes do you see in the reading that relate to class discussions? 
• What themes do you see in the reading that you have seen in other readings? 
• What questions does the reading raise in your mind? 
• What does the reading make you want to research more? 
• Where do you see contradictions within the reading or in relation to other readings for the course? 
• Can you connect themes or events to your own experiences? 

Your notes don’t have to be long. You can just write two or three words to jog your memory. For example, if you notice that a book has a theme relating to friendship, you can just write, “pp. 52-53 Theme: Friendship.” If you need to remind yourself of the details later in the semester, you can re-read that part of the text more closely.

Reading Workshops

If you are looking for help with developing best practices and using strategies for some of the tips listed above, come to an ARC workshop on reading!

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When studying, especially at higher levels, a great deal of time is spent reading. 

Academic reading should not be seen as a passive activity, but an active process that leads to the development of learning. 

Reading for learning requires a conscious effort to make links, understand opinions, research and apply what you learn to your studies. 

This page covers the following areas: how reading develops, the goals of reading, approaching reading with the right attitude and developing a reading strategy.

Everything we read tells us something about the person who wrote it.  Paying close attention to how and why the author writes something will open ourselves up to their perspective on life, which in turn enriches our understanding of the world we live in.

How Reading Develops

Learning to read as a child usually results in the ability to read simple material relatively easily.

As we develop our skills in reading, the process often becomes more challenging.  We are introduced to new vocabulary and more complex sentence structures.  Early school textbooks offer us facts  or ‘truths’ about the world which we are required to learn; we are not, at this stage encouraged to question the authority of the writers of these published materials.

As schooling progresses however, we are led to consider a range of perspectives, or ways of looking at a topic, rather than just one.  We learn to compare these perspectives and begin to form opinions about them. 

This change in reading from a surface approach (gathering facts) to a deep approach (interpreting) is essential in order to gain the most out of our studies.

Reading becomes not simply a way to see what is said but to recognise and interpret what is said, taking into account subtleties such as bias, assumptions and the perspectives of the author. 

Academic reading, therefore, means understanding the author’s interpretation of reality, which may be very different from our own.

The Goal of Reading

Most of us read in everyday life for different purposes – you are reading this page now, for a purpose.

We read to gain factual information for practical use, for example, a train timetable or a cinema listing. For such documents we rarely need to analyse or interpret.

We may also read fiction in order to be entertained; depending upon the reader, a level of interpretation may be applied, and if reading fiction as part of an English Literature degree, then analysis of the author’s writing style, motives etc. is imperative.

Many of us read newspapers and magazines, either in print or online, to inform us about current events.  In some cases the bias of the writer is explicit and this leads us to interpret what is said in light of this bias.  It is therefore easy to view a particular article as a statement of opinion rather than fact. Political biases, for example, are well known in the press.

When reading academic material such as textbooks, journals and so on, you should be always reading to interpret and analyse. Nothing should be taken as fact or ‘truth’.  You will be engaged in, what is termed as, critical reading .

When you read while studying an academic course, your principal goal will be to gather information in order to answer an assignment question or gain further information on a subject for an exam or other type of assessment. 

Underlying this is the more general theme of learning and development, to develop your thoughts, to incorporate new ideas into your existing understanding, to see things from different angles or view-points, to develop your knowledge and understanding and ultimately yourself.

Learning therefore comes about from developing your understanding of the meaning of the details. It is therefore crucial to engage with the text as you read, in a process called active reading.

Active Reading

Active reading is the process of engaging with the text as you read. Techniques for making your reading more active include:

Underlining or highlighting key phrases as you read . This can be a useful way to remind yourself about what you thought was important when you reread the text later. However, it is important not to highlight too much. You might, for example, consider reading a paragraph at a time before highlighting or underlining. This will allow you to identify the most important ideas within it. Alternatively, you might find that it is best to read a whole chapter first, to get a sense of the main ideas, then go back and highlight points that build the argument.

Make notes in the margin to highlight questions or thoughts . You can do this in both ebooks and hard copies, or use post-it notes if you do not wish to mark the book (for example, if it is a library book). This process helps you to engage better with the content, and therefore makes what you read more memorable.

Use the signposts within the text itself . Look out for phrases such as ‘crucially’ and ‘most importantly’. These highlight areas that the author(s) felt were important.

Break up your reading time with periods where you write down summaries of what you have read . You can either do this without referring back to the text, or simply use draw on the text. This will help you to focus on the most important ideas.

Asking yourself questions about the author’s intended meaning , or the effect they wished to produce. This is a process called critical reading , and there is more about this process in our page on Critical Reading .

Necessary Reading Materials

When you are engaged in formal study, for example at college or university, there will be distinct areas of reading that you will be directed towards.

These may include:

Course Materials

Course materials will vary considerably from one institution to another and also across different disciplines and for different teachers.

You may be given course materials in the form of a book, especially if you are taking a distance-learning course, or in hand-outs in lectures.  Such materials may also be available online via a virtual learning environment (VLE). 

You may be expected to make your own notes from lectures and seminars based around the syllabus of the course.  The course materials are your main indication of what the course is about, the main topics covered and usually the assessment required.  Course materials also often point you to other types of reading materials.

Core texts are the materials, usually books, journals or trusted online resources which you will be directed to via the course materials.

Core texts are essential reading, their aim is usually to expand on the subjects, discussions and arguments presented in the course materials, or through lectures etc.  Remember that core texts are primarily what you will be assessed on. You will need to demonstrate comprehension of theories and ideas from these texts in your assignments.

Suggested Reading

As well as indicating core texts, reading lists may also recommend other sources of material.

Suggested reading will not only increase your comprehension of a subject area but will potentially greatly enhance the quality of your written work.

Other Sources

Perhaps one of the most important academic reading skills is to identify your own additional reading materials.

Do not just stick to what you have been told to read but expand your knowledge further by reading as much as you can around the subjects you are studying.  Keep a note of everything relevant you have read, either in print or online, as you will need this information for your reference list or bibliography when producing an assignment.

See our page: Academic Referencing for more information on how to reference correctly.

Attitudes to Reading

Often, when we begin to read books relating to a new topic, we find that the language and style are difficult to follow.

This can be off-putting and disheartening, but persevere; specialist subject areas will contain their own specialist ‘language’ which you will need to learn. Perseverance will mean that you become more familiar with the style of writing and the vocabulary or jargon associated with the specific subject area.

More generally, academic writing tends to use a very cautious style or language. The writer may seem to use elaborate, long sentences, but this is usually to ensure that they are saying precisely what they mean. 

See our page: Writing Styles for more information about the various styles of writing that you are likely to encounter.

A useful aid to reading is to have a good quality dictionary to hand; however, you may find a specialist dictionary is necessary for some subject areas – there are many free online dictionaries also.  Even though a dictionary can be useful, it should not be relied upon too heavily.  Dictionaries do not often take into account the context and, therefore, you may not fully grasp the meaning the author intended by simply looking up a word or phrase.

Fundamentally it is important to remain detached from, and be objective towards, what you are reading, in order to see and understand the logic within an argument.   Objectivity differs from subjectivity which means bringing your own emotions and opinions to what you read.  Being objective allows you to stand back and be emotionally detached from your reading. This allows you to focus attention upon what you are reading and not on your feelings about what you read.

It helps if you have a genuine interest in the subject that you are reading about.   If you find that you are reading something that is designated as relevant then it is important to try to develop an interest so that you may get out of it what is required.  You may, in such circumstances, find it useful to ask yourself questions as you read, such as:  “ Why does the author find this theme interesting or important? ”,  “ How does what I’m reading relate to what I already know about the topic? ”

Continue to: Critical Reading Reading with Children

See also: Sources of Information | Note-Taking for Reading Planning an Essay | Writing an Essay How and Why to Develop the Habit of Reading Every Day

Academic Reading Strategies

Completing reading assignments is one of the biggest challenges in academia. However, are you managing your reading efficiently? Consider this cooking analogy, noting the differences in process:

Taylor’s process was more efficient because his purpose was clear. Establishing why you are reading something will help you decide how to read it, which saves time and improves comprehension. This guide lists some purposes for reading as well as different strategies to try at different stages of the reading process.

Purposes for reading

People read different kinds of text (e.g., scholarly articles, textbooks, reviews) for different reasons. Some purposes for reading might be

• to scan for specific information
• to skim to get an overview of the text
• to relate new content to existing knowledge
• to write something (often depends on a prompt)
• to critique an argument
• to learn something
• for general comprehension

Strategies differ from reader to reader. The same reader may use different strategies for different contexts because their purpose for reading changes. Ask yourself “why am I reading?” and “what am I reading?” when deciding which strategies to try.

Before reading

• Establish your purpose for reading
• Speculate about the author’s purpose for writing
• Review what you already know and want to learn about the topic (see the guides below)
• Preview the text to get an overview of its structure, looking at headings, figures, tables, glossary, etc.
• Predict the contents of the text and pose questions about it. If the authors have provided discussion questions, read them and write them on a note-taking sheet.
• Note any discussion questions that have been provided (sometimes at the end of the text)
• Sample pre-reading guides – K-W-L guide
• Critical reading questionnaire

During reading

• Annotate and mark (sparingly) sections of the text to easily recall important or interesting ideas
• Check your predictions and find answers to posed questions
• Use headings and transition words to identify relationships in the text
• Create a vocabulary list of other unfamiliar words to define later
• Try to infer unfamiliar words’ meanings by identifying their relationship to the main idea
• Connect the text to what you already know about the topic
• Take breaks (split the text into segments if necessary)
• Sample annotated texts – Journal article · Book chapter excerpt

After reading

• Summarize the text in your own words (note what you learned, impressions, and reactions) in an outline, concept map, or matrix (for several texts)
• Talk to someone about the author’s ideas to check your comprehension
• Identify and reread difficult parts of the text
• Define words on your vocabulary list (try a learner’s dictionary ) and practice using them
• Sample graphic organizers – Concept map · Literature review matrix

Works consulted

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2002). Teaching and researching reading. Harlow: Longman.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout (just click print) and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

If you enjoy using our handouts, we appreciate contributions of acknowledgement.

• Effective Teaching Strategies

Reading Assignment Strategies that Encourage Deep Learning

• September 1, 2009
• Maryellen Weimer, PhD

When given a reading assignment, some students feel they have met their obligation if they have forced their eyes to ‘touch’ (in appropriate sequence) each word on the pages assigned. How can we entice students to read the material we assign, and how do we help them develop strategies for deep comprehension and retention of the material? Are there subtle ways we can prod them to read and help them develop literary skills—without spending our own precious time explicitly teaching ‘reading?’ (p. 125-126)

The problem originates in high school or sometimes even before that, when students are encouraged to read for factual information that can then be regurgitated. They develop “surface learning” strategies that do not lend themselves to college-level reading, which requires engagement and analysis.

Generally, these skills are not explicitly taught at any level of education. Sophisticated learners (like faculty) discover them through a trial-and-error process, but most students in college courses today are not developing these reading comprehension skills. The article attributes the problem to a confluence of factors, including the anti-intellectualism that pervades our culture.

The authors are especially critical of quizzes over assigned readings. “They encourage surface learning based on episodic memory—short-term memorization for a day or two—rather than deep learning that is transformative of one’s perspective and involves long-term comprehension.” (p. 127)

If quizzes aren’t the answer, then how do instructors “make reading experiences meaningful so that students will want to learn via the written word and will develop an appreciation for the various strategies good readers utilize”? (p. 127)

The authors have developed an assignment strategy that certainly appears to move students in the right direction. Students complete reading responses for each reading assignment. Actually, there are 29 dates when reading responses are due; students are required to submit 25 of them so that if they have an emergency or a lot of work due in other classes, they can opt not to complete a reading response. Reading responses may take one of five forms and students are encouraged to try a variety of these options.

• Connecting to the text —This involves underlining key ideas and making marks and comments in the margins. Students then go back through the reading and write five “big” questions on key concepts in the chapter. They answer two of those questions or write a commentary on why they think these are the core issues in the reading.
• Summarizing the readings and visualizing the key ideas —Students make a visual or graphic organizer for content in the reading. (There are several examples in the article’s appendices.) They can also make a chart or several lists that organize and categorize ideas.
• Reading response journal —Here each portion of the reading assignment is responded to with a question or comment.
• Studying as a group —Two or three students can convene as a study group. They discuss the readings, focusing on key concepts. Ideas are recorded and then written up.
• Create a song or a rap —Students create a song or rap about the assignment, which they then record and submit.

The instructors use a simple grading scheme for the assignment. Minimal efforts garner three points, solid summaries and connections are worth four points, and extraordinary responses merit five points. In the beginning, they provide students with feedback designed to help them improve. Subsequently, students get the score only.

Seventy-eight percent of the students reported that they read 75 percent or more of the assignments. Students also saw a definite connection between having done the readings and being able to participate at a higher level in class. Sixty-eight percent indicated that by doing the responses they did learn something about themselves as readers.

The authors note in their conclusion that if faculty want students to read deeply, they must work to develop assignments that encourage students to make sense of what they read. Because students use different methods to gain understanding, it makes sense to give them different options.

REFERENCE: Roberts, J. C., and Roberts, K. A. (2008). Deep reading, cost/benefit, and the construction of meaning: Enhancing reading comprehension and deep learning in sociology courses. Teaching Sociology 36, 125-140.

Excerpted from Still More on Developing Reading Skills, The Teaching Professor , Aug.-Sept. 2008.

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Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Inferences worksheets.

• Context Clues Worksheets
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• Online Tests
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Short Stories with Questions

• Nonfiction Passages
• Genre Worksheets

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Here are a bunch of free reading comprehension worksheets. These will help students master reading skills. You can print, edit, or complete these worksheets online . Try the nonfiction or short story reading worksheets to cover general reading skills. Or focus on specific reading skills like making predictions .

Nonfiction Passages with Questions

• Story Structure Worksheets
• Characterization Worksheets
• Setting Worksheets

Making Predictions Worksheets

All Nonfiction Passages

All Short Stories

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324 Comments

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This test makes no sense.

Blanca Portillo

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Priscilla Hagan

This has been a great find. I love the stories and so do my students. I have particularly found the nondiction passages wonderful – the ones which appear in their reading books are often bland and not engaging – and so do my students. They’re learning so much and it’s stirring their curiosity to do their digging about the topics they most enjoy.

Since comprehension questions in our part of the world are not mcqs – they are usuallyquestions which require short answers – I usually dowload the passages and prepare my own questions, with maybe one or two mcqs from your question bank thrown in. Thus, my students cannot find answers and it makes them do the hard work of comprehending the passages.

I also underline some of the words and phrases and ask them to find words or phrases which mean the same and can replace them in the passage – that’s another important component of questions asked on reading comprehension passages in my part of the world, Ghana. Maybe those complaining about cheaters can use some of these strategies. They can also tweak the questions on this site to do away with cheating.

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Ayana Sanchez

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Keshia Cabriole

Good Morning may we use the Redwoods and Arm Races Story for our study? I would like to say that the story and questionnaire will be a big help if you allow us to use your story to our study.

Of course. Best wishes!

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gabriel simon

love your materials; like to be a member

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This website is supported by advertisements. No need for donations! But I am very happy that you like the site and took the time to comment. Best wishes!

Malik Radwan

These comprehensions were really helpful in studying It would be great if you would add poetry comprehensions too (the ones that ask for literary elements) Really thank you.

Do you mean poems with questions like these ?

Jornalyn N. Agapito

Thank you so much for this reading material. It was great help to my students to develop love in reading.

You’re such an amazing person! Thank you for sharing these materials. They helped me a lot as an ELA middle school teacher. May God bless you!

Excellent passages

I am looking for material for a 10-12 reading comprehension class. Your materials are great, but a lower interest level from HS students. Any suggestions for upper levels?

Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful worksheets!

JHANNET VELÁSQUEZ

EXCELLENT WEBSITE!

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Delores J. Mayes

My students has searched and found the answer keys to these readings. I wish there was a way the teacher’s could sign in for the content and keep the cheaters from having the honest kids miss out on these readings. What has our world gone to. This is so sad that my students would copy answers word for word and expect to get a 100% as well as their parents. We are growing a nation of untruth and cheaters.

Yeah, that is pretty frustrating.

It’s tough to keep the content free and open while preventing students from finding the answers.

One thing that might help is downloading the .RTF file and editing the titles of the assignments. A persistent student will still be able to find the answers, but that may make it a little harder.

Also, remember, cheaters are only cheating themselves! And the system and everyone else too, but mainly themselves! Best wishes!

Hi Ma’am Dolores. That happened to me years ago during the MDL (modular distance learning) in our country, Philippines. You know what I did, I shorten my URLs and add number 1 at the end of it. This way, they can no longer trace my resources.

Alexandra Bardon

Thank you Mr. Morton for sharing! Your material is just what we need to keep students busy during lockdown. I really appreciate it. K. Bardon

Harbani Kaur

Thank you so much for sharing so much worksheets

This is a great website! thank you very much for sharing.

PASKARAN RAMAYA

Thank you very much Mr.Morton for providing such good reading texts . You have a big heart to share the resources without expecting nothing in return. I’m a teacher and it has been a great help to me in preparing reading materials for my students. Thank you!

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Great website could be a bit more specific on some stories and grade 4-8 is quite a gap

Übermom Fakoya

This is such a treasure trove, especially during this period of remote learning. To also offer these gems freely is great magnanimity on your part. I am grateful; thank you ever so much!

Do more worksheets for Grades 1-5.

Lawrence Fried

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I have neglected the earlier grades for a long. I am beginning anew at this website: worksheetland.com

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Mary Levtzow

Thank you for sharing and caring about each child’s potential.

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Close Reading Strategies: A Step-by-Step Teaching Guide

Slow down, think, annotate, and reflect.

In the age of ChatGPT and other AI , using close reading strategies doesn’t come naturally to students. When students get a new assignment, their first instinct may be to race to the finish line rather than engage with text. This means students will miss a lot of nuance and meaning as they move through school.

On the other hand, a close reading of text requires students to slow down, think, annotate, and reflect. The ultimate idea? We get more information and enjoyment from reading and working with the text when we use close reading strategies.

What is close reading?

Close reading is a way to read and work with text that moves beyond comprehension into interpretation and analysis. Put another way, close reading helps readers get from literal to inferential understanding of text.

After a close reading, students should understand what the text says and understand ideas embedded in the text, like a cultural perspective or religious opinion. They’ll also have an idea of what the text means to them, and what their opinion about it is based on more than just an offhand feeling. In class, close reading may take multiple class periods to complete and should have a goal at the end—a discussion or essay or some way for students to share what they’ve learned.

Read more: What is close reading anyway?

Here is our step-by-step  guide with strategies for teaching close reading:

1. choose the perfect passage.

Image: Jennifer Findley

As you’re planning texts for a lesson or unit, start with what you want students to get out of what they’re reading. So, if you’re studying text structure, choose books or articles with interesting text structures. If you’re studying character development, find a passage that shows how a character changes or evolves. The point: There has to be something to find in text so that students aren’t grasping at straws.

Read more: How To Choose the Perfect Passage for Close Reading

Tip: Texts should be at or just above students’ grade and reading level, but they don’t have to be dense with text. Here’s how to use picture books in close reading lessons .

2. Prepare students by teaching annotation

Source: The English Classroom

Close reading will require some prep work. Students have to know how to annotate effectively, pulling out and making notes on the most important parts, i.e., not highlighting everything. Spend some time at the start of the year or unit teaching students how to identify and mark the most important parts of a text (new or key words, main ideas, pivotal plot points).

3. Students read the text for literal comprehension

First, have students read the entire text. The text should take less than one class period to read through once, so a chapter or article or even a few paragraphs could be enough. The first time students read, they’re reading for a general understanding and the main idea. They can think through:

• What is this story about?
• What information does this article contain?
• What is literally happening?
• What is the message or purpose?

4. Check in

After the first reading, check in with students to make sure they have a clear, literal understanding of the text. If they don’t, clear up misconceptions. If they do, move on to the second reading.

5. Chunk text in preparation for read 2

Image: iTeach. iCoach. iBlog.

Before the second reading, have students separate the text into paragraphs or chunks. Number each chunk. This way, when students review the text, they can easily refer back to paragraph 1 or chunk 2 and all be on the same page.

6. Work with text-dependent questions

Image: Instructional Coach

Now that students have a clear understanding of what the text is about, introduce the text-dependent questions that students will be working with in their close reading. Text-dependent questions are those that can only be answered using the text. For example, a question like “Why did Jeremiah eat a bullfrog?” rather than “Why is it not a good idea to eat a bullfrog?”

Questions that you work with should also range in their complexity. If the passage is more complex in terms of structure, content, or vocabulary, the questions may be less complex. But if a passage is easier for students to work with, the questions can be more advanced.

7. Set the end goal

Students shouldn’t be reading just to read. Explain the end goal—a Socratic seminar discussion, a partner discussion, an essay, a project. Once students know how they are going to respond to the questions, they’re better able to think through how they’re going to show what they know.

Here are creative ways to use close reading .

8. Time for reads 2 and 3

Image: Reading Ladies

Now that students have the question, the text, and the end goal, they’re ready to reread. The second time students read the text, they’re reading it to annotate for their own understanding. This is also the point where you’ll want to break students into groups—which students can work independently and which need some, or a lot of, support to complete the read?

Some texts will require a third reading for students to fully prepare, or students may need to reread chunks or paragraphs even more to get what they need. The important part is that students understand that rereading is an important part of close reading.

9. Respond to the text

This is it! The final close reading discussion. In this response, students will:

• Summarize what they read.
• Answer the text-dependent questions.
• Include evidence to support their ideas.
• Draw conclusions about the meaning of the text.

Have some way for students to plan out what they are going to say or write, and have them turn in their annotated reading so you can refer back to it if you’re confused about how they got from point A to Z.

10. Reflect

Every so often, reflect on how close reading is changing what students are taking away from what they read. Close reading should shape their reading skills and how they approach text beyond your class, but students may need support seeing the connection.

11. Level up

As students get more comfortable with close reading, you can level up their discussions by:

• Having students develop their own questions after they read a text or as you progress through a longer text.
• Using texts that are more complex in terms of content or structure.
• Challenging students to do a close reading of a picture book or graphic novel, rather than full-on text.

What strategies do you use to teach close reading in your classroom? Share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Read why close reading can be the most fun lesson in your week ..

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

Reading Comprehension Worksheets Grades 1 - 10

Use our free, printable reading comprehension passage exercises to improve your student's reading skills! Recognizing letters and words is an important first step in learning to read. However, it is only a first step; it is vital that students comprehend, or understand, what they are reading. They must be able to get the meaning of the text: What is the author telling the reader? This is reading comprehension, and it is an essential skill for success in school and in the real world. Below are our reading comprehension worksheets grouped by grade, that include passages and related questions. Click on the title to view the printable activities in each grade range, or to read the details of each worksheet. They are free for use in the home or in the classroom. Be sure to check out our spelling words  activities too!

1st Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

This 36 week first grade worksheet program for reading comprehension provides grade-appropriate passages and related questions, and can be used for other grades as appropriate.

2nd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

This 36 week second grade worksheet program for reading comprehension provides passages and questions that are grade appropriate, but can be used with additional grades.

3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

The 36 week third grade worksheet program for reading comprehension that we’ve organized here provides reading passages and activities designed for 3rd grade but can be used for other grades.

4th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

The 36 week fourth grade comprehension program that is included here provides reading passages and questions that are grade appropriate, but can be used with additional grades.

5th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

The 36 week fifth grade comprehension program provides passages and related questions that are grade appropriate, but can be used with additional grades.

6th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

7th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

8th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

9th - 10th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Reading Skills Guide

Do you want to improve your reading skills and become a better reader? Many English learners have this goal in mind. This guide to reading can help you.

In this guide you will learn about:

• reading and why it matters
• reading materials for English language learners
• typical tasks found in English-language reading tests
• general reading tips to become a stronger reader
• where you can find reading materials
• reading strategies for better comprehension
• common reading categories to choose from

You can also look below at the reading glossary for any words about reading that you don't understand.

• listening (← in)
• speaking (out →)
• reading (← in)
• writing (out →)

You probably know that even in your own language reading is regarded as important because it can be entertaining and educational, can open up new worlds and enrich your life, and can improve hand-eye co-ordination and enhance social skills.

But for learning a foreign language, in this case English, reading in that language has additional important benefits that can help you learn the language faster and more completely.

Reading is an essential skill for language learners. When your reading skills improve, your listening, speaking and writing skills improve too. Here are some of the specific reasons why English learners are encouraged to read in English:

• The constant repetition of words and patterns in reading helps you learn and remember vocabulary and grammar structures.
• Reading helps you become familiar with the rhythm of English. Over time it will start to feel natural and you will notice when a sentence or phrase doesn't seem right.
• Unlike conversation, reading is something you can do on your own.
• Reading is not expensive, often free.
• Good reading skills can improve your other language skills. You need to learn to read before you can write.
• Reading is the best way to learn and remember the proper spelling of words.
• Listening as you read aloud can help you improve your pronunciation skills.

If you want to improve your English, learn to love reading in English. The best readers often get the best grades, jobs and opportunities.

What to Read

Are you overwhelmed by the reading materials that are available? Without spending a penny, you can read printed texts (books, magazines, newspapers at the library), online materials (websites and blogs), and ebooks (on your mobile devices).

Think about what you like to read in your native language. Can you find these written materials in English?

• It should interest you, so that the reading is fun and not boring.
• It should be at a level that is not too difficult for you.

Here are some types of reading material to try:

• books (including children's books and graded readers )
• online news articles (try EC's easy news )
• online blogs about topics that interest you (search for "top 10 blog" lists by topic)
• letters (personal and commercial)
• transcripts (of some online videos ) and sub-titles on films
• short stories (try these on EnglishClub)
• cartoons and jokes
• recipes for cooking
• advertisements and brochures

10 Reading Tips

• Read at a level slightly lower than what you understand. You should not have to look up a lot of words. It's okay to look up a few words.
• Make reading a ritual . Choose a time and place to read every day or week. Commit to this reading time as if it were a job.
• Read what interests you.
• Understand what you'll be tested on. If you're working on your reading skills for a particular test, make sure to learn about the test. There may be specific formats such as advertisements that you'll have to read in the test.
• Find free reading materials .  Project Gutenberg  is an excellent source, but be careful with public domain books that are written in outdated English. Some words and expressions are no longer in use.
• Visualize what you are reading. Some people try to imagine they are reading a movie or a how-to video.
• Listen and read. Find podcasts or videos that have transcripts and read along silently. You can also read out loud with the recording.
• Relate what you read to your own life . How does the reading apply to you?
• Think about the author or journalist .  How would the reading differ if you were the author?
• Check your eyesight . If you haven't had your eyesight checked in the last few years, make an appointment.

Reading Strategies

Here are some strategies for improving your comprehension skills.

• Skim : read for the brief idea or overview.
• Scan : read for specific details or a specific reason.
• KWL : determine what you Know about the topic, what you Want to know, and what you Learned.
• Skip : if you don't understand a word or section, keep reading ahead. Come back to the section or word again and try to figure out the meaning. Use a dictionary if necessary.
• Look for headings , subtitles and keywords .
• Read out loud : children read out loud when they first start reading. You can too. Get comfortable hearing your English voice.
• Create timelines or charts : reorganize what you read in a different format.
• Rewrite in a different tense .
• Rewrite in a different format : for example, rewrite an article in letter or list form.
• Illustrate : if you think you're a visual learner, sketch images or an infographic related to what you read.
• Write the questions : as you read, think about which questions you might find on a test or quiz. Write them down and answer them, or quiz a friend.
• Summarize or retell: you can do this by writing a letter to a friend, writing a blog post, making a web cam video, or just starting a conversation on this topic.
• Learn affixes : knowing  prefixes  and  suffixes will increase your word recognition.
• Keep a vocabulary journal .
• Get a vocabulary partner .
• Use a pen or ruler : some people find it is easier to read with a pacer. A pen, ruler or fingertip can help you keep your place and prevent your eyes from wandering off. This may not be suitable if you are reading on a computer or mobile device. Adjust the screen to a larger size if necessary.

Reading Levels

It is important to read texts that are at the right level for you - not too easy, not too difficult.

You need to know what your personal reading level is. (Note that your reading level may not be the same as your overall level in English. For example, your reading level is normally higher than your writing level, and higher than your overall level.)

Ask your teacher to help you determine your reading level. If you don’t have a teacher, try reading a few texts from different levels. If you have to look up a lot of words in a dictionary, the text is too difficult for you. If you don't have to look up any words, the text is too easy for you. Try something at a lower or higher level. A teacher, librarian or bookstore clerk can help you find something easier or more difficult.

You can also try our  reading test  to help determine your reading level.

Designate a place and time for reading every day. Your reading level will increase with time.

Reading Tests

If you are taking a standardized English test or attending English language classes, you will probably be tested on your reading skills. Here are some things that you may be asked to do in a reading test or assignment:

• Find the gist or main idea. Write (or say) one sentence that explains what the reading is about.
• Summarize. Describe a few of the main points that are presented.
• Locate details. Find specific information that is provided in a piece of text.
• Understand inferences. Make assumptions based on information you are given in a text. You may be asked to make inferences about the author.
• Make predictions. Guess what a reading will be about. Guess what will happen next.
• Identify genre and style. Name the type or category of writing that you read.
• Sort information. Organize details in a systematic or chart form, such as creating a chronological timeline or labeling a map.
• Match information. For example, match dialogue to a character.
• Paraphrase. Rewrite the text in your own words.
• Identify parts of speech.
• Compare and Contrast.
• Identify keywords.
• Match paragraphs to headings.
• Write an opinion.
• Draw conclusions.
• Write comprehension questions.
• Decide whether something is True, False or Not Mentioned in a text.

Reading Categories

Read what interests you. Here are some categories that can help you find what you are looking for in a library, bookstore or online search. Other categories such as poetry and drama may also interest you.

Writing that describes imaginary events and people (such as short stories and novels):

• crime and mystery
• literary fiction
• popular fiction
• science fiction
• short stories
• women's fiction
• young adult fiction

Non-fiction

Writing about facts, real events and real people (such as history or biography):

• arts and crafts
• autobiography

Reading terms

A glossary of words and terms that we use to talk about reading.

autobiography (noun): story of a person's life written by that same person brochure (noun): booklet or small magazine with information and images about a product, place or service comprehension (noun): action of understanding what you are reading; ability to understand what you are reading dialogue (noun): conversation between two or more people that is written in a text ebook (noun): electronic book; book that you can download and read on a computer or mobile device fiction (noun): writing that is about imaginary events and people genre (noun): category based on content, style or form gist (noun): central idea of a text; the essence of a text grade (noun): mark or percentage that indicates the quality of your work (test, assignment etc) graded readers (noun): books written at different levels specially for English learners heading (noun): title of a section or division in a text, such as a chapter heading headword (noun): (in a dictionary) first and main word of each entry; the word that is being defined (for example, dog is a headword but the plural dogs is not a headword; and run is a headword but the past tense ran is not a headword) inference (noun): conclusion that one comes to based on logic and information provided infographic (noun): visual representation of text or information, with minimal text used keyword (noun): important word in a text; word that holds the "key" to meaning literature (noun): written materials, especially when considered to be of great artistic merit memoir (noun): personal account of an aspect of one's life, written from one's own memory non-fiction (noun): writing that is about facts, real events and real people paragraph (noun): distinct section of a text, containing one main idea or scene, and usually indicated by a new line paraphrase (verb): to rewrite (or describe) a text in one's own words proverb (noun): short saying about a general truth or belief read aloud | read out loud (verb): to read audibly, not silently, so that other people, if present, could hear reading level (noun): grade that defines one's reading ability (levels may be shown, for example, as: beginner to advanced; low to high; numerically 1 to 5) scan (verb): to read a text quickly looking for specific details skill (noun): ability to do something well (the four main skills that we need in language are listening, speaking, reading and writing) skim (verb): to read a text quickly to get a general idea or overview skip (verb): to pass a word or section (and possibly go back later) subtitle (noun): additional, more detailed heading that comes under a main heading summary (noun): brief account of the main points of a text text (noun): written work; the written words that you read transcript (noun): written version of spoken words (for example, transcript of a film or podcast)

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Critical Thinking Reading Comprehension Worksheets

• Take these as online quizzes here!

Short Story Reading Comprehension Worksheets

• Beginning Level
• Answers for this series are included at the end of each worksheet.
• "My Friend" - Low Beginning. 3 answer choices. 7 questions. 74 words.
• "My House" - Low Beginning. 3 answer choices. 7 questions. 92 words.
• "Time to..." - Low Beginning. 4 answer choices. 11 questions. 89 words.
• "My Family" - Low Beginning. 4 answer choices. 6 questions. 90 words.
• "Rainy Day" - Low Beginning. 4 answer choices. 5 questions. 78 words.
• "A Call to the Pool" - Low Beginning. 4 answer choices. 5 questions. 116 words.
• "The Singing Bird" - Low Beginning. 4 answer choices. 5 questions. 96 words.
• "Seeing Stars" - Low Beginning. 4 answer choices. 8 questions. 92 words.
• "I Fly" - Low Beginning. 4 answer choices. 4 questions. 113 words.
• "The Drive" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 120 words.
• "Zach's Animals" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 104 words.
• "Griffin's Talents" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 9 questions. 112 words.
• "A Happy Visitor" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 5 questions. 170 words.
• "An Adventure" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 5 questions. 177 words.
• "Running" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 5 questions. 148 words.
• "Paul Cooks" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 112 words.
• "Bella Hides" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 8 questions. 135 words.
• "First Prize" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 8 questions. 155 words.
• "What Number?" - Mid Beginning. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 154 words.
• "The Interview" - High Beginning. 4 answer choices. 9 questions. 205 words.
• "Julian's Work" - High Beginning. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 194 words.
• "Talia's Special Day" - High Beginning. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 204 words.
• "One Hundred Dollars" - High Beginning. 4 answer choices. 13 questions. 273 words.
• "New Shoes for Maddy" - High Beginning. 4 answer choices. 11 questions. 223 words.
• "The 20" - High Beginning. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 256 words.
• "Big City Noise" - High Beginning. 4 answer choices. 13 questions. 238 words.
• Intermediate Level
• "By the Water" - Low Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 9 questions. 225 words.
• "A Cold Day" - Low Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 14 questions. 286 words.
• "Vet Emergency!" - Low Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 247 words.
• "Late" - Low Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 14 questions. 284 words.
• "The Brenners" - Low Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 13 questions. 297 words.
• "Bullied" - Low Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 13 questions. 197 words.
• "The New School" - Low Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 14 questions. 286 words.
• "The Park" - Low Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 11 questions. 297 words.
• "Worth Working For" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 280 words.
• "The Rent Man" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 215 words.
• "Time with Grandpa" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 9 questions. 237 words.
• "The Bus Driver" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 15 questions. 294 words.
• "A Day Like No Other" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 305 words.
• "A Mystery" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 247 words.
• "Just One Touch" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 15 questions. 326 words.
• "Wanga" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 13 questions. 340 words.
• "Ana Finds an Apartment" - Mid Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 408 words.
• "Guermo's Surprise" - High Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 9 questions. 372 words .
• "Canopy of Nature" - High Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 8 questions. 332 words .
• "Blizzard in Birmingham" - High Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 319 words.
• "A Christmas in March" - High Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 385 words.
• "Bail" - High Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 301 words.
• "Clean Water Act" - High Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 632 words.
• "BB" - High Intermediate. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 511 words .
• Advanced Level
• "The Mini Problem" - Low Advanced. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 291 words .
• "Flower Power" - Low Advanced. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 368 words.
• "Seeing Clearly" - Low Advanced. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 284 words .
• "Accused" - Low Advanced. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 285 words.
• "City Girl" - Low Advanced. 4 answer choices. 13 questions. 429 words.
• "Fried" - Mid Advanced. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 235 words.
• "Tattoo" - Mid Advanced. 4 answer choices. 11 questions. 350 words.
• "The Transfers" - Mid Advanced. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 381 words.
• "Wild" - Mid Advanced. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 493 words.
• "Scorpion" - Low Advanced. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 333 words
• "Remains of a Marriage" - Mid Advanced. 4 answer choices. 11 questions. 345 words.
• "Museum Hours" - Mid Advanced. 4 answer choices. 10 questions. 179 words.
• "Seeing Through" - High Advanced. 5 answer choices. 10 questions. 326 words.
• "Ursula Pugh" - High Advanced. 5 answer choices. 8 questions. 324 words.
• "Dreams" - High Advanced. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 357 words.
• "Tracks" - High Advanced. 5 answer choices. 11 questions. 531 words.
• "Love Train" - High Advanced. 5 answer choices. 12 questions. 646 words.
• "The Storm" - High Advanced. 4 answer choices. 12 questions. 407 words.

Informational Passages Reading Comprehension Worksheets

In these reading comprehension worksheets, students are asked questions about information they have read about a specific topic. each passage reads similar to a newspaper of journal article, and provides interesting information about some aspect of history, nature, mechanics, science, art, and more. questions involve critical thinking with a focus on logic and inference..

• Answer Key - This answer key is available but still under development.
• "The Sun" - Low Beginning. 3 questions. Under 50 words.
• "Gas" - Low Beginning. 3 questions. Under 50 words.
• "Music" - Low Beginning. 4 questions. Under 50 words.
• "Birds" - Low Beginning. 4 questions. Under 50 words.
• "The Heart" - Low Beginning. 4 questions. Under 50 words.
• "The Butterfly" - Low Beginning. 5 questions. Under 50 words.
• "Pigs" - Low Beginning. 3 questions. Under 50 words.
• "The Brain" - Low Beginning. 3 questions. Under 50 words.
• "The Ocean" - Low Beginning. 7 questions. Under 100 words.
• "Trees" - Low Beginning. 4 questions. Under 100 words.
• "Alligators" - Low Beginning. 6 questions. Under 100 words.
• "The Blow-Dryer" - Low Beginning. 5 questions. Under 100 words.
• "Green Grass" - Low Beginning. 6 questions. Under 100 words.
• "Taste" - Low Beginning. 4 questions. Under 100 words.
• "Bees" - Mid Beginning. 10 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Frogs" - Mid Beginning. 10 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Beds" - Mid Beginning. 10 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Humans" - Mid Beginning. 10 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Fish" - Mid Beginning. 10 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Houses" - Mid Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Soda Pop" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Tea" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Ice Fishing" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Bears" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Flags" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Leonardo Da Vinci" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words..
• "Tennis" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Dogs" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Money" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Abraham Lincoln" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Corn" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Umbrellas" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Ben Franklin" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Cars" - High Beginning. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• Answer Key - This is the answer key for to the intermediate level informational passages.
• "Helicopters" - Low Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Yellowstone National Park" - Low Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Empress of the Blues" - Low Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "The Cactus" - Low Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Space Exploration Voyagers 1 and 2" - Mid Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Television" - Mid Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Hibernation and Estivation" - Mid Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Marco Polo" - Mid Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Movie Ratings" - Mid Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Birdsongs" - Mid Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Counting" - Mid Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Easter Island" - High Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Mosquitoes" - High Intermediate. 12 questions. Under 700 words.
• "Fingerprints" - High Intermediate. 11 questions. Under 700 words.
• "Mother's Day" - High Intermediate. 10 questions. Under 700 words.
• "Europe" - High Intermediate. 12 questions. Under 700 words.
• Answer Key - This is the answer key for to the advanced level informational passages.
• "Chocolate" - Low Advanced. 10 questions. Under 600 words.
• "Houses Around the World" - Low Advanced. 10 questions. Under 700 words.
• "Cells" - Low Advanced. 10 questions. Under 700 words.
• "Soccer" - Low Advanced. 12 questions. Under 700 words.
• "Bathtubs" - Low Advanced. 12 questions. Under 700 words.
• "Pollution" - Low Advanced. 12 questions. Under 700 words.
• "Interstate Highways" - Low Advanced. 10 questions. Under 800 words.
• "The U.S. Census" - Low Advanced. 10 questions. Under 800 words.
• "Sleep" - Low Advanced. 11 questions. Under 800 words.
• "The U.S. Postal Service" - Mid Advanced. 11 questions. Under 800 words.
• "Chemical Elements" - Mid Advanced. 11 questions. Under 800 words.
• "Africa" - Mid Advanced. 11 questions. Under 1000 words.

Technical Reading Comprehension Worksheets

In these reading comprehension worksheets, students are asked questions about the meaning, significance, intention, structure, inference, and vocabulary used in each passage. each passage reads like an encyclopedic or technical journal article. answers for worksheets in this section can be found at the end of each individual worksheet..

• "Water" - Beginning level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 300 words.
• "Paper" - Beginning level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 300 words.
• "The Flu" - Beginning level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 400 words.
• "Nuts" - Beginning level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 400 words.
• "The Sun" - Beginning level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 400 words.
• "The White House" - Beginning level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 400 words.
• "Soap" - Intermediate level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 400 words.
• "Clocks" - Intermediate level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 400 words.
• "The Robin" - Intermediate level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 400 words.
• "Hybrid Vehicles" - Intermediate level. 4 questions with answers included. Under 500 words.
• "Photography" - Intermediate level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 500 words.
• "Biomimetics" - Intermediate level. 4 questions with answers included. Under 700 words.
• "The Great Debates" - Intermediate level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 400 words.
• "Salt" - Advanced level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 700 words.
• "Colony Collapse" - Advanced level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 600 words.
• "Columbian Exchange" - Advanced level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 700 words.
• "Ethanol" - Advanced level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 600 words.
• "Generations" - Advanced level. 3 questions with answers included. Under 600 words.
• "The Hubble Telescope" - Advanced level. 7 questions with answers included. Under 1000 words.
• "Intellegence Augmentation" - Advanced level. 5 questions with answers included. Under 1000 words.

Role Play Reading Comprehension Worksheets

In these reading comprehension worksheets, students can increase their understanding of colloquial and idiomatic expressions and get a feel for conversational english. they also allow several students to participate at the same time - which makes them really fun great for use in school or at home..

• Answer Key - This is the answer key to the role play worksheets.
• "What Time Is It?" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 100 words.
• "How Are You?" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 100 words.
• "Tie Your Shoes!" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 100 words.
• "Where Are My Glasses?" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 100 words.
• "A Cookie" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 100 words.
• "Where Are My Keys?" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 100 words.
• "City Life, Country Life" - Beginning Level. 10 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Flu Shot" - Intermediate Level. 5 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Vinegar" - Intermediate Level. 4 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Wait for Me!" - Intermediate Level. 8 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Glasses" - Intermediate Level. 8 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Hungry" - Advanced Level. 8 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Want to Know a Secret?" - Advanced Level. 8 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Milk and Aesthetics" - Advanced Level. 8 questions. Under 500 words.

Dual Version Reading Comprehension Worksheets

In each of these reading comprehension worksheets, the same story is told, but with two versions: one that is basic, and one that is more advanced. this allows students to make direct comparisons between the advanced version to the more basic one, and makes for a powerful learning experience..

• Answer Key - Coming Soon!
• "An Overcast Day" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 200 words.
• "Who Knows My Name?" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 200 words.
• "A Call to the Pool" - Beginning Level. 6 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Oh No!" - Beginning Level. 8 questions. Under 300 words.
• "An Adventure" - Beginning Level. 6 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Happy Birthday" - Beginning Level. 4 questions. Under 400 words.
• "My Family" - Beginning Level. 8 questions. Under 300 words.
• "My Family" - Beginning Level. 5 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Driving Directions" - Beginning Level. 6 questions. Under 400 words.
• "A Happy Visitor" - Beginning Level. 7 questions. Under 300 words.
• "The Singing Bird" - Intermediate Level. 10 questions. Under 300 words.
• "Violet Makes a Cake" - Intermediate Level. 8 questions. Under 400 words.
• "A Visit to the Doctor" - Intermediate Level. 7 questions. Under 400 words.
• "Making Dinner" - Intermediate Level. 8 questions. Under 400 words.
• "The Market" - Intermediate Level. 10 questions. Under 500 words.
• "Maria Gets Her License" - Intermediate Level. 8 questions. Under 500 words.
• "A Paper for School" - Advanced Level. 7 questions. Under 300 words.
• "A Birthday Surprise" - Advanced Level. 7 questions. Under 600 words.
• "Getting a New Job" - Advanced Level. 8 questions. Under 600 words.
• "The Dinner Party" - Advanced Level. 9 questions. Under 600 words.

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Strategies for Teaching Reading Skills

As with writing skills, integrating reading skills into your teaching does not require you to explicitly address all of the skills your students need in any one class. Rather, it means creating space in your course to address one or two skills that you identify as the most essential as they come up in the regular work of your course. 

The steps below address some of the general ways you can scaffold reading assignments so that reading skills become an explicit part of the course instruction. In most cases, we’ve included one or two explicit examples of each technique, to give you some ideas for how they might work in practice.

• Explain Why Each Text is on the Syllabus

Clearly articulate the purpose of each reading you assign. What will it add to the course conversation? How will you use or address it in class? How does it inform or connect to other texts on the syllabus? Note that you don’t necessarily need to put these explanations in writing on the syllabus itself–you can simply say them in class. However, it’s almost always best to explain this before you expect students to do the reading in question.

• Establish Basic Expectations for Each Reading

Set clear expectations regarding how long each reading should take and how students can know if they’ve read or understood it well enough. This is especially important for readings that you expect students to struggle with or spend a significant amount of time completing.

Specific Techniques:

• Note on the syllabus how long each reading should take to complete well
• Provide study questions students can fill out as they read or just after they’ve finished reading
• Present Reading Strategies in Class

Identify the reading skills or strategies that are most relevant to the work in your class and explicitly address them in class.

• The first time you discuss a text from an unfamiliar genre (e.g. a scholarly article), discuss the conventions of that genre and how that should affect the way students read it
• Point out particularly difficult passages in the text and discuss how students should understand or unpack them
• Explain how students can annotate a text to make it more useful for class discussion or for late writing assignments
• Assign a “Teaching Text” Early in the Term

A teaching text is a specific reading assignment that you’ll use to model the kinds of reading you’ll expect students to do independently throughout the term. The idea is to assign your teaching text early–ideally in the first week or two of class–and then spend some time in class specifically discussing how that text is structured and how your students should engage it.

An Ideal Teaching Texts Is:

• Similar in structure and purpose to other texts students will encounter in your course
• Challenging for students to navigate
• Likely to come up again throughout the term (thus rewarding students for the time and effort they spend with it)
• Ask Students about Their Reading

As part of your regular class discussion, ask students about their experiences reading the material at hand. What aspects were easy or difficult? This isn’t the same as simply asking, “are there any questions about the reading?” at the start of class. Students who aren’t doing the reading well often don’t realize it, and even students who know they’re struggling often have difficulty articulating questions. Instead, pose questions that elicit a critical response, even (or especially) if students believe they did the reading well.

Specific Questions:

• What were the key ideas of this piece, and where specifically did you find them?
• What passages did you find most interesting or useful?
• What parts did you find yourself skimming or skipping altogether?
• What terms did the author(s) use that were new to you? How did you figure out what they meant?
• How long did you spend on this reading? (Asking this will also help you assess whether your expectations are too low and whether or not students are taking your expectations seriously.)
• Assess Reading Directly

Incorporate low-stakes assessments that allow you to see (and, ideally, respond to) how well students are completing the reading.

• Reading quizzes
• Short, informal response papers (completed in or out of class)
• Annotation assignments (possibly using tools like Hypothes.is)
• Self-assessment exercises like this one from Adrianna Estill
• Make Reading Reflective

Prompt your students to critically examine their reading skills and habits. Ideally, make this an iterative part of the course, where students are able to see and examine the way their reading changes as they get more experienced navigating the course material.

• Bookend Assignments: assign a short essay at the beginning of the term asking students to describe the ways that they approach reading for class, with an emphasis on the skills you’ll address that term (parsing difficult passage, skimming, annotating, etc.). At the end of the term, assign a similar essay asking students to describe how their reading processes held up or changed.
• Reading Journals: have students write a short paragraph after they complete every major reading, describing how they approached it and what they found interesting, important, challenging, etc. 
• Check-Ins: regularly ask the students to report on how long the reading is taking them and how difficult they’re finding it. Check-ins can take a variety of forms, from a few informal questions at the start of class to anonymous posts to a class discussion board. They work best, though, when you make it clear that you’re really interested in their responses and willing to respond to their concerns.
• Here’s another example from Adrianna Estill.
• Normalize Learning and Difficulty

Create an environment where struggling with difficult texts is seen as a normal and welcome part of the class discourse. This approach helps to demystify reading skills (and academic work in general) and reduce student anxiety. It also encourages students to see reading as a skill set that grows and develops over time, so that even proficient students are encouraged to look for ways to improve. 

• Explicitly encourage and praise students who ask comprehension questions or articulate challenges with the reading.
• Whenever possible, don’t simply answer comprehension questions. Instead, point the class to clues in the text and try to work out the answer as a group.
• Ask the students to identify difficult passages, concepts, or questions in the reading and work through them in class.
• Discuss places where you personally found the reading difficult, or aspects of the reading that you noticed or re-evaluated when re-reading for class ( especially when you realize that you misunderstood or misinterpreted something).
• Acknowledge and praise students when they articulate new and interesting responses to the text or when they spot something you hadn’t noticed before.
• Instead of asking questions to the class as a whole, “cold call” individual students, whether they’ve volunteered or not. Yes, really! Many instructors are reluctant to do this, but studies indicate that as long as you use this practice consistently and fairly (i.e. randomize who you call on) throughout the term, students don’t mind, and it actively improves their engagement and preparation. Moreover, it means that the strongest, most prepared students don’t do all the talking, which allows students who are less proficient to hide in silence.

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