Active readers use several strategies to get the most out of what they read. They preview the text by looking at titles, pictures, and summaries to make predictions. As they read, they check their predictions and look for the main idea and key details to support it. They also connect new information to what they already know. Active readers skim to get the general meaning and read more slowly to understand and remember details. Summarizing is important to check comprehension. Using strategies like SQ3R helps readers be engaged and get the full meaning from texts.

1. Tips to being an
active reader

2. Preview the Text

3. Preview the Cover
• Bet you’ve heard the old saying,
“You can’t judge a book by its
cover.”
–But actually you can!

4. Preview the Cover
• Look at the cover and ask yourself these
questions:
– What clues about the story to I get from the title?
– What clues about the story do I get from the
pictures on the front and back cover?
– Who wrote the book? Have I read books by this
author before?
– How is the story described in the inside the jacket
flaps?

5. Preview the Title
• If you are reading a novel look at the title
and ask yourself the following questions:
– What does the title mean?
– What reasons could the writer have for
choosing the title?
– Based on the title what do I predict will
happen in the story?

6. Some other good things to preview
before you read
• Preview the Table of Contents
• Preview Any Pictures,
Illustrations, Photographs, Charts
or Maps
• Preview Captions

7. Make Predictions
• As you read, your brain is always
trying to figure out what’s coming
next in the story.
• As a result you make predictions
before you read and while you read.

8. Make Predictions
• If you are reading a novel or a story, ask
yourself the following questions:
–“Based on what I know and clues in the
story, what do I think will happen
next?”
–How accurate were my predictions?”
–What new predictions can I make using
the facts I just read?

9. Make Predictions
•Let’s practice
previewing and
making
predictions!

10. The Supreme Court:
The Highest Court in the Land
• 1. Preview the passage.
• 2. Make predictions
• 3. Read the passage to confirm or
change your predictions.

11. Set a Purpose for Reading
• Why are you reading?
– To confirm
– To discover opinions
– To get facts
– To get instructions
– To have fun
– To learn new information
– To learn new vocabulary
– To review notes

12. Setting a Purpose for Reading Shapes
the Way You Read
• When you read to study, you read slowly
so you understand and remember the
material.
• If you are reading to be entertained, you
read more quickly and might even skim
over parts of the story in your haste to
see how it turns out.

13. Build Your Own Terrarium
• Why would you want to read this?
– To confirm
– To discover opinions
– To get facts
– To get instructions
– To have fun
– To learn new information
– To learn new vocabulary
– To review notes

14. Baby in a Crib
• Why would you want to read this?
– To confirm
– To discover opinions
– To get facts
– To get instructions
– To have fun
– To learn new information
– To learn new vocabulary
– To review notes

15. Use What You Know
• You can use what you know to make your
reading easier and more fun!
• Connecting new facts with prior knowledge
helps you remember new information when
you study it.
• After you preview, predict, and set a purpose
for reading, take a few minutes to jot down
notes about what you already know about the
passage.

16. Use What You Know
• You can arrange your ideas on a KWL chart like
this one:
What I Know What I Want to Know What I Learned

17. The Statue of Liberty
What I Know What I Want to Know What I Learned

18. Skim the Text
• Skimming is a very fast method of
reading that lets you glance at a passage
to get the main idea or to find key points.
• Skimming isn’t a substitute for a
complete reading. Skim before you read
the text…not instead of reading it.

19. Skim the Text
• Follow these steps as you skim read:
– 1. Preview the text by looking at the title,
subheadings, pictures, and captions.
– 2. Make predictions and set a purpose for reading.
– 3. Start skimming by running your eyes across the
page. Try to read as fast as you can.
– 4. Focus on key words. These will be nouns and verbs.
– 5. Look for facts you need. These will often be in the
first and last sentences.
– 6. Pause at the end of every passage to restate the
meaning in your own words.

20. A Night to Remember
• Skim the following passage to get
a general idea of its meaning.
• What is the general idea?

21. Find the Main Idea
• “What’s your point?”
• When you find the main idea, you know the
author’s point.
• This helps you understand the whole passage
more clearly.
• The stated main idea is a paragraph is also
called the topic sentence.

22. Find a Stated Main Idea
• Use the following steps to find the stated main
idea in a paragraph:
– 1. Find the topic or subject of the paragraph.
– 2. Look for a sentence that tells about the topic. It
will explain what the entire paragraph is about.
– 3. Check to see if the sentence tells what the
paragraph is about.

23. Let’s look at examples of main
ideas found in the beginning,
middle, and end of paragraphs
then give it a try.

24. Find an Unstated Main Idea
• Follow these steps:
–1. Find the topic or subject of the
paragraph.
–2. Look for details that relate to the
topic.
–3. Make an educated guess about the
main idea from the details.

25. Egypt, Land of Pyramids
• Give it a try:
– 1. Find the topic or subject of the paragraph.
– 2. Look for details that relate to the topic.
– 3. Make an educated guess about the main idea
from the details.

26. Find Key Details
• Be a detective and find clues. These clues are
details, words that tell who, what, when ,
where, why, and how.
• Details are small pieces of information that
support the main idea.
• Details tell about people, events, things, time,
objects, situations, or the way something
happened.

27. Find Key Details
• Details will fall into these 6 main categories:
– 1. Examples
– 2. Facts
– 3. Statistics
– 4. Reasons
– 5. Definitions
– 6. Descriptions

28. Find Key Details
• Follow these steps to find the key details in a
paragraph:
– Step 1: Identify the topic
– Step 2: Identify the main idea
– Step 3: Find details that back up the main idea

29. Blue Jeans
• Let’s use this graphic organizer to help find
details: Who?
Why? What?
Main Ideas:
Where?
When?
How?

30. Girl Scout National Centers
• Let’s use this graphic organizer to help find
details: Who?
Why? What?
Main Ideas:
Where?
When?
How?

31. Summarize What You Read
• To summarize, find the most important
information and restate it in your own
words.
• Be sure you have included all the
important details by answering these
questions: Who? What? When? Where?
Why? and How?

32. Keeping an Eye on the Weather
• Let’s practice
– 1. Preview the passage, make predictions, set a
purpose, and read the passage.
– 2. Find the main idea and important details.
– 3. Explain them in your own words
– 4. Skim the passage again to make sure you have
included all the important points.
– 5. Begin your summary by stating the main idea.
Then summarize the key details.

33. USE SQ3R
•Survey
– Preview the text by reading the title, headings,
illustrations, and captions. Based on your survey,
make predictions about the contents. Then skim
the passage to get its overalls meaning.

34. USE SQ3R
•Question
– As you survey and skim, ask questions about the
material and what you find. Start by turning the
title in a question. For example, look back at the
passage “ Keeping an Eye on the Weather.” Turn
this in the question “How do we keep an eye on
the weather?” As you read , look for the answer to
this question.

35. USE SQ3R
•Read
– Read the passage and continue making and
revising predictions. Try to find the main idea by
looking at the topic sentence and details in each
paragraph.

36. USE SQ3R
•Recite
– After you finish reading, look back over the
passage. Focus on the title, headings, and topic
sentences. Summarize the material in your head,
reducing what you read to a few sentences. Then
recite or say your summary aloud.

37. USE SQ3R
•Review
– Review by looking back at your predictions. Were
they on target? If so, find details you used to make
them. If not, figure where and why you guessed
incorrectly.

38. Jim Thorpe
• Let’s practice:
– Survey
– Question
– Read
– Recite
– Review