Before Reading Strategies:

• Preview and set a purpose – what is your goal in reading this material?
• Activate prior knowledge – what do you already know about this topic?  Does this reading prove, disprove, or add to what you already knew?

During Reading Strategies:

• Question as you read – ask who, what when, where, why, and how. Decide if what you read makes sense.
• Predict and Infer – look at illustrations, charts, graphs, maps, and headings.  What do you think you will find out from the reading?  Revise your predictions as you read.  What can you infer about the subject as you read?
• Make connections – compare and contrast your knowledge and experience with what is happening in the text.  Visualize yourself in situaions described in the text.

After Reading Strategies:

• Summarize and sequence – identify key words, phrases, topics, and subtopics and organize them into categories or in sequential order. If you do nothing else, just write a summary of the key points of what you have read or of the events in the story. The act of writing the summary will help you process what you have read, focus on key ideas, and generate questions to be answered.
• Evaluate – Take the time to write a specific, detailed evaluation of the text based on your personal experiences and tastes.