READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES

 READING STRATEGIES

Reading is a lifelong skill to be used both at school and throughout life. According to Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, reading is a basic life skill. It is a cornerstone for a child's success in school and, indeed, throughout life. Without the ability to read well, opportunities for personal fulfillment and job success inevitably will be lost (1985). Despite its importance, reading is one of the most challenging areas in the education system. The ever-increasing demand for high levels of literacy in our technological society makes this problem even more pressing . If students want to get the most out of the materials they are assigned, they have to learn to read critically or analytically. The idea here is that when we read something, the purpose is to try to understand what the  intention is. When dealing with reading, we encounter two layers of reality: one that we can see and one that we cannot see. Therefore, the purpose of reading is to make the invisible layer, the underlying meaning, visible and clear. Teele asserts that the goal of all readers should be to understand what they read . Research shows good readers are actively involved with the text, and they are aware of the processes they use to understand what they read. Teachers can help improve student comprehension through instruction of reading strategies. Predicting, making connections, visualizing, inferring, questioning, and summarizing are strategies shown by research to improve reading comprehension. It is important to teach the strategies by naming the strategy and how it should be used, modelling through the think-aloud process, group practice, partner practice, and independent use of the strategy.

 Predicting  
In order to be a good reader, learners should set a goal for their reading; therefore good readers have a purpose for reading. One strategy for improving comprehension is predicting, which helps the reader set a purpose for their reading. Research has shown that good readers use their experiences and knowledge to make predictions and formulate ideas as they read. This strategy also allows for more student interaction, which increases student interest and improves their understanding of the text. It is important to compare the outcome in the actual text with the prediction process as it will lead the learner to improve his understanding.

 Visualizing 
Another strategy that the good readers employ when comprehending a text is visualization (Adler, 2001). Visualization requires the reader to construct an image of what is read.

Making Connections 
Making connections is another strategy that can be used in the reading process. By making connections, the learners can activate their prior knowledge and connect the ideas in the text to their own experiences. Reading becomes meaningful when the reader connects the ideas in the text to their experiences and beliefs, and the things happening in the outer world. -to-Text, Text-to-self, Text-to- make connections. Students can make text-to-self connections through drawing, making a chart, or writing.

Questioning
 Readers can use the questioning before, during, and after reading. The questioning process requires readers to ask questions of themselves to construct meaning, enhance understanding, find answers, solve problems, find information, and discover new information.

Summarizing 
The process of summarization requires the reader to determine what is important when reading and to condense the information in the readers own words. During the summarizing process, the students will be able to distinguish the main ideas from the supporting ideas.

 Inferring  
Inferring refers to reading between the lines. Students need to use their own knowledge along with information from the text to draw their own conclusions. Through inferring students will be able to draw conclusions, make predictions, identify underlying themes, use information to create meaning from text, and use pictures to create meaning. Students can be given techniques to use illustrations, graphs, pictures, dates, related vocabulary and titles from the text to make inferences.