When you read, you are in charge of what your mind "sees" and what you learn from an author's writing.  Below are some tips to help you get more out of what you read.

Before Reading . . .   

• Our minds wander while reading.  Anchor your thoughts with a purpose.
  • Read to answer questions from class.
  • Read to review or better understand something talked about in class.
  • Read to get ready to participate in class discussion or a test.
  • Read for fun.
• It helps to give your brain a jumpstart.
  • Brainstorm the topic, listing things you already know.
  • Make a prediction     "I think it's about . . . "
• Create some questions from chapter headings:
  • The heading says "Air Pressure and Wind."
  • Think about what you already know about air pressure and wind.
  • Ask some questions:  What is air pressure? Does air pressure change the wind?  Does the wind affect the pressure of the air? 
• Notice the kind of text you are reading to help you focus on the meaning.
  • Does it give information about something new or something you know about?
  • Does it tell a story and follow the pattern of stories? 
  • Does it tell a history of events in some kind of order?
  • Does it talk about the cause of something or its effect?
  • Is it about a problem and how it was solved?
  • Is it a description of something? or steps on how to do something?
  • Does it compare things, how they are alike and different?

During Reading . . .                   

• As you are reading pay attention to your thoughts.
  • Is your mind wandering? Are you thinking about something else instead of the reading? 
  • Did it stop making sense somewhere?
  • Are there words you don't understand which make you lose track of what's going on?
  • Are you creating a "movie" in your mind, picturing what is happening?
• Take notes which will help you remember what you read or ask good questions    ?
• Write down important things or what you think looks important.
• Write down words you didn't understand which you should look up or ask about.
• Ask more questions or make some predictions based on what you've already read.

After Reading  . . .

• Look back at your questions and try to answer them
• See if your predictions were on target or way off   ¤
• Make a story web or concept map to show how ideas or events are connected   "
• Look over your notes and come up with some questions to ask in class to help you better understand
• Organize your notes by adding symbols or headings to them.
• Write brief summaries of sections.
• Create some illustrations to help you remember details or see relationships.