Page 9 - Active Skills for Reading Intro Book

Tips for Fluent Reading

Find time to read every day.
Find the best time of day for you to read. Try to read when you are not tired. By reading
every day, even for a short period, you will become a more fluent reader.
Look for a good place to read.
It is easier to read and study if you are comfortable. Make sure that there is good
lighting in your reading area and that you are sitting in a comfortable chair. To make it
easier to concentrate, try to read in a place where you won't be interrupted.
Use clues in the text to make predictions.
Fluent readers make predictions before and as they read. Use the title, subtitle,
pictures, and captions to ask yourself questions about what you are going to read.
Find answers to the questions when you read. After reading, think about what you have
learned and decide what you need to read next to continue learning.

Establish goals before you read.
Before you read a text, think about the purpose of your reading. For example, do
you just want to get a general idea of the passage? Or do you need to find specific
information? Thinking about what you want to get from the reading will help you decide
what reading skills you need to use.
Notice how your eyes and head are moving.

Good readers use their eyes, and not their heads, when they read. Moving your head
back and forth when reading will make you tired. Practice avoiding head movements
by placing your elbows on the table and resting your head in your hands. Do you feel
movement as you read? If you do, hold your head still as you read. Also, try not to
move your eyes back over a text. You should reread part of a text only when you have
a specific purpose for rereading, for example, to make a connection between what you
read previously and what you are reading now.

Try not to translate.
Translation slows down your reading. Instead of translating new words into your first
language, first try to guess the meaning. Use the context (the other words around the
new word) and word parts (prefixes, suffixes, and word roots) to help you guess the
meaning.

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