1.1 Reading Skills - Understanding Texts
Learn strategies for reading and understanding different types of English texts.
45 min
4 oppgaver
SkimmingScanningContext cluesReading strategies
Din fremgang i kapitlet
0 / 4 oppgaver
Reading Skills
Reading in English is a skill that improves with practice. In this chapter, you will learn
strategies to help you understand different types of texts better.
Good readers use various reading strategies to help them understand what they read.
These strategies can be used before, during, and after reading.
Skimming
Skimming is reading quickly to get the main idea of a text. You look at headings,
first sentences of paragraphs, and key words without reading every word.
first sentences of paragraphs, and key words without reading every word.
Scanning
Scanning is searching for specific information in a text. You move your eyes
quickly over the text looking for particular words, numbers, or facts.
quickly over the text looking for particular words, numbers, or facts.
Before Reading
Before you start reading a text, try these strategies:
1. Look at the title and headings - What do you think the text is about?
2. Look at pictures and illustrations - What do they tell you?
3. Think about what you already know - What do you know about this topic?
4. Make predictions - What do you think will happen or what will you learn?
During Reading
While reading, use these strategies:
- Highlight or underline important information
- Make notes in the margin
- Look up unknown words - but try to guess from context first
- Ask questions about what you don't understand
- Visualize - create mental pictures of what you're reading
When you meet an unknown word, look at the words around it. Often you can
guess the meaning from the context. Ask yourself: What type of word is it?
What makes sense in this sentence?
✏️Using Context Clues
Read this sentence and guess what "famished" means:
"After hiking for six hours without eating, Sarah was absolutely famished and could
think of nothing but food."
From the context, we can understand that "famished" means very hungry.
The clues are:
- "six hours without eating"
- "could think of nothing but food"
These phrases tell us that Sarah needed food badly, so "famished" must mean extremely hungry.
After Reading
When you finish reading:
1. Summarize - What were the main points?
2. Reflect - What did you learn? What surprised you?
3. Connect - How does this relate to things you already knew?
4. Evaluate - Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?
📝Oppgave 1
📝Oppgave 2
Which reading strategy would you use to find a phone number in a long article?
a
Choose the best reading strategy for finding specific information.
📝Oppgave 3
Read this sentence and choose the best meaning of "elated":
"When Emma heard she had won the competition, she felt absolutely elated."
a
What does "elated" mean based on the context?
📝Oppgave 4
Practice your reading strategies with a text of your choice.
a
Choose a short English text (article, story, or webpage). Before reading, write down what you think it will be about based on the title and any images.
b
Read the text and note at least 3 new words. Try to guess their meaning from context before looking them up.
c
After reading, write a 3-4 sentence summary of the main points.