1. Finding the Main Idea Try looking in the first sentence or the last sentence of a paragraph. If the main idea is not specifically stated, ask yourself, "What is the passage mostly about?” Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

2. Recalling Facts & Details Look at the sentences that provide information about the main idea. Ask yourself: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

3. Understanding Sequence Think about the order in which events happen in the passage. Look for times, days of the week, months, and years. Look for clue words, such as first, next, then, last, finally, before, and after. Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

4. Recognizing Cause & Effect To find an effect, ask yourself, “What happened?” To find a cause, ask yourself, “Why did it happen?” Look for clue words, such as first, next, then, last, finally, before, and after. Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

5. Comparing & Contrasting To find ways in which things are alike, look for these clue words: both, same, like, alike To find ways in which things are different, look for these clue words: but, unlike, different, however Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

6. Making Predications Look for clues in the title, details, and pictures of the passage. Ask yourself, “What do I already know about the things I am reading about?” Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

7. Using Context Clues Look at the sentence with the new word. Look at the sentences before & after the new word. Think about the way the word is used in the sentence. Use these words to think of a meaning for the new word. Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

8. Drawing Conclusions & Making Inferences Think about the details in the passage. Think about what you know from your own life. Use the details clues and what you already know to make an inference about something not directly stated in the passage. Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

9. Fact vs. Opinion To find out if something is a fact, ask yourself, “Can this be proven?” To find out if something is an opinion, ask yourself, “Does this statement tell what someone thinks or feels?” Look for clue words that signal opinion, such as: think, feel, believe, greatest, best, worst. Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

10. Author’s Purpose P.I.E. Persuade – the author wrote this to influence your opinion, or to persuade you to take a certain side of an issue, Inform – the author wrote this to educate you on a topic; textbooks are written to inform. Entertain – the author wrote this to entertain you; this reading is for your enjoyment. Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

11. Figurative Language Look for words that have a different meaning than their usual meaning. Look for things that are compared in the passage. Think about the pictures that come to mind as you read the words. Use what you pictured to help you understand what the author means. Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

12. Summarizing If you are reading fiction, look for the main character’s problem and the solution. If you are reading nonfiction, look for the main ideas of the selection. In one sentence, retell the most important ideas. Twelve Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension