3 STEP METHOD FOR READING COMPREHENSION
STEP 1: SCAN
*Read directions and title
*Look at pictures, captions, headings
*Underline keywords in questions
STEP 2: READ ACTIVELY
*Summarize each paragraph: Who is the paragraph about? What did the “who” do?
*Underline important information in passage: keywords/information that relate to keywords in questions
*Identify the main idea: main who+main what=main idea
STEP 3: ANSWER QUESTIONS
*Identify the question type: big/little picture and type
i.e. detail question = little picture; main idea question = big picture
*Find the important information: find detail needed to answer question and each mention of detail in the text. Closely read the part of the passage that contains the detail.
*Predict and Eliminate:
Predict = cover the answer choices, predict what the answer will be, and find the choice that most closely matches.
Eliminate = use evidence from the passage to either prove a choice is wrong or right.
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