Idea — Reading aloud focuses attention on decoding — pronunciation, not meaning. Use it for phonics with young learners or dialogue performance; avoid it as a comprehension tool. Example — Round-robin reading (each learner reads…
Idea — Extensive reading means large volumes of self-chosen, largely understood text read for pleasure. It is the most reliable route to reading fluency (Nation’s research). No tasks, no comprehension checks. Example — A B1…
Idea — Pre-teaching every unknown word defeats the purpose of reading. Only pre-teach words that would block all understanding — “gate” vocabulary that unlocks the whole text. Example — Pre-teach embargo before a trade-war text.…
Idea — A text is appropriately graded when learners understand roughly 95% of the words — enough challenge without overload. Below that threshold, learners stop reading for meaning. Example — Nation’s vocabulary research suggests one…
Idea — Jigsaw reading gives different groups different texts, then mixes groups so each learner teaches their part to the others. This creates a genuine communicative purpose for reading. Example — Three groups read three…
Idea — Guessing unknown words from context is a core reading strategy. Teach learners to use part of speech, surrounding sentence, and topic before reaching for a dictionary. Example — “The hidalgo strode into the…
Idea — Intensive reading demands close, careful attention to a short text. It builds accuracy and language awareness, not reading speed. Use it after gist work. Example — “Find three reasons the author gives for…
Idea — Skimming = read fast for the general idea. Scanning = search for one specific item. Both require learners to ignore most of the text — that is the skill, not a shortcut. Example…
Idea — Bottom-up reading processes phoneme to word, word to clause. It is essential for new scripts, low-frequency vocabulary, or technical precision where context cannot compensate. Example — A nurse reading a drug dosage must…
Idea — Top-down reading means using title, headings, layout, and prior knowledge to predict and check meaning before decoding every word. Example — A reader seeing the headline Markets fall on rate fears already expects…