FOCUS ON
READING
How to
Reading Tips
•As you read, pay
attention to the details
that change your mental
picture.
•If you lose track of
what’s happening in
a text, stop reading.
Go back to the last
point where you could
visualize, and look for
transition words that
show the flow of events.
•If you’re having trouble
visualizing a detail,
try creating a drawing
or diagram to help
organize the details you
do understand.
Visualize
Visualizing is a useful reading strategy to help you understand and
respond to texts. When you visualize, you’re using the words on
the page to create a picture in your mind. You probably already
visualize while you read. For example, when you read a novel, you
probably have a clear picture in your head of the main character.
In nonfiction or informational texts
• visualize the location, events, and key people
• try to picture the flow of events as though you’re watching a movie
• picture how the events are connected
• use the images that accompany a text to help you visualize
In fiction or narrative texts
• imagine the appearance of the characters, setting, and action
• pay attention to the emotional tone of the words — tone can help
“colour” your visualization
• use descriptive words to add detail to your visualization
“She then watched her house burn to
the ground …”
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Unit 1: It Takes Courage
NEL
Make Connections
Another good reading strategy is making connections. When you make connections to a text, you’re making links from the
text to what you already know. Making connections helps you
understand and respond to a text. Connecting also makes it easier to remember information.
While you read, think about
• the parts of the text that remind you of things you’ve
experienced (text-to-self connections)
• the parts of the text that remind you of other texts (text-to-text connections)
1 + 1 = 3
When you take an idea from a text
and add one of your own ideas,
you end up with more than just
the two ideas you started with.
Scientists who study brains say
that making a connection like
this actually rewires your brain to
think in a new way.
• the parts of the text that remind you of facts you already know
(text-to-world connections)
• how facts in the text might conflict with what you already
know — a “disconnect” can be as valuable as a connection
• the value of the connections you’re making. Ask yourself: Do these connections help me better understand the text I’m reading?
REMEMBER: Visualizing a scene or character can help you make
connections. Making connections as you read a descriptive
passage can help you visualize.
Visualizing
Making Connections
twisting highway
through mountains
the mountain car chase I saw
in a James Bond movie
Transfer Your Learning
Connect to …
Speaking/Listening: Sit back
to back with a partner. Take turns
describing a simple shape without
naming it. See if your partner can draw
what you describe. How can visualizing
and making connections help you
while you listen?
Social Studies: How might making
connections with what you already
know help you as you read a
newspaper article about refugees?
NEL
Focus on Reading
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