Increasing Reading Comprehension In School

Regardless of what level of school you’re in be it middle or high school or even the pursuit of a masters degree or a doctorate there is always a ton of reading to be done and it’s almost never as easy or enjoyable as we might like it to be. Unfortunately for most people the reading that they have to do for school is often dry, boring, and difficult to understand. This is not a good place to be in, especially when it comes to college material which is often essential to the ability of the student to do well on exams and to advance in their degree. Because of these reasons, and many more, it’s important that readers, especially while in school, have a thorough and efficient understanding of what they’re reading and the ability to retain knowledge of what they have learned from a text.

One of the best ways to be able to do this is to learn to read actively rather than passively. Active readers (in the mental sense, not the physical sense) are much better at not only understanding what they read but at retaining it for future use and reference. This is a skill that is absolutely critical when it comes to doing well on exams and tests because the ability to recall knowledge that you learned months ago can make the difference between a good grade and a bad one. It also serves a more general purpose as the better you can understand what you’re reading the better you’ll be able to understand the questions on tests, and other such opportunities that require you to demonstrate your ability to understand materials and texts.

When it comes to reading actively it means more than just staring at the words on each line as you browse through them. Active reading means really engaging with whatever you’re reading along with asking important, analytical questions about the text as you’re going along and after you’ve finished reading it. Ask yourself what the author is trying to convey, what the main idea is, what pictures and graphic elements are used to make a point or describe a situation? Ask about why certain words are used or emphasized as well as if there is a great sense of purpose to the writing like a theme or a moral issue that the author wishes to impress upon the reader.

It’s also extremely important the the reader take whatever new knowledge he is learning or absorbing and ask how it relates to him personally, his past, his current circumstances, and his future. Taking main concepts and ideas out of literary works and bringing them into the solid reality of our day to day lives creates a network of neural pathways relating newly learned information to previously learned information which develops a sort of web-like mass of all our knowledge and allows us to have a greater understanding and comprehension of what we’ve just read as well as helping us retain it and access it for future use.

Learning to read actively this way will make a big difference in how a person performs in school and in their abilities to study effectively. Learn to read actively and you’ll be much better off in not only school but the rest of your life as well.