1.3 Strategies During Reading
Can you...
Look for Big Ideas
As you read, you want to be looking for the important ideas. You want to figure out what the author's message is.
Look at the title, especially for newspaper articles and short stories - the title is often about the main idea.
Book covers and pictures in the book often reflect important information.
Look at the first and last sentences of paragraphs. This is particularly important in textbook reading. Remember how you are taught to write a paragraph where the first and sometimes last sentences summarize your main idea? Inside the paragraph will be the supporting details. Look for this structure to help you identify key ideas.