Think about what you are going to Read:

Before beginning homework, a student should spend about 5-10 minutes thinking about the work they are going to do. This helps students think ahead of time what they are supposed to learn from the reading. 

Questions a student should consider include:

• What is this reading this supposed to teach me? 
• What is/are the main points in the reading? 
• When I am done reading this, what should I know?

Reading assigned material:

When reading the text, students should read roughly one or two paragraphs at a time, then think about what they have just read. Students should then summarize what they have just read in one or two quick sentences. It is important for students to use their own words, so that they are forced to think about the meaning of what they read.

Many students tend to make notes after reading every line, and often do not think enough about what they have read. Other students tend to highlight their texts, highlighting almost everything they read. By doing this, students often don’t think about what they are reading and hence, don’t retain the information.

This is not to say that students should never highlight or take notes as they are reading, but rather, students should ensure that they are not highlighting or noting material without thinking about what they are reading.

When finished the chapter, the student should think about what they have just read. The student should review the questions they asked themselves before they started and ensure that they now have the answers to these questions. Students should also think of what other important points were in the text. It is important to remember that the student likely came across points not considered previously. Reviewing at the end ensures that, not only can the student answer the questions they began asking themselves, but have gone back and thought about all the main points of the chapter.

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