Strong readers don't just decode words — they actively work to understand and remember what they read, using strategies almost automatically. Predicting means guessing what might happen next based on clues so far. Visualising means forming a mental picture of what's being described. Connecting links the text to something you already know (another text, an experience, the world). Summarising means condensing the main points in your own words. Monitoring means noticing when your understanding breaks down — and questioning and inferring means asking questions of the text and figuring out things it doesn't state directly.
Example
Reading a mystery novel, a strong reader might predict who the culprit is based on clues (predicting), notice when a confusing paragraph needs rereading (monitoring), and infer that a character is lying because their story doesn't match an earlier detail (inferring) — all without consciously "trying" to use a strategy.
Key terms
Inferring:
Figuring out something a text doesn't state directly, using clues and reasoning.
Monitoring:
Noticing when your understanding of a text breaks down.
Questions
1. Predicting while reading means:
Guessing what might happen next based on clues
Ignoring the text entirely
Reading the last page first always
Skipping every paragraph
2. Visualising while reading means:
Forming a mental picture of what is described
Drawing a picture with a pencil
Closing your eyes and stopping reading
Ignoring all descriptions
3. Summarising means:
Condensing the main points in your own words
Copying the text word for word
Reading only the title
Ignoring the main ideas
4. Monitoring while reading means:
Noticing when your understanding breaks down
Never checking your understanding
Reading as fast as possible with no thought
Ignoring confusing sections forever
5. Inferring means:
Figuring out something not directly stated, using clues
Only reading what is literally written
Ignoring all clues in a text
Skipping to the ending
6. Connecting while reading means:
Linking the text to something you already know
Ignoring all prior knowledge
Only connecting to maths facts
Never relating a text to anything else
7. Questioning while reading means:
Asking questions of the text as you go
Refusing to think about the text
Only asking questions after finishing the whole book
Ignoring anything confusing
8. A reader who notices they don't understand a paragraph and rereads it is using:
Monitoring
Predicting only
Visualising only
Nothing useful
9. Inferring that a character is lying because their story contradicts an earlier detail is an example of:
Using clues to figure out something not directly stated
Ignoring all evidence in the text
Randomly guessing with no reasoning
Only literal reading with no interpretation
10. A reader connecting a fictional story to a personal experience is using the strategy of:
Connecting
Monitoring only
Skimming with no thought
Ignoring the text
11. Why might predicting what happens next help keep a reader actively engaged?
It encourages thinking ahead and checking your understanding against what actually happens
Predicting always distracts from understanding a text
Prediction has no connection to comprehension
Predicting is only useful for very short texts
12. Summarising a chapter in your own words after reading helps check:
Whether you actually understood the main ideas
Nothing useful about your understanding
Only your spelling ability
Your handwriting speed
13. Why is visualising especially useful when reading descriptive passages?
It helps build a clearer mental picture that supports understanding and memory
Visualising always slows down reading with no benefit
Descriptive passages cannot be visualised
Visualising only works for non-fiction texts
14. A reader who stops and rereads a confusing sentence, rather than continuing on regardless, is demonstrating:
Active monitoring of their own comprehension
A complete failure to read at all
Ignoring the text entirely
Skipping ahead with no reflection
15. Why might strong readers use several comprehension strategies simultaneously without consciously thinking about it?
With practice, these strategies become automatic habits that support deep understanding
Strong readers never use any conscious strategies
Comprehension strategies only work one at a time, never together
Automatic strategy use indicates poor comprehension
16. A reader who predicts an ending, then revises their prediction after new information appears, demonstrates:
Flexible, active engagement with the text rather than a fixed, passive reading
A failure to understand the text at all
That prediction is a useless strategy
That the text is poorly written
17. Why might inferring be considered a more advanced comprehension skill than simply recalling stated facts?
It requires combining clues and reasoning to understand ideas the text doesn't state outright
Inferring requires no thinking at all
Recalling facts is always harder than inferring
Inferring and recalling facts are identical skills
18. A reader who notices their mental "movie" of a scene doesn't match new details later in the text is combining which two strategies?
Visualising and monitoring
Only summarising
Only predicting
Neither strategy is being used
19. Why might teaching comprehension strategies explicitly help struggling readers, even if strong readers use them automatically?
Making an automatic process visible and explicit can help readers who haven't yet developed it naturally