Abstract of

Teaching Tips
Read Smarter, Not Harder: Global Reading Comprehension Strategies

Penny A. Bishop

Cynthia Reyes

Susanna W. Pflaum

As students move through the grades, the demands of comprehending increasingly complext text increase, and some students begin to struggle. What are the differences between skilled and struggling readers? How can educators teach students to become more proficient readers?

This Teaching Tip describes research into middle-level students' reading strategies and gives an overview of global comprehension strategies. It makes the case for explicit teaching of such strategies as

• Asking questions about context clues

• Identifying a range of textual and visual clues

• Frontloading text

• Skimming text

The authors also urge teachers to invite their students to describe the strategies they currently apply as a way to better understand the repertoire students may possess. Understanding students' current reading strategies can help teachers point the way toward more proficient comprehension.

Abstract from Bishop, P.A., Reyes, C., & Pflaum, S.W. (2006, September). Read Smarter, Not Harder: Global Reading Comprehension Strategies. The Reading Teacher, 60(1), 66–69. doi: 10.1598/RT.60.1.7