Hi, I'm Kelsey, and this is Mia. In this video,
we're going to prepare you to sharpen your reading comprehension skills before you get
started on our weekly comprehension exercises. Are you ready? Let's go!
At this point, you're ready to sharpen your reading skills, and how do you do that? Well,
good readers recognize words and understand what they mean in the sentences or paragraphs where
they're being used. Good readers also think about what they're reading while they're reading it,
so that they can pick up on important details. Finally, good readers understand the main idea of
a passage they've read. Let me explain. Let's read this passage. Jasmine swept Fitz up into her arms.
At only two months old, Fitz was just a tiny ball of fur. However, his purr was loud enough to be
heard all over the house. I just read all of those words to you, but there's more to reading than
just recognizing the words and being able to say them. For example, let's look at the word swept.
If that word was in a sentence that said, Jasmine swept the floor, it would mean something totally
different. In this sentence, I understand that swept means that Jasmine picked Fitz up with
a sweeping motion. You see, when you read words you read them in context, which means within the
sentences and paragraphs where they appear, and that context helps you understand their meanings.
Now let's talk about thinking while you're reading. Your mind picks up on a lot of details,
like the fact that Fitz is two months old and that Fitz is tiny. Those details are written right
there on the page, but you can also put your mind to work on details that are not directly stated.
Fitz has fur and Fitz can purr. What's something tiny and furry that purrs? Oh, I know! Fitz is
a kitten. The words don't directly tell me that, but I can figure it out by thinking while I read.
In this course, you'll be checking your reading comprehension skills on a regular basis. Your
parent or teacher will set a schedule for you to work on these comprehension exercises.
You'll be given a passage to read, kind of like the one we just read about Jasmine,
and after you read you'll answer four questions.
Some questions are about vocabulary. That means the question will ask what a word means in the
context of what you just read. Some questions will ask about the main idea. That's kind of
like a sentence to sum up what the passage was about. Like Jasmine's kitten purrs when she holds
him. Or you might be asked about a good title for the passage, like Jasmine and her Kitten.
Some questions will ask about details that are written in the passage, like the fact
that Jasmine's pet had fur, and other questions will ask you to use clues to figure out something
that's not written in the passage. Like the fact that Jasmine's pet was a cat.
Here are some tips for getting the most out of your reading. First, read the passage
carefully. Be sure you're thinking about what you're reading and not about something else.
Next, as you read try to imagine what you're reading about by making pictures in your mind,
or imagining that you can hear the sounds, smell the smells, and feel the textures. And finally,
think beyond the words you're reading. Put clues together and figure things out that
might not be written on the page. Ask yourself questions and make predictions about what's going
to happen next. These are tips that all good readers know and practice, and here are some
tips to help you after you've read the passage, when you are answering the questions about it.
First, read the questions carefully. Make sure you know what they're asking you. Next, be sure
to read all the answer choices before you select one, and finally, go back and reread the passage
if you need to. This isn't a memory test. It's fine to go back and look at the passage again.
The goal is to work those reading comprehension muscles, so that they'll get really strong. Let's
review. You're going to be reading one passage at a time, and you'll answer four questions about the
passage. Your goal is to become a strong reader by practicing your reading comprehension. All the
passages in unit one are at about the same level of difficulty. So you'll get plenty of practice.
Now you are ready to get started on your first reading comprehension exercise. Just remember all
those tips for reading and answering questions, and of course, remember to always be clever!