Six Steps to Improve Reading Comprehension and Retention
Have you ever read a book or an article, only to finish and realize you had no idea what you had read? With all of today’s distractions, it’s more common than you think. Luckily, there’s a tried-and-true strategy for reading comprehension and retention.
A reading strategy known as “annotating” encourages students to reflect critically on what they have read. Annotating helps your brain remember key details from a text by visually separating the important information from the rest of reading passage. This aids the reader in determining what that information is telling them.
With a pencil in hand, students concentrate on what is being said in the text, which improves their understanding and retention of the content. When annotating, students are able to assess, evaluate, and highlight key information pertinent to their reading purpose while they are reading the book. This process can be applied to readings from textbooks, journals, primary sources, or Cornell Notes used in the classroom.
The six steps for annotating are given below.
