Reading strategies in English

• Engels
• Secundair onderwijs

Reading strategies in English

Reading strategies in English

PRE-READING

Read the title, take a look at the infographic and search for the source.

a. What is the general topic of the article?

b. What comes to mind when you think about this topic?

c. What is the source of the article?

d. Do you think this is an academic article? Why (not)?

e. What can you find about the author?

f. What is the date of publication?

g. Do you think the article is trustworthy? Why (not)?

READING

First, you skim the article: take a look at the structure of the text. Then you read the article as a whole.

Are We Getting Dumber?

During the pandemic, life expectancy has trended down. [...] That is, until 2020.

What can we do about it?

Title

Introduction

Subtitle

Which synonyms for "decline" can you find in the introduction?

Which words do you not understand?

Vocabulary strategies

I. Take a look at the context.

II. Do you know a part of the word?

III. Can you link it to another part of speech?

IV. Can you link it to a word in another language?

V. Use a dictionary.

I. Take a look at the context.

The first hypothesis studies parent stress as a link between maternal stress in pregnancy and lower child brain development.

II. Do you know a part of the word?

There were signals before the pandemic that IQ may be trending down, but this magnitude of a drop is unprecedented*.

* prefix "un" means "not"
* prefix "pre" means "before"

III. Can you link it to another part of speech?

Equally* troubling [ ...] is a recent decline in average IQ.                   

* "equal" = adjective
* "equal" + "ly" = adverb

IV. Can you link it to a word in another language?

Brain development accelerates* through nurturing relationships.

* French "accélérer"

V. Use a dictionary.

Anything that alleviates family poverty also positively impacts
child brain development.

Par. 1

Par. 7

Par. 10 (1)

Par. 10 (2)

Par. 11

Par. 12

For instance

Despite

also

Secondly

Besides

while

POST-READING

Reflect on what you read and why you read it. 

What are your study questions?

QUESTIONS?