Successful studying for reading assessment depends on quality note taking. Teach students to take good notes while reading. To do this, encourage students to always have a pen and paper handy when they read. Instruct them to record character names, important words or passages and plot details. Also, encourage students to note questions that they have or words that they do not understand. Likewise, teach students to take good notes during class discussion. Instruct students to record major themes or ideas discussed by the instructor in class, as well as contributions made by their classmates. Finally, train students to study using notes by teaching them how to organize notes, highlight important themes or terms in notes and convert notes to flashcards for further review.
Reading comprehension is a critical element of reading assessment. There are different ways to teach students to study for questions and assessment based on comprehension. For instance, teach students to practice comprehension by writing plot summaries after reading. For very young students, simply have students practice comprehension reciting the plot aloud. Another strategy is to teach students to make worksheets or questions based on comprehension. Encourage students to ask and answer basic questions, such as the following: What is the plot? What is the sub-plot? What is the setting? Who are the major characters? Train students to get in the habit of asking and answering such questions after reading in order to better retain details and improve comprehension of read material.
Reading assessments often require students to reflect on read material. Reflection depends on comprehension of material, but also on the student’s ability to think critically about a text. To teach students to study for reflective components of reading assessments, teach them the techniques of reading reflection. Specifically, teach students to ask questions beyond basic details of plot. For instance, teach students to identify themes and motifs in what they read. Practice this technique by having students come to class with a list of themes and motifs that they gleaned from reading assignments. Encourage students to make such lists while studying for reading assessments. Another strategy is to teach students to make connections between what they read and real life. Also, teach students to analyze characters, passages, endings and other components of a text. These strategies reinforce active reading and improve reading skills.
Collaborative studying is simply group studying. Train students to work in pairs or small groups in order to prepare for reading assessments. To do this, arrange students in groups and pairs and challenge them to study together by discussing aspects of plot, important themes and concepts, essential words or terms and other details. To initiate review, have students take turns posing questions to the group. Another option is to present compelling or open-ended topics or questions for discussion in groups. Also, encourage students to ask the group questions about terms, concepts or other details that they do not understand. Collaborative studying encourages students to use each other as resources to better prepare for reading assessments.