Speed Reading Tips

Speed reading is a technique by which an individual can increase the reading speed of any book, be it fiction or non-fiction. An average person can read anywhere between 200 to 250 words per minute, but with speed reading tips, a person can increase his/her speed to 500 to 600 words per minute. The most important thing is that the person does not merely increase his reading speed but is also able to retain the information given in the reading material. This is a very essential skill for college graduate students who have to wade through tons of reading material to write their assignments and do research work for their thesis. The primary reason for a low reading speed is our inability to judge what to read and what portion to skip.

Speed Reading Techniques

Here we will present to you some tips for improving your reading speed.

Skim Through the Material and Increase your Eye Span
To improve your reading speed, you need to first skim through the material that you are going to read. If you have a rough idea about the topic, it becomes easier to understand and retain the material. If you are reading a textbook, then it is a good idea to read the summary, introduction or preface before reading the main text, reading the summary will prepare you, and give you a guide as to what you need to learn from the text. Your eyes can take in several words at a time and this is known as eye span. The longer your eye span, the more volume of information your brain can assimilate. Avoid reading word-by-word, and try reading chunks or blocks of word in a sentence. The best thing to do while reading, is to skip over words such as: the, a, it, to, etc., as even if you skip over them, you will still comprehend the main idea of the sentence you are reading.

Do not Re-read
The most common mistake made by poor readers, is frequently pausing, hn the middle of their reading to go back and dwell on some previous sentences. This is done mainly due to poor comprehension skills which leads to loss of flow and structure of the text with overall confusion and distraction. One way to avoid doing this, is to take a piece of paper and use it to place it over the text you are reading, covering each line once you have finished reading it.

Avoid Reading out Loud
Sub-vocalizing is a tendency that most people find hard to break, and do it without even realizing it. Sub-vocalizing reduces the reading speed to considerable extend, since you are reading at a speed which is just around your speaking speed. Some people move their lips while reading while others tend to "read in their head". Both these methods contribute to a low reading speed. The best way to break this habit is to be conscious while reading and if you catch yourself moving your lips, just place a finger on your mouth.

Factors That Reduce Reading Speed

Benefits of Reading to Children

At infancy, kids are not much interested in reading. In fact their brain is not developed to understand alphabets, construct correct sentences and then read out. Until a child develops grasping power, it's very difficult for him/her to read fluently. Henceforth, you have to take the responsibility to read out the text to your child at the initial stage. Yes, it's quite obvious for you to know the benefits of reading to children. The benefits will be clear only while reading out the text, stories and poems to your child. The next segment shall elaborate on the subject matter.

Importance of Reading to Children

Have you ever asked yourself why reading is important? Or why do you need to read aloud to your child? Reading aloud to children improves their hearing skills. The technique is simple. Read the text and then ask your child to repeat. This way your child will learn the correct pronunciation right from the beginning. Let's begin with the practical benefits of reading aloud to children.

Language Skills
Reading aloud to children is not only the responsibility of teachers but you should also make it a daily habit home. It's important for your child to develop linguistic abilities so that he can master his language quickly. This also gives you the opportunity to spend some time with your children. Mother tongue, being taught properly at an early age helps to gather complete knowledge about it eventually.

Correct Pronunciation
Knowing the correct pronunciation for all words is important for every individual. It will help him to voice his opinion with confidence while participating in debate, speech or elocution. If you read aloud the text he will perceive the words minutely and will emulate the way you or his teachers teach him. Reading comprehensive activities conducted in schools also improve pronunciation of children.

Listening Skills
You are reading aloud and your child is listening. This improves his hearing ability and grasping power. If your child is too young to go school, make sure you read aloud the nursery rhymes and poems everyday. It will help him to memorize quickly and you can also judge the catching power and the intelligence level of your child.

Concentration Power
Your child pays constant attention while you are reading the text to him. This increases his attention span. The results will prove beneficial when your child goes to school. It will help him to concentrate on lectures delivered by teachers during class hours. Effective teaching is the other way to improve concentration in class. Reading aloud to children also enhances their ability to memorize.

Independent Reading Projects

Giving students a choice is a sure-fire way to get them to do whatever you ask them in the classroom. When you're thinking about ways to get students to read outside school, an independent reading project is a great way to get them moving in the right direction. However, a big mistake many teachers make is they give students a list of "school books" to choose from because they have materials made up for those books already. An even better way to make sure kids pick up a book and don't put it down is to let them choose whatever book they want! Obviously, you can give them a few restrictions such as grade level, page count, etc., but the more open you are, the more excited they'll be. Who knows, after they read one book they like, they might just pick up another for the fun of it!

Small Projects

Once you have your students pick a book, assigning a bunch of small projects is a great way to make sure they are reading and progressing on their own. Have these small projects due at intervals throughout the reading can help you keep track of their progression through the books. Small projects can be anything from reading logs that parents sign to vocabulary note cards with a word on one side and a definition on the other. Another great idea for a small project is to have students illustrate a character and write a paragraph or two about why they drew what they did. All of these projects are relatively simple to complete and are easy ways for you to check in with your students as they are reading.

Medium-Sized Projects

Medium-sized projects are a great way to assess students' comprehension of their independent reading books halfway through the reading time. These projects will be worth more than the smaller projects, but not as much as the large projects because they won't take as much time and won't serve as a summative assessment. Some ideas for medium-sized projects could include a page-long written reflection on what is happening in the book so far with a prediction about what will happen at the end, or a "Book in a Bag" report that has the students bring in props that relate to the book and they explain those props in a short speech. Other medium projects could include acting out a scene from the book or writing a letter to the author. These are all great things to do when students are about halfway through their books because the projects are meant to assess how well they understand the book after reading a large chunk of it, rather than whether or not they are progressing through the reading.