“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.” – Carl Sagan
“Knowledge is power”, “Pen is mightier than the sword”, and whatnot. One might have often come across these commonly used idioms, which impart the idea that learning is the greatest source of power in this world. To gain knowledge is to harness enormous power from the universe and learn about its mysteries while dwelling on to its beauty. For readers, reading is like stepping into a world of utopia where things flourish to their fullest. The essence of reading is not confined to escaping reality. It is only through various reading strategies that one can understand the way things function around us.
According to Dr. Suess, “The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.” The importance of reading and having efficient reading strategies cannot be stressed upon enough. It is essential during times like this to acquire active reading and comprehension skills in order to cope up with the current stressful times.
Importance of reading
There are a lot of benefits of reading and learning about things. Reading is a skill in itself. The more you practice it, the better it gets over time. One should always inculcate the habit of reading as it is beneficial in the long run. Reading contributes to an optimistic mindset and helps broaden your imagination and perception.
Following are some benefits of reading:
♣ Reading helps you discover more possibilities in the world
Reading acts like a gateway to those corners of the world which cannot be reached by physical means. It helps you discover new things lurking around the perimeter of the world and things that exist beyond the universe. You can simply pick a random book on any genre or subject of your choice and dive in and start learning. One can learn about various possibilities of the world through reading.
♣ Reading broadens your imagination and creativity
You get to have a better and broad perception of this world by reading more. When you read something, you acquire information on that particular subject. Hence, the more you read the more knowledge you gain. It helps you mould your perception and you start perceiving things from different angles. A book in its pure form is just words on a page, and our minds have to do the work, imagining the words coming to life. This process does wonders to develop our creativity and imagination.
♣ Reading boosts your vocabulary and enhances your communication skills
Often when you read, you come across new terminologies and words which helps improve your vocabulary. The more you read, the more new words you learn and this in turn contributes to enhancing your communication skills. New knowledge that’s gained through enjoyment has a tendency to stick and doesn’t even feel like work! Both the written and spoken communication abilities can be enhanced through regular reading.
♣ Reading helps reduce stress
Reading is also practiced as a great stress reliever. When you indulge your mind in reading, your brain gets involved in comprehension and it makes your entire body relaxed and stress free. Not only does reading focus your attention entirely on the task at hand, it also immerses you in the information, improving concentration and memory of what you read. Getting completely involved in a book can help us relax and feel calm.
♣ Reading helps you build a good self-image
Reading and learning about new things broadens up your mind and imagination, and it helps you accept more and more things existing in and around the world. It’s at early ages that children can be most easily influenced, and a positive reading experience can do wonders to help them form a positive perception of themselves.
Importance of having efficient reading strategies
There are two types of readers in this world. The first category comprises readers who read for fun and pleasure. They don’t get involved in the storyline or the piece of information provided and do not harbor meaningful engagement skills. These are called passive readers. They don’t grasp any knowledge imparted by the piece of information. They, rather, just read for the sake of reading or as a fun activity. The second category of readers are called active readers. They don’t just read, but also engage with the authors and possess excellent comprehension skills. They utilize the information provided in the reading material and make prolonged use of it.
As reading has long term benefits, being an active reader comes in handy. In order to nurture and grow your mind, you need to practice efficient reading strategies. Reading for fun and pleasure is alright but harbouring active reading strategies has several benefits. It not just has colossal usage in the long run, but also will help you have a sharp mind. Hence, it is crucial to possess efficient reading strategies.
Comprehension: The ultimate goal of reading
The ultimate goal of reading is the ability to comprehend, which is comprehension. Many experienced readers take this ability for granted and do not realize its importance until they face comprehension issues. The process of comprehension is both interactive and strategic. Rather than passively reading text, readers must analyze it, internalize it and make it their own.
In order to read with comprehension, developing readers must be able to read with some proficiency and then receive explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies.
Active reading strategies
There is more to reading than just learning. Reading is all about exploring new horizons and possibilities, grasping onto unusual pieces of information, learning about new things, comprehending various mechanisms and utilizing them in the long run.
In order to grow your comprehension skills, one must practice active reading strategies.
♣ Utilizing previous accumulated knowledge
Research has shown that better comprehension occurs when readers are engaged in activities that bridge their old knowledge with the new. This helps stimulate their brain cells and helps them remember that piece of information for a very long time.
♣ Questioning
Questioning after a reading session helps in understanding the concept in a more extensive manner and hence, enhance their comprehension skills.
A ‘right now question’ focuses on the material presented. What is the essence of the material read? What are the facts that are being mentioned?
An ‘analytical question’ requires students to ponder over what they have learnt. What does the author want me to understand from this material?
A ‘research question’ encourages the students to look for information beyond what is in the text. This allows for more comprehensive active learning to occur.
♣ Analyzing text structure
This helps readers to learn how to analyze or comprehend the structure of a text. Identifying patterns, flow of texts, rhythm and procedures provides a detailed elaboration and form of understanding to the readers. Understanding the pattern in which the material is presented allows readers to comprehend the information better.
♣ Visualization
The fourth strategy stresses on the importance of visualizing the material. Encouraging formation of visual images in mind while reading helps readers inculcate an effective form of reading. This not just sharpens their mind and imagination but also improvises their reading skills.
♣ Summarizing
The last technique is to summarize the material read. Research has indicated that the ability to summarize enhances comprehension. Block and Pressley defined summarize as “the ability to delete irrelevant details, combine similar ideas, condense main ideas, and connect major themes into concise statements that capture the purpose of a reading for the reader.”
Also Read:- How to Structure a Story? 6 Tips Every Writer Must Know
