Predicting: A simple activity that you can do is use the title and the book cover to think about what the story will be.  You can also read a paragraph or a chapter and think about what will come next. This strategy will help you stay connected to the book, motivates you to keep reading and helps with developing your understanding.

Background Information: This is about bringing knowledge and understanding, experiences and vocabulary that you have to the story. If you are reading a story about an event in history and already understand about the people, events and society, it can help you understand the story you are about to read set in that time. If you know you are to read a text set at a specific time, you may wish to read up on that period before starting your story. Background information provides a framework for you to place your story.

Setting: Think about where the story is set and how these impacts on the story and the characters.

Visualize: When we read a story, we create a picture in our mind. Is your picture vague or detailed? What do you see, hear, smell, taste, feel? What colours do you see?

Purpose and Tone: Think about why the author wrote the book. Was the story created to entertain you, tell you about something or even to persuade you to think a certain way? The tone of the story through the selection of words can often provide a sense of things such as urgency, humour, seriousness, the need for you to act or think differently. Purpose and tone deepen your understanding.

Words: Sometimes we find words that we do not understand. Read the sentence before and after the sentence that contains the word. Often clues in the sentence can help you work out the meaning. Consult a dictionary or ask someone what the word means. Re-read the sentence to see if it now makes sense. Try to substitute the word for one you are familiar with; this can add a level of comfort and reassurance that you now understand what the writer is trying to convey.

Themes: What is the theme of the story? What does the writer want you to realize?

Self-check-in: Sometimes it is useful to carry out a self-check-in when you have completed a chapter. Think about what is happening in the story, who the characters are and how is the story impacting on the characters. Is there a conflict or problem arising? How do you think the problem will be solved? This strategy can reconfirm your thinking about the story. It can raise questions for further clarification.

Connecting: What does the story and characters remind you of? Can you connect the story and or characters with what is happening or has happened in the world?

Scan and Skim: If we have put a book down and then return to it. Sometimes a quick scan and skim of the story already read can refamiliarize the reader with the story. It allows the reader to identify key elements such as dates, days, characters and events. It then allows you to pick up from where you left off with confidence.

Story Path. How has the story started? How is the story and tension escalating? Has the story reached the peak? Is the situation resolved? Is the story starting to fall?

Perspective: How is the story being told? Writers will use the first, second or third person to write. Who is narrating the story and does this make a difference? Is the story told from a particular point of view using gender, race or class? This can often place a positive or negative spin on a story. The writer can also initially present an outward description of the character but further into the story present what the inside of the character is feeling.

Imagine if two people attended a football match. What would the point of view be from the person that backed the winning team? What would the point of view be of the person who backed the losing team?

Inferring: What do you think the writer is trying to say without writing it? Can you guess what the writer’s thinking? What could the writer mean? Take a guess!

Question: To gain knowledge and understanding, ask questions. You can use the Who? What? Why? When? How? approach. 

Try Avoid questions that a response of yes or no can be used. 

The greatest question you can ask starts with why. What “why” questions can you think of related to your story?

Significane: What is significant about the story or a particular character? Who or what is the least significant? How does significance impact on the story and characters? Does significance influence your opinion?

Evidence: What evidence is the writer using to convince you of the story and characters? What do you know from the story and what examples are given? Can you distinguish between the facts and the opinions.