Choosing How to Read a Text · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Read each text the way it needs

English · English Thinking · ages 12-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. You need the single year a bridge opened. What do you do?

    • Read the whole book closely
    • Scan for the date
    • Reread your favourite chapter

  2. You must judge if a long article deserves your evening. What do you do?

    • Skim to preview it
    • Memorise every word at once
    • Copy it out by hand

  3. The wording itself carries the argument you must judge. What do you do?

    • Skim past it quickly
    • Read it closely
    • Skip to the pictures

  4. A paragraph stays foggy after your first pass. What should you do?

    • Press on and hope the fog lifts
    • Reread that paragraph and pin down what did not resolve
    • Start a new book

  5. You skim for an argument and keep finding only dates. What is the right switch?

    • Slow to a close read and mark the thesis
    • Skim even faster
    • Give up on the text

  6. Reading every text at one fixed speed is the best use of study time.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. A friend brags they never reread. Their essay then confuses two claims from one paragraph. What is the lesson?

    • Essays never need paragraphs
    • Rereading is shameful, keep pressing on
    • Reread, pointing at the foggy lines

  8. Before opening a science chapter, what should you say to yourself?

    • Which approach fits, and why
    • How fast your eyes can move
    • Nothing, just start anywhere
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_P8WoRvRp1m-s1

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Read each text the way it needs W1-mt_P8WoRvRp1m-s1

  1. Scan for the date · Scanning hunts one fact fast, which is exactly this job.
  2. Skim to preview it · Skimming previews worth before you spend hours on a text.
  3. Read it closely · Close reading weighs wording, which is what arguments demand.
  4. Reread that paragraph and pin down what did not resolve · Rereading the knot beats pressing on past an unresolved gap.
  5. Slow to a close read and mark the thesis · When skimming stops serving the job, slowing down is method, not failure.
  6. False · One speed wastes on easy texts the hours that hard texts need.
  7. Reread, pointing at the foggy lines · The unresolved knot deserved a reread, and naming it makes rereading deliberate.
  8. Which approach fits, and why · Naming approach and reason aims your reading before it begins.
Worksheet · LightMySky