Reading skills and study methods

Why reading matters so much, skimming and scanning, active reading, summaries and memory. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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Why read

Reading helps your …	How
Writing	You see how good sentences are built
Concentration	It trains the brain to focus for longer
Imagination	You create the pictures yourself
Understanding others	You see the world through others’ eyes

A glossary in a textbook lists difficult words and their meanings. Functional illiteracy: reading too poorly to understand forms or notices. Read regularly and widely to improve speed and comprehension.

Active reading: read, mark and summarise.

Tap when you could tell someone without looking.

Summarise and remember

Your own words show that you understood.

An acronym (a word from the first letters of a list) makes the list easier to recall.
Revise spaced out over days; explain aloud to find out what you don’t understand yet.
Take a short break about every half hour. Learning everything the night before: you remember little and sleep too little.

Tap when you could tell someone without looking.

Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary

Reading is the basis of almost all your other school work; it builds your vocabulary.
Scan: search quickly for specific information. Skim: read quickly for the general idea.
Active reading: asking questions and making notes as you read.
A paragraph’s main point is usually in the topic sentence.
Sleep helps memory: the brain stores what you learnt while you sleep.

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

Scan = search for one thing (like a phone number). Skim = skate over for the big picture.

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

True or false?

Read the question and the answer. Is the answer right? Tap True or False.

Now the real quiz!

The quiz has many more questions on this topic. Every question shows straight away whether you are right and explains why.

Take the quiz: Reading skills and study methods

All Grade 7 Life Orientation summaries

For parents

Read one part together and ask your child to tell it back in their own words.
The ticks (“I know this”) are saved on this device only. We never ask for names or emails.

Follows CAPS for Grade 7 Life Orientation. Always check your teacher’s notes and textbook too.