A useful approach when teaching reading to adolescents is to encourage them to recognise their level of engagement with a text. Prompting a student to be aware of what is happening in their head when reading enables them to develop an understanding of the intricate processes involved. This awareness also allows students to examine the complexity of what happens when they read a range of different texts well. Referred to as a metacognitive or reflective reading capability, this strategy assists students to read their world with increasing levels of confidence and competence.

In supporting students to reflect on reading strategies more generally as well as their own personal reading practices, a reflective survey is particularly useful. The statements listed below have been suggested by Amanda McCraw and Mary Mason in their text Activating Reading Capabilities in English. Parents and carers could also use some of these statements to initiate a discussion with their children around reading.

Disengaged reading:

I stop reading because I don’t get it.

I look at the words and turn pages but comprehend little.

I skip chunks of writing when I read.

I find myself thinking of other things when I read.

I understand parts of what I read but easily forget what’s happening.

I have negative feelings about myself as a reader.

I am easily distracted when I read.

I don’t know how to improve my reading skills. 

Engaged reading:

I see pictures in my head when I read.

I sometimes stand in the shoes of certain characters.

I experience pleasure when I read.

I get lost in books.

I make connections to my own experience when I read.

I make connections to things that are happening in the world when I read.

Reading helps me to learn about myself.

Reading makes me wonder.

Metacognitive reading:

I see patterns and themes developing in texts.

I pause and think about what I have just read and try to digest.

Sometimes I just keep reading when I feel confused because I know that things will soon make sense.

I am aware that I make predictions about what might happen next when I read.

I make judgments about what is important in a text.

I make a mental note of words I don’t understand.

I pose questions in my head based on things that happen in the text and what might happen next.

I engage in internal conversations with myself, with characters and with the author when I read.

I stand outside of the text and think critically about the ideas and values in the text.

Clare Murphy

English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach