Active, Close and Critical Reading

Start with active reading

The flashcards on active reading introduce practical approaches such as annotating with a pencil, looking up unknown words and identifying important ideas. Start there if you want a set of strategies to refer to as you read. Another flashcard deck on active and close reading considers how readers interpret texts and contrasts active and passive reading.

After exploring the cards, write a short explanation of each strategy in your own words. You can then return to the deck to check which ideas you included.

Explore comprehension and critical reading

The map on close reading for comprehension includes vocabulary, definitions and cause and effect. Use it to see how these elements relate to engaging with a text. The flashcard deck on developing reading skills also lists thinking, inferring and questioning as strategies used by good readers.

The maps titled “Encouraging Critical Reading” contrast active and passive tasks. They include ideas such as reading between the lines, comprehension questions, diagrams and tables. Compare those activities with the strategies in the flashcards: which ask a reader to respond, and which focus on recalling or finding information?

Use maps and questions together

There are no quizzes listed on this page, but you can use a mind map to prepare your own quiz questions. For example, turn points from “Recognizing an Author’s Purpose” into questions about its suggested activities. Answer them without looking at the map, then return to it to compare your responses with the listed ideas.

Place the topic in the unit

Active, Close and Critical Reading is a section of Teaching Reading, within Education and pedagogy (incl. teaching methods, curriculum, educational psychology). The resources give students ways to practice reading strategies and teachers ideas for reading tasks. Explore the maps and cards in the order that fits your purpose.