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Lección: Reading Strategies – Skimming & Scanning (EPJA)

🎯 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

✅ Understand the difference between Skimming and Scanning.
✅ Use Skimming to get the main idea of a text quickly.
✅ Use Scanning to find specific information in a text.
✅ Apply these strategies to improve your reading comprehension in English.
✅ Learn about additional reading strategies to become a better reader.

📖 Part 1: Introduction – Why Read Faster?

📌 ¿Por qué aprender estas técnicas? Cuando leemos en inglés, muchos estudiantes intentan entender cada palabra del texto. Esto es lento y puede ser frustrante. Las técnicas de lectura rápida nos ayudan a ahorrar tiempo y a comprender mejor el mensaje principal sin necesidad de leer todo palabra por palabra [citation:1].

💡 ¿Sabías que…? Un lector eficiente procesa entre 250 y 300 palabras por minuto en su idioma nativo [citation:2]. En inglés, podemos entrenar nuestro cerebro para leer más rápido usando estrategias específicas.

⚡ Part 2: Skimming – Lectura Rápida para la Idea Principal

📌 ¿Qué es Skimming? Skimming significa leer rápidamente un texto para obtener la idea general. No leemos cada palabra; solo buscamos entender de qué trata el texto [citation:1].

How to Skim (Cómo hacer Skimming)

📌 Lee el título y los subtítulos.
📌 Lee la primera oración de cada párrafo.
📌 Lee la última oración de cada párrafo [citation:1].
📌 Busca palabras clave o palabras en negrita.
📌 No te detengas en palabras que no entiendas.

📌 Ejemplo de Skimming

Texto: “Santiago is the capital of Chile. It is a modern city with many museums and parks. The weather is warm in summer and cold in winter. Many tourists visit Santiago every year.”

Idea principal (Skimming): Santiago es la capital de Chile, una ciudad moderna con museos, parques y turismo.

No necesitamos saber cuántos museos hay o cuál es la temperatura exacta. Solo necesitamos la idea general.

🔍 Part 3: Scanning – Búsqueda de Información Específica

📌 ¿Qué es Scanning? Scanning significa buscar información específica en un texto sin leerlo todo. Es como buscar un número de teléfono en una guía [citation:1].

How to Scan (Cómo hacer Scanning)

🔍 Sabes qué buscas antes de empezar.
🔍 Mueves los ojos rápidamente por el texto.
🔍 Buscas palabras clave (nombres, fechas, números).
🔍 Ignoras todo lo que no sea relevante para tu búsqueda [citation:1].

📌 Ejemplo de Scanning

Texto: “The school opens at 8:00 AM. Classes start at 8:30 AM. Lunch is at 1:00 PM. The school closes at 6:00 PM.”

Pregunta: ¿A qué hora es el almuerzo?

Proceso de Scanning: Buscamos la palabra “lunch” y encontramos “1:00 PM”.

No necesitamos leer todo el texto, solo buscar la información específica.

📚 Part 4: Additional Reading Strategies

📌 Estrategias adicionales para mejorar tu comprensión lectora: Además de skimming y scanning, existen otras técnicas que te ayudarán a convertirte en un lector más eficiente en inglés [citation:2][citation:6].

Strategy	¿Qué es?	¿Cómo usarlo?
Previewing	Visión general del texto antes de leer	Mira títulos, imágenes, subtítulos, palabras en negrita [citation:6]
Questioning	Hacer preguntas antes y durante la lectura	Pregunta: ¿De qué trata? ¿Qué quiero aprender? [citation:6]
Annotating	Tomar notas mientras lees	Subraya ideas clave, escribe resúmenes en los márgenes [citation:6]
Outlining	Crear un esquema del texto	Organiza las ideas principales y secundarias [citation:6]
Summarizing	Resumir lo que has leído	Escribe un resumen corto con tus propias palabras [citation:6]
Context Clues	Usar el contexto para entender palabras nuevas	Lee las oraciones alrededor de la palabra para deducir su significado

💡 Consejo importante: No necesitas entender todas las palabras para entender un texto en inglés. Usa el contexto y las palabras conocidas para deducir el significado [citation:2].

📝 Part 5: Reading Practice – “My Daily Routine”

📅 My Daily Routine

Hi! My name is Ana. I am 24 years old. I live in Santiago, Chile. I work during the day and I study at night. I am a student at EPJA.

Every morning, I wake up at 6:00 AM. I take a shower and get dressed. I have breakfast at 7:00 AM. I usually eat bread and drink coffee. Then, I go to work. I work at a store from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. I am a sales assistant. I help customers and organize products.

After work, I go to school at 6:30 PM. I study from 7:00 PM to 10:35 PM. I study English, Math, and History. My favorite subject is English because it is interesting. My teacher is very nice and patient.

I usually have dinner at 11:00 PM. Then, I do my homework. I go to bed at 12:00 AM. I am tired, but I am happy because I am learning a lot.

✏️ Part 6: Exercises

Exercise 1: Skimming Practice

Read the text “My Daily Routine” quickly (skim it) and answer the following questions. Do NOT read every word!

1. What is the text about? (Write one sentence)

2. What is Ana’s job?

3. What is her favorite subject?

4. What time does she go to bed?

5. How does Ana feel at the end of the day?

Exercise 2: Scanning Practice

Look for specific information in the text “My Daily Routine” without reading the whole text.

1. What time does Ana have breakfast? → ______________________

2. Where does Ana work? → ______________________

3. What time does Ana go to school? → ______________________

4. What does Ana eat for breakfast? → ______________________

5. What time does Ana finish work? → ______________________

Exercise 3: Previewing Practice

Before reading the text below, look at the title, the bold words, and the structure. Then, answer the questions.

Título: Chile: A Country of Contrasts

Preguntas de previewing:

1. Based on the title, what do you think the text is about?

2. What words do you think will appear in the text?

3. Do you think the text is about history, geography, or culture?

Exercise 4: Context Clues

Read the sentences and try to guess the meaning of the bold words using context.

1. She is very tired because she worked all day.

Meaning: ______________________

2. The store is very crowded on Saturdays. There are many people.

Meaning: ______________________

3. He is a responsible student. He always does his homework.

Meaning: ______________________

4. The exam was difficult; many students failed.

Meaning: ______________________

Exercise 5: Summarizing

Read the text “My Daily Routine” again and write a short summary (3-4 sentences) using your own words.

Write your summary here…

Exercise 6: Identify the Strategy

Read each situation and decide which reading strategy (Skimming, Scanning, Previewing, Context Clues, or Summarizing) is being used.

1. You look at the title and pictures before reading. → ______________________

2. You read quickly to get the main idea. → ______________________

3. You look for a specific date in a text. → ______________________

4. You write a short version of the text in your own words. → ______________________

5. You read the surrounding sentences to understand a new word. → ______________________

🔑 Part 7: Answer Key

✅ Exercise 1 – Answers (Skimming)

1. The text is about Ana’s daily routine as a student who works and studies.

2. She is a sales assistant.

3. Her favorite subject is English.

4. She goes to bed at 12:00 AM.

5. She feels tired but happy.

✅ Exercise 2 – Answers (Scanning)

1. At 7:00 AM.

2. At a store.

3. At 6:30 PM.

4. Bread and coffee.

5. At 5:00 PM.

✅ Exercise 3 – Answers (Previewing)

1. The text is probably about the different characteristics of Chile (geography, culture, etc.).

2. Words like: mountains, desert, ocean, cities, culture, people, etc.

3. It could be about geography and culture.

✅ Exercise 4 – Answers (Context Clues)

1. Cansada / tired

2. Lleno de gente / crowded

3. Responsable / responsible

4. Difícil / difficult

✅ Exercise 5 – Example Summary

Ana is a 24-year-old EPJA student. She works during the day at a store. She studies at night. She has a busy routine, but she is happy because she is learning a lot.

✅ Exercise 6 – Answers

1. Previewing

2. Skimming

3. Scanning

4. Summarizing

5. Context Clues

🎓 Part 8: Self-Assessment

How well do you understand these reading strategies?

Skill	👍 Yes	🤔 Not really	😕 I need help
I can use skimming to get the main idea
I can use scanning to find specific information
I can preview a text before reading
I can use context clues to understand new words
I can summarize a text in my own words

🔍 What to do next?

If you checked “Yes” for all skills, you are ready to read faster and better in English!
If you checked “Not really” for any skill, review the examples and do the exercises again.
If you checked “I need help” for any skill, ask your teacher for more practice.

📝 Part 9: Final Task

✏️ Your mission: Find a short text in English (a news article, a blog post, or a simple story) and practice the following strategies:

Preview the text (look at the title, images, and bold words).
Skim the text and write the main idea in one sentence.
Scan the text to find 3 specific pieces of information.
Summarize the text in 4-5 sentences using your own words.

Example:

Text: “A Day at the Beach”

Main idea: A family enjoys a day at the beach.

Specific information: They went to Viña del Mar, swam in the sea, and ate ice cream.

Summary: The family visited Viña del Mar beach. They swam, played volleyball, and ate ice cream. It was a perfect day.

Write your preview, skimming, scanning, and summarizing here…

📘 English Lesson – Reading Strategies: Skimming & Scanning

Designed for EPJA High School Students – 1st to 4th Year · Subject: English (ESL)

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