Student Reading Strategies

If you don’t give them a reason to read, they won’t...

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 13.

NEXT CLASS: Professor lectures about Chapter 13.

STUDENT: Why did I bother reading if they are just going to tell me the important points in class?

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 14.

NEXT CLASS: Professor lectures about Chapter 14.

STUDENT: Records a “#GRWM, Day in the Life of a College Student” TikTok video that has everything but reading their homework assignment in it.

Students will read if they know why they’re doing it and are taught how to do it effectively.

If there’s one thing we all know, it’s that assigning reading doesn’t guarantee students will actually do the reading—let alone engage with it deeply. Our students juggle overflowing schedules, digital distractions, and information delivered at the speed of a tap. Meaningful reading remains one of the most powerful tools we have for cultivating curiosity, critical thinking, and understanding.

I've compiled a list of strategies to get students to move from passive skimming to active, invested reading. Whether it’s collaborative annotation, structured accountability, transparent motivation, or simply making the act of reading feel more social and less solitary, we’ll highlight approaches that meet students where they are—while nudging them toward where we know they can go.

GOAL: to help you create reading experiences that spark discussion and deepen understanding.

Dear Diary

Students journal about major points from the reading. Prior to class, post their writing to prime discussion (or maintain the journal for later individual check-in).

Divide and Conquer

Split the readings among students or small groups. Each student/group becomes the expert on that content. In class, students can present or do some form of peer-teaching exercise/activity. Often referred to as the “jigsaw technique”, students work together to get the bigger picture.

The Big Cheese Stands Alone

Assign discussion leaders for each reading assignment—they identify something to discuss as a class based on the themes across the readings.

All the Feels

Based on their reading experience—ask each student to bring one thing that made them laugh, one thing that made them sad, and one thing that made them angry. Probably most effective for Fiction reading but might work in other contexts.

Assess Fest

Have all students bring one short answer question they think would be important to see on a test over the given reading. Compile the list for a low-stakes quiz later on.

Always Comes in Threes

Split the class into thirds. First third brings one strength from the reading, second third brings one drawback, and last third brings one application of the results. Each group must come prepared to answer the “why?” question for each statement. Might be most effective for academic journal / research reading.

What's That Smell? Something Burning?...

Each student comes to class with a wondering, connection, and burning question from the reading. Start the class by sharing these and have a discussion.

All on the Same Page

Assign each student their own color. On a shared Google Doc, each student takes notes in their given color on the reading—noting where they thought something was interesting, meaningful, confusing, etc. Students respond to each other’s notes and offer answers, related questions, or points of interest. There are dedicated “social annotation” tools to consider out there—but this might be a place to start.

Survey-veil-lance

Construct a web survey (Google Form) asking the students to be upfront on their level of preparedness with the assigned reading (without it being punitive) and to reflect on the content.

I read this much of today’s reading...

• None
• 25%
• 50%
• 75%
• All

Prompt their reflection with survey questions like:

• What new things did you learn from the reading?
• What do you think is important to talk about in class?
• What left you confused or with questions?
• Is there anything else you want to share?

The key is to schedule this survey to be due with enough time for you to use the responses to shape your class period. You get to assess how deeply the students are reading the content, get a feel for their level of prep, and you can come to class equipped with answers to their questions.