Darolyn “Lyn” Jones - Painless Reading Comprehension

Just as two snowflakes are not alike, neither are any two readers. Reading is a very personal and individual process. For some of you, the answer to the question, What kind of reader are you? is simple. You arent! You dont read. For others, the answer might be:

You read sometimeswhen you have time.

You read when you like what you are reading.

You love reading and read often.

Reading strengths and weaknesses

Before you jump into this book, you need to think about what kind of reader you are. You need to consider how you feel about the act of reading and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Reading is just like any other action. Its one part ability , one part attitude , and one part practice . You have to know what your strengths are, how you feel about reading, and what parts need practice. The better you get at something, the more you like it. For example, when you first learned to play soccer, you may have known how to kick the ball but not how to pass the ball during a game. Or, blocking may have come easy for you, but traveling down the field while passing at the same time might have required more practice. Once you were able to run and pass, shoot, and block, you could successfully play the whole game! The same is true for reading.

You have the ability to read, but you must practice all the required parts of the reading process to be a successful reader.

To be a successful reader, you need to know what to do before you read, what to do while you are reading, and what to do after you have finished reading. Only you know what you can and cant do. I always tell my students that I dont have the ability to morph into Plankton and jump into their brains to find out what kind of readers they are. My goal in writing this book is to help you get to the point where you can help yourself.

According to Kylene Beers and Barbara Samuels in their book Into Focus: Understanding and Creating Middle School Readers , there are two types of readers: avid