Skimming is a reading technique where one quickly scans a text within 5 seconds to get an idea of what it is about without reading every word. When skimming, one should look for clues like the title, first sentence of paragraphs, bulleted lists, pictures, icons, and diagrams. After skimming a passage, one should be able to identify what the text is about, whether it is a story or article, and whether pictures, icons or headings are present.
2. Skimming
• What is skimming?
• Skimming is reading a text VERY QUICKLY to
get an idea of what it is about.
• This helps us decide whether the text is
interesting to us or not.
3. How do we skim through a passage?
• Turn to the passage on page 18. Skim through
the text for no more than 5 seconds.
• Do not read all the words in the text. Look out
for the following.
• 1. Title/heading
• 2. First sentence in a paragraph.
• 3. bulleted lists
• 4. pictures
• 5. icons
• 6. Diagrams
4. •
•
•
•
•
•
After skimming the text;
1. what is the text about
2. Is the text a story or an article
3. Are there pictures in the text?
4. Are icons used?
5. Are there headings?