Skim Skimming to look for the gist of what they're reading gives students a framework on which to hang the details that they will fill in later. For a story like Ein Tisch ist ein Tisch, have students put five major events of the story in chronological order or quickly read the first sentence of each paragraph to determine the main events of the story. Scan Any type of graphic organizer that students can fill in with information about characters, events, literary techniques, etc. They can then put the name of each character in the center of a cluster, with the descriptive adjectives radiating from the center. There are many motivating activities that help students pull together their understanding of a reading.
Students read each section, answer the questions, and then move on.
This helps students with difficult selections. When reading longer passages, students can work with a partner to great advantage. Divide the passage into sections, and tell students to create an icon that illustrates what happens in each section. First, partners read the first section together. Then, they create their icon.