Strategic Readers Being strategic means using a careful plan of action intended to achieve a specific objective or target outcome (Company, 2002). Ultimately, our goal in reading is to gain knowledge and understanding through understanding the text we present for lifelong learning and enjoyment. Being a strategic reader means using a variety of cognitive skills and intentional strategies to read for a purpose. Strategic readers have the ability to adapt their reading to different reading purposes and tasks, understanding when it is necessary to pay attention to every detail and when it is appropriate to read quickly for fun (Tovani, 2000). Becoming a strategic reader involves two main aspects: first the reader must become more automatic in the use of strategies and become more deliberate and aware. These aspects can be taught through direct explanations and models (Guthrie & Alvermann, 1999). Strategic Reader Skills Successfully using reading strategies is important for constructing meaning from text. Good readers automatically use many strategic reading skills throughout the reading process, before, during, and after. Some of these skills are cognitive and involve cognition or thinking, while others are metacognitive which involve reflection or thinking about thinking. Strategic readers use both cognitive and metacognitive skills, including but not limited to, previewing text, understanding text structures, activating prior knowledge, making connections, making predictions, drawing inferences, summarizing, and monitoring comprehension (Tompkins, 2011 ). What strategic readers do before they start reading is preview the text. Preview helps students learn better...middle of the paper......automatically throughout the reading process, as described above. Through direct explanation and modeling using these tools, teachers can successfully help students in the process of becoming a strategic reader. Works Cited Company, H. M. (2002). The Dictionary of the American Heritage College. (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Guthrie, J. T., & Alvermann, D. E. (1999). Engaged reading, processes, practices and political implications. New York, NY: Teacher College Pr. Tompkins, G. E. (2011). Literacy in the early grades, a positive start for preK-4 readers and writers. (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon Tovani, C. (2000). I've read it, but I don't understand, comprehension strategies for teenage readers. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Pub. Wilhelm, J. D. (2001). Improve understanding with think-aloud strategies. New York, NY: Educational Resources.