Constructive Reading: Get more from the texts you read

Name: Constructive Reading: Get more from the texts you read
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Intentional strategies that take your understanding of texts beyond surface-level comprehension

Created byLeigh Faulkner

Last updated 7/2025

English

What you'll learn

Identify your prior knowledge prior to reading a text
Make use of your prior knowledge when reading
Use the K-W-L-H chart to guide your learning
Distinguish and use pre-reading strategies appropriate to the text to be read
Identify the textual structural factors to consider when reading a text
Select appropriate post-reading strategies to consolidate your learning
Use appropriate elements of bottom-up, top-down, and interactive reading approaches
Make use of metacognitive skills when reading
Select skimming and scanning techniques appropriate to your purpose in reading a particular text
Construct and use the word bank
Discriminate among various vocabulary mapping structures and select ones most appropriate for your reading purpose
Summarize texts of different lengths
Recognize bias in texts

Course content

5 sections • 29 lectures • 1h 50m total length

Introduction2:26
This course will be a deep dive into the reading process. It has one purpose — to give you an understanding of elements of the processes that will support your successful reading.
Prior Knowledge2:34
As you can tell, the term “prior knowledge” refers to what you already know, and that’s the foundation on which you build understanding of new information. In other words, you learn something because you already know something that’s related in some way.
Prior Knowledge Quiz - Reading2:47
This is a short multiple-choice Prior Knowledge Quiz.
K-W-L-H Chart & Its Uses3:19
This lecture introduces the K-W-L-H chart and explains how it is used.
K-W-L-H Prep2:11
This lecture takes you through the process of K-W-L-H chart initial completion for the term "reading" in preparation for use of the chart during the following lectures.
Quiz - Lectures 1 to 5

The Three Phases of Reading - Pre-Reading6:37
In this and the next lectures, I want to introduce you to what I call the three phases of reading. You can think of these as three interlocking and overlapping processes that you engage in when doing thorough reading.
The Three Phases of Reading - During-Reading Structural Factors8:29
We’ll look at specific strategies in the next lecture, but first here are seven factors you need to keep in mind as you read — that is, in the during-reading process.
The Three Phases of Reading - During-Reading Strategies5:00
Now that we’ve looked at the seven structural factors that you need to keep in mind when you’re reading, we’ll look at one specific strategy you can use in the during-reading process. There are others, of course, and we’ll examine some of them in later lectures.
The Three Phases of Reading - Post-Reading4:53
This is where post-reading strategies come in. They’re intended to consolidate your thoughts about what you’ve just read.
Quiz - Lectures 6 to 9

Organization of Text9:24
By understanding the way a text is organized, it’s easier to read it critically, for example, since you’ll be able to determine whether it’s consistent or breaks a pattern. If it lacks internal consistency, that may signal a weakness in either the writer’s main idea or in the reliability of the information provided.
Bottom-Up Reading2:53
Today, the widespread movement in education to give special attention to phonics (the sounds of letters, syllables, and words) is an example of the bottom-up approach.
Top-Down Reading4:37
Top-down reading is based in part on the idea that knowing the big picture helps you to understand the pieces of the picture––very much the way we use a picture of the finished jigsaw puzzle when we’re searching for pieces.
Interactive Reading3:44
A fundamental principle of the interactive model is the understanding that not everyone learns in the same way. By promoting a flexible approach, the interactive model aims to support the reader by capitalizing on their strengths.
Metacognition4:49
When we were talking about top-down, bottom-up, and interactive reading, I said that, regardless of the process, one sub-process remains constant––that is, making and confirming predictions. This relates to metacognition.
Quiz - Lectures 10 - 14

I-D-R-T-A4:17
The Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) is a structured approach that teachers use to lead students into and through a text, ensuring that the focus stays on meaning and also ensuring that students use a questioning, predicting, confirming approach.
Skimming Text2:52
Skimming is a time-saving strategy. If done properly, it brings the “big picture” into focus so you can clarify your purpose for reading the text and decide on the reading strategy that will give you the best results most efficiently.
Scanning Text1:11
Scanning is useful for locating statements, definitions, formulas, and other specific information that you need to remember completely and precisely.
Mapping7:34
There are many types of maps used to organize and display information in different fields.
Building Vocabulary4:12
If you don’t know the specialized vocabulary of a subject, you can’t possible know the subject.
Underlining & Highlighting1:49
The underlining and highlighting processes force you to decide what's important and how ideas are related.
Quiz - Lectures 15 to 20

Summarizing2:34
A summary contains only the writer’s ideas, not those of the reader. In other words, a summary is not a critique.
Summarizing Short Texts1:19
Your summary should be complete, unified, and coherent.
Summarizing Longer Texts1:44
Make sure your summary includes all the major supporting points of each idea. Your final version should be unified, complete, and coherent.
Summary Checklist2:58
This checklist will help you ensure that you have constructed a proper summary.
Bias4:56
Bias may be either conscious or unconscious on the part of the language user. If the bias is conscious, it may be significant enough to be propaganda. There are several common types of bias you may encounter in your university studies.
Metaphor3:55
Metaphor is a common language construction that causes us to think of one thing in terms of another. Metaphorical language, in and of itself, is neither positive or negative, however, a metaphor may reveal or hide ideas.
K-W-L-H Follow-Up1:09
This is a look at the K-W-L-H chart you've been working on during the course.
Conclusion1:25
To solidify what you have learned — to make the processes your own — you need to consciously practice the skills whenever you have a text to read.
Quiz - Lectures 21 to 28
Bonus Video--SoR or Not to SoR5:16
This video introduces the Science of Reading movement and gives points of discussion provided by Robert Tierney and P. David Anderson.

Requirements

Ability to read text in English.

Description

We all engage in reading, but constructive reading takes that activity to a deeper level. It’s a more advanced form of reading achieved by those who recognize how meaning is built within texts and who use intentional strategies to uncover that meaning with purpose. When reading is limited to simply decoding words, it remains superficial. In contrast, constructive reading emerges when the reader understands the three stages of the reading process and applies strategies aligned with each phase. At the core of constructive reading is the ability to set a clear and relevant purpose for engaging with a specific text and then using thoughtful techniques to extract, retain, and apply its meaning. This begins with making one’s background knowledge about the topic visible and intentional. That prior knowledge becomes a scaffold for building new understanding as the reader integrates what the text says with their own thinking.

Throughout this course, you’ll explore strategies tailored to each phase of reading: before, during, and after. You’ll also gain insight into three key reading models — bottom-up, top-down, and interactive — and learn how to choose the most effective one for a given reading purpose. Constructive reading is grounded in the process of predicting and confirming, which strengthens metacognition: the reader’s ability to monitor and guide their own reading. Techniques such as skimming, scanning, concept mapping, vocabulary development, annotating, and summarizing will become tools in your reading toolkit. Additionally, recognizing metaphor and bias in texts is essential, as both can obscure meaning and mislead readers. Being able to detect and interpret these elements is a critical part of becoming a constructive reader.

By the conclusion of this course, you will recognize that constructive reading reaches well beyond surface-level comprehension. You’ll approach reading as a deliberate, meaning-making act in which your own interpretation plays a central role. If your goal is to become a stronger reader by deepening your understanding of how reading works, then “Constructive Reading” is designed to help you meet that goal with confidence and clarity.

Who this course is for:

Reading is a central part of the educational process. This course gives students an understanding of the wide range of skills that can be employed during reading and explains how to make informed decisions as to how to read in a way that supports knowledge construction.

Constructive Reading: Get more from the texts you read

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Setting the Stage5 lectures • 13min

Reading Phases4 lectures • 25min

Reading Approaches5 lectures • 25min

Text Handling6 lectures • 22min

Summarizing and Special Topics9 lectures • 25min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: