Making Predictions
When you are asked to make predictions before or while you are reading, you are being asked to consider the information provided in the reading and make an educated guess as to what will happen, or make an inference about what the ideas are building towards. This might slow down the active reading process the first few times you try it, but you should do your best to avoid agonizing over the predictions you make. The more often you take the time to make predictions, the easier it will become. Eventually, your brain will begin making predictions automatically when you read.
Make sure that you limit yourself to making plausible predictions. What I mean is, don’t make silly, outlandish, or ridiculous predictions that couldn’t possibly happen.
Before you read:
As you read, ask yourself the following questions:
How does making predictions before/during a reading help improve reading comprehension?
It keeps your mind focused on the task of considering the evidence or information you read and then formulating a prediction, and comparing your prediction (what you expected to happen in the story or what you expected to learn) against what actually happens in the reading.
Making predictions, especially while reading, forces your mind to participate in a game of guess-and-check, where you make an educated guess as to what will happen or where the information will lead, and once you’ve completed more reading (another chapter, section, or the book as a whole) checking those guesses against the new information. It’s like extended problem solving.