Hello, I'm Rebecca Lowery certified to teach seventh through 12th grade English language arts with a master's degree in curriculum and instruction. I am currently pursuing a reading specialist degree, while also teaching my two beautiful girls to read, and tutoring struggling readers and writers. In short reading and writing is my passion. My life's work revolves around this vital skill, which is why I decided to share what I know here because I'm finding that comprehension skills are not just limited to my young people. In fact, once adults find out that I specialize in reading they ask all kinds of questions, especially when it comes to texts that exists to inform or describe. I've had adults ask for consultation on how to read their business ethics textbook, or how to better understand the reading portion of their upcoming TRP test.

And even for tips on how to better understand their daily Bible reading questions in regards to comprehension is not common, which is why I begin each of my classes, and every one of my tutoring sessions with this speech, all readers struggle, even good readers struggle. I am not at all worried about the struggle. What I am worried about is what you do with the struggle. So I'm going to give you a set of tools that you can apply to moments when you're reading and realize that you're confused. Please, please, please, please, please remember this fact, when you're frustrated. Because encountering difficult text is common.

Good readers just have a toolbox that is full of strategies that they put to use to help them understand and that is exactly what I want to do for you. The first thing I want you to think about is how you learn. Do you learn best by seeing the concept do you learn by By doing it yourself, or do you learn best by hearing the concept taught? Or are you like me and require a combination? I am very visual. Once I see the concept in action, and then do it, I am most likely to learn the concept being taught.

And the reason I want you to recognize how you learn best is because it does influence your comprehension. The second piece I want you to ponder is where us struggle. Recognizing and admitting your struggle is important when it comes to fixing it. I'll give you two areas of reading where I know I struggled to help you understand that it's normal to struggle, even for people like me who specialize in reading. But I also want to help you think through your own areas of frustration. The two stories I'll share with you happened recently in my own life.

The first is that my sister was recently diagnosed with having an mthfr genetic mutation due to the fact that we are related And I had never heard of it before. I knew I needed to do a bit of research. And to be completely honest, it was research I dreaded because reading medical documents and any medical research and articles are daunting for me, because I do not recognize much of their terminology or jargon. So I'm finding that I'm looking at every other word. I'm also finding that they use this scientific tone that I muddle through some really, in fact, if I'm honest, much of what the scientific community writes I struggle deciphering. The second area where I struggle is reading how to is reading how to manuals or textbooks.

I was recently assigned a 400 page textbook on how to do a reading assessment and I learned by page two what it was like to be a struggling reader and had to go and preach to my own frustration. Everyone struggles, everyone struggles. Everyone's struggle with this Don't forget that everyone struggles. Do you know how thankful I am? That I did struggle through that, that I have these moments of struggle in my life, because I learned so much about empathy and teaching through these moments. And I feel confident sharing what I know with you seriously.

If I encounter difficult text, and I'm still able to learn, I can promise you that you can do