Skim and Scan Poster
Congratulations on your purchase of this Really Good
Stuff® Skim and Scan Poster—a clear reference to
help students understand the what, when, and how of
a valuable nonfiction comprehension strategy.
This Really Good Stuff® product includes:
• Skim and Scan Poster, laminated
• This Really Good Stuff® Activity Guide
Displaying the Skim and Scan Poster
Before displaying the Skim and Scan Poster,
make copies of this Really Good Stuff® Activity
Guide and file the pages for future use. Or,
download another copy of it from our Web site at
www.reallygoodstuff.com. Hang the Poster where
students will be able to see it easily.
Introducing the Skim and Scan Poster
Review with students the fact that before sitting
down to read something, we need to think about our
purpose. In other words, we need to assess whether
we are:
• searching for information about something in
particular
• reading for detailed information about how to do
something or how something happened
• exploring a text to get a general idea of the kind
of information it contains
• reading for enjoyment
• trying to get a question answered
Explain to students that by clarifying our purpose
for reading, we are able to choose the best reading
strategies to help us achieve that purpose. Indicate
that the information on the Skim and Scan Poster
will help them with valuable strategies to use for
informational texts. Point out that as adults the
majority of their reading will be of informational text,
and so knowing the right strategies to choose is a
valuable skill to develop.
Indicate that when reading informational text their
purposes will fall under two general categories:
1) gaining a general idea of what is contained in
the text
2) seeking specific information or answering a
specific question
Helping Teachers Make A Difference® © 2010 Really Good Stuff
The Poster will help them acquire the necessary
strategies to use when reading for these purposes.
Use your read-aloud time to model skimming and
scanning: “Think aloud” and announce to students
what you are looking for, then model how you would
let your eyes run quickly over the pages to gather
only the information you are seeking. Spend several
days on each of the two skills, explicitly explaining
the strategies you are using.
Work with your media specialist to assemble a
collection of books that you can use with students
to practice these two skills.
To practice skimming: Distribute a variety of
informational texts to students, and announce that
you are looking for books that might help you find
information on ______________________ (name a
general topic). Give students time to preview and
swap books. Circulate among the students as you
encourage them to read the table of contents and
flip through the sections. Ask students to bring the
books to a certain area of the room to assemble a
relevant collection of books that can help with the
assigned topic.
To practice scanning: Distribute multiple copies of
the same book to students. Ask students to find
the answer to a specific question. As you circulate
among the class, ask students what cues on the
pages they are using to help lead them to the
answer they are seeking.
Review the examples of when to skim and when to
scan at the bottom of the Poster. Together generate
additional examples for each and hang these lists
beneath each respective section on the Poster.
Assess students’ understanding of when to use the
two skills by copying and distributing the When To
Skim and When To Scan Reproducible. You may also
want to copy and distribute the When To Skim and
When To Scan Answer Key Reproducible and have
students self-correct or correct the papers yourself
as a formal assessment.
All activity guides can be found online:
®
1-800-366-1920 www.reallygoodstuff.com Made in USA #158877
Skim and Scan Reproducible

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Helping Teachers Make A Difference® © 2010 Really Good Stuff® 1-800-366-1920 www.reallygoodstuff.com Made in USA #158877
When To Skim and When To Scan Reproducible

Name: ___________________________________________________
When To Skim
and
When To Scan
Directions: Read each question and circle the appropriate strategy (skim or scan) for each situation.

1) Do you skim or scan when you are looking through a TV schedule for a particular
program?

2) When browsing a magazine while waiting at the dentist’s office, do you skim or scan?

3) When looking through travel brochures to select a destination you may enjoy traveling to,
do you skim or scan?

4) Do you skim or scan a menu when you are trying to see if the restaurant offers
vegetarian dishes?

5) Do you skim or scan books in the library when you are looking for ones that might be able
to help you with information for a report you have to write?

6) Do you skim or scan the pages in a dictionary when you are looking for the correct
spelling of a particular word?

7) Do you skim or scan a catalog that you’ve never seen before?

8) If looking through a store flyer to see if the store carries the kind of sneakers you like, do
you skim or scan?

Helping Teachers Make A Difference® © 2010 Really Good Stuff® 1-800-366-1920 www.reallygoodstuff.com Made in USA #158877
When To Skim and When To Scan Answer Key Reproducible

Name: ___________________________________________________
When To Skim
and
When to Scan
Directions: Read each question and circle the appropriate strategy (skim or scan) for each situation.

1) Do you skim or scan when you are looking through a TV schedule for a particular
program? You are looking for a specific piece of information, so you will be scanning for key
words, channels, or times where you think this information is likely to show up.

2) When browsing a magazine while waiting at the dentist’s office, do you skim or scan?
You are not looking for anything in particular, but getting a general idea of the magazine
and what might interest you, so you are skimming the magazine’s pages, pictures, and
table of contents.

3) When looking through travel brochures to select a destination you may enjoy traveling
to, do you skim or scan? You are looking at quite a bit of information to get an idea
of what might interest you, so you are skimming the brochures’ headings and pictures.

4) Do you skim or scan a menu when you are trying to see if the restaurant offers
vegetarian dishes?You know what you are looking for so you are scanning the page for key
words or perhaps a vegetarian symbol that might indicate a dish you would like.

5) Do you skim or scan books in the library when you are looking for ones that might be able
to help you with information for a report you have to write? You are getting a general idea
of the books you will need that can help, so you are skimming the table of contents and
some of the pages..

6) Do you skim or scan the pages in a dictionary when you are looking for the correct
spelling of a particular word? You are looking for one specific word, so you are scanning the
guide words and other words on the page to lead you to what you are seeking.

7) Do you skim or scan a catalog that you’ve never seen before? You are looking through the
catalog for the first time, so you are skimming the different sections and some of the
pages to see if it contains anything of interest.

8) If looking through a store flyer to see if the store carries the kind of sneakers you like, do
you skim or scan? You know what you are looking for, so you are scanning the pages for
words and images that might lead you to the product you are seeking.

Helping Teachers Make A Difference® © 2010 Really Good Stuff® 1-800-366-1920 www.reallygoodstuff.com Made in USA #158877