Increase Your Reading Comprehension BY GROUPING WORDS TOGETHER

When you read, look at phrases. WHAT ARE PHRASES? Phrases are groups of words together. When you read, do not look at one word at a time! Look at groups of words. Wrong: Jamie / Oliver / wants / to / change / peoples’ / lives. Right: Jamie Oliver / wants to change / peoples’ lives.

Use your grammar knowledge to help you group words together. Look for the subject, verb, object, and prepositional phrases. Wrong: Jamie / Oliver wants / to change peoples’ / lives. Right: Jamie Oliver / wants to change / peoples’ lives. subject = Jamie Oliver verb = wants to change object = people’s lives Keep the subject words together. Keep the verb words together. Keep the object words together.

How can you group the words in this sentence? Jamie Oliver is well-known for sharing his secrets of cooking healthy food through his magazine, cookbooks, and television shows. Answer: Oliver is well-known for / sharing his secrets / of cooking healthy food / through his magazine, / cookbooks, / and television shows.

Let’s Practice! How can you group the words in these sentences? 1. Steve Jobs was the CEO of Apple. ANSWER: subject = Steve Jobs / was the CEO verb + object = was the CEO / of Apple. prepositional phrase = of Apple 2. Many people remember Steve Jobs because of his successful products like the Mac, the i. Pod, and the i. Phone. ANSWER: Many people / remember Steve Jobs / because of his successful products / like the Mac, / the i. Pod, / and the i. Phone.

Strong readers group words together. Grouping words helps you: • read faster • understand the ideas better = increases comprehension!