When most people think about Smart Reading, they think that’s something only geniuses can do. People who get great grades without endless hours of work must be just be smarter than the rest of us. Right? Wrong! Smart reading is a skill that students develop through using a set of robust strategies in their reading and analyzing of texts. I am not talking here about critical reading or close reading (through both of these types can be part of smart reading), smart reading is about knowing what to read, when to read , and how to read it. It is a holistic kind of practice that integrates other key reading skills such as skimming and scanning.
Research shows that different methods (the kind smart people often use instinctively) can have dramatically different effects—even for normal people like you and me. You’ll be shocked by how many hours you can regain in your life when you double or triple your reading speed. If you save just one hour per day for a year, that equals 365 hours and more than nine 40-hour work weeks!