First, get the text you are going to read, a piece of paper (or your reading journal) and a pen or pencil.

Second, fold the paper in half.

Third, draw a line 2 inches up from the bottom. I want your paper to look like this:

When you work on Get the Gist while reading:

1) Read part of the text. Stop and think: “What was really important about what I just read.”

2) Find that really important part from the text and write a few words down from that section of the text on the left side of the paper. You can copy from the text you are reading. It will look something like the picture on the left in the middle.

3) Now, think about what that really important part means and write down what you think it means on the right side of your paper. Your paper will look something like the picture on the left.

4) Continue reading, stopping, copying and writing your thoughts until you finish the text. Read 2 paragraphs at time before you stop, think and write.

5) After you read the whole text and write down all your thoughts, read through your thoughts on the right side of the paper. Think, “What is most important about all this information? What is the point what I read?”

6) Write your thinking about what was most important and what the text was about in the box at the bottom of the paper. It will look something like this: