Welcome!
Welcome girls! 
This is a space to read, think, discuss, watch, write, review, analyse and exlpore! English is such an exciting subject because it has so many aspects to it!
Take the time to find the part of English that you love!
Reading Speed
Is reader faster necessarily better?
Many people think that being able to read quickly is a clear sign that you read well, but this isn't always the case. Often, those who can read quickly can do so due becuase they have developed the skill of skim-reading. While skim-reading is a great skill, and is useful when reading for an outline, or to identify key words, it leaves gaps in comprehension. It is difficult to focus on details when skim-reading.
Many people who are regular readers occassionally skim-read, and can be tempted to fall into this habit while reading a novel for study. When reading a setwork, it is important to slow down and pay attention to detail. An easy way to get yourself to do this is to have a pencil and some post-its with you while you read. This is a place to write details you might forget, and questions you might want to ask. It is also a great place to record key quotations and any great connections you might be making about irony, implication or theme.
If you are curious about your reading speed, visit this website. Once you are there select any theme/story at level 7 to see your reading speed!
See how you compare!
| Grade | Words Per Minute |
|---|---|
| 1 | 80 |
| 2 | 115 |
| 3 | 138 |
| 4 | 158 |
| 5 | 173 |
| 6 | 185 |
| 7 | 195 |
| 8 | 204 |
| 9 | 214 |
| 10 | 224 |
| 11 | 237 |
| 12 | 250 |
If you are unhappy about your reading speed, improve it!
Here's how!
- Read for 15 minutes every single day.
- Add at least one word to your vocabulary every day.
- Aim to read as many varied texts as possible: novels/newspapers/non-fiction/magazines/blogposts
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”― George R.R. Martin
Making Ourselves Big
Earlier this week I spoke about how our body language affects our performance, and the power behind faking it 'till we make it.
Here's the TED talk that all that was based on.
While it's a little long (21 minutes! Make sure you're not using your data while you watch this!) it IS worth watching, and it's incredibly interesting how powerful body language is!