Reading train - Improve your reading skills

How do I begin improving my vocabulary and reading skills?

I`m to be a junior next year in highschool and I think I should improve my vocabulary. I know a considerable amount of good words, but I want to know more. Where should I start? Also, on WCKE and state tests I tend to score lower on reading than I ought to for an advanced student. You can say, "Well, just read more," but I don`t know how to begin. How can I improve my reading skills, too?

Public Comments

1. read the dictionary it will help with both.
2. U could start reading some of ur fave books over and over again, or read the dictornary
3. READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4. the answer is to read more, but read things that are more advanced than your normal grade level. read college level books and newspapers like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal (you can see articles online). Try to read more complicated pieces like the health, technology and business sections - dont go for the gossip, fashion or comics. I know it sounds boring, but your vocabulary will expand and so will your comprehension. You can see if there are free college prep tests online and take those, get a ACT or SAT study guide (or help online too) - they will help vocab andhelp you get ready at the same time. Ifyou dedicate lets say a 1/2 hour a day, you'll improve - doesnt require a lot of time. look online to local colleges and their reading lists - read what they are expecting students to read. Good for you trying to improve yourself - your determination alone makes you a winner and dont forge to have some fun this summer.
5. well, this is really old but it works im in 8th grade now and i used something called: hooked on phonics, it really works try it.
6. Word - a - day Tiolet paper =) or look up a random word in the dictionary and try to use it at least 3 times that day! Another thing you could do is find some variations of words you use a lot in the thesaurus....(called synonyms!) Good luck with it!
7. Yes, just read more. They say that it doesn't matter what you read as long as you read,but that is not true. Get yourself an old dictionary from a junk store. (the older the better-dictionaries are "dumbing down" just like literature.) Go to your library and look for books written by Jane Austin, Nathanial Hawthorne, George Eliot, Leo Tolstoy, Pearl Buck,any of the Bronte sisters. In fact anything written before the 20th century. Try the original Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leruix, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, or Dracula by Bram Stoker if you like that sort of thing. Talk to your librarian. Oh yes try reading The Lord of the Rings. There are so many great works out there that are forgotten because people are losing their vocabularies. They may be dry for you at first, but persevere and you will enjoy the beauty of language as it reveals exciting forgotten stories. Good Luck! Oh yes, to improve the flow of your stories, jot down unfamiliar words and look them up at chapter's end. Or just keep on reading!
8. Play Scrabble with a GOOD player.