Define metacognition in reading and provide practice ideas.

• A. Thinking about decoding strategies.
• B. A measure of reading speed.
• C. The ability to read quickly.
• D. Thinking about one's thinking; practice self-questioning, predicting, clarifying, and summarizing.

Answer: (D)

Metacognition in reading means thinking about your own thinking while you read—being aware of what you understand, what you don’t, and using deliberate strategies to steer understanding. The best choice captures this idea by defining metacognition as thinking about one’s thinking and naming concrete practices that help readers regulate comprehension: self-questioning, predicting, clarifying, and summarizing.

Self-questioning keeps you engaged with the text by asking questions like “What does this part mean?” or “Why did this character act this way?” Predicting sets a purpose before and during reading and connects new information to what you already know. Clarifying targets confusing parts or unfamiliar vocabulary, prompting rereading or looking for clues in context. Summarizing helps you consolidate meaning by restating the main ideas in your own words, checking that you’ve understood.

These strategies show a reader who monitors and adjusts their approach to thinking as they read, rather than merely decoding words or reading quickly. The other options point to decoding skills, speed, or rapidity—elements that don’t capture the reflective, self-regulating aspect of metacognition. To practice, have students set a purpose before reading, make a quick prediction, pause to question and monitor understanding during, and finally summarize and reflect on which strategies helped most.