Skills and approaches used before, during and after reading/viewing to determine the meaning and increase understanding of a text. Examples are: Scanning: a type of reading/viewing used to locate a particular piece of information without necessarily attending to other parts of a text. Skimming: a type of reading/viewing used to identify only the main idea or ideas or to pick out any words in capitals/ in italics/underlined, as well as any visuals or font indicators that would help a reader/viewer to understand a passage. Sifting: selecting the most important ideas, words, facts or finding only those details relevant to a task or purpose.