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[opentin]

I agree that a very good method for teaching skimming and scanning is to write a 'true' or 'false' worksheet beforehand and get them to read the text quickly to find the responses.

I don't think that it's pointless, or a 'vague memory test,' to get students to read it and then ask them new questions about the reading.
When I get my students to read a story or an article I follow up with some basic comprehension questions that test the reader's understanding of the text rather than specific vocab etc.

I think this challenges students to look behind the text and into the meaning, and, if this is done regularly, helps students to adjust their reading style to search for meaning rather than just answers to questions.

I tell my students that the goal of reading is to be able to read a text and not worry about understanding the specific vocab of it, so I ban dictionaries during reading (unless there's an unusual word which is absolutely integral to the understanding of the text.) When you ask them questions from the text try not to ask questions where the answers can be lifted straight from the text, but questions that test that the students actually understand wtf the text is about.

This is not simply a memory test, it's also a method of getting students to gain skills to help with the understanding of the text, rather than simply finding the correct sentence with which to answer the question.

I tell students that the skill of reading is the ability to pick up a text and read it, understand it, and discuss it readily, without having to understand every single word in the text. It's not necessary, and that's vocab, not reading.

So I think it's fine to ask questions after the reading, but I also agree that the true/false and questions beforehand situation is good too, because it helps give structure to their reading. My advice is to make sure you're asking questions whose answers can be lifted verbatim from the text, and to ask questions that engage the students opinions and their own connections with the text.

Anthony

PS - If this all seems really obvious and basic please disregard