Scanning and skimming are two ways to read quickly and find information without going through everything in detail.

Scanning:

Scanning means looking for specific details, like a name, date, or keyword. We don't need to read every word—we just search for what we need.

Example 1: If we're checking a TV schedule to see when our favorite show is on, we scan the list until we find the show and see its time.

Example 2: When using a dictionary to find the meaning of "apple," we scan the pages, looking for words that start with "A" until we find "apple."

Skimming:

Skimming is when we quickly go through a text to understand the main idea. We don’t read every word, just enough to get the overall meaning.

Example 1: If we're reading a news article but just want to know the main points, we skim the headlines and first sentences to get the main idea.

Example 2: If we pick up a book and want to decide if it’s interesting, we skim the chapter titles and a few sentences from each chapter to get a sense of what it’s about.