The current study examined the effects of critical and main idea identification skills on senior secondary students’ achievement in reading comprehension in Karu Local Government Area in Nasarawa. The study adopted the quasi-experimental research design. Specifically, the pre-test post-test non-equivalent comparison group design. The sample size of the study consisted of 85 senior secondary students (SS2) The sample was drawn using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Reading Comprehension Achievement Test (RCAT) was used to gather data. The Reading Comprehension Achievement Test (RCAT) measured the two reading skills namely the critical reading and main idea identification. The data collected for the study were organized and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The research questions one and two were answered using the mean and standard deviation. Hypotheses one and two were tested using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The findings showed that pre-reading strategies motivate and sustain students’ interest in the actual reading activity. They also activate the building of related information in such a way that new information is easily assimilated into learners’ existing fields of knowledge. Though pre-reading activities play a critical role in the reading comprehension classroom, the study revealed that a substantial number of teachers do not embrace them. The few who do, neither use a variety of them nor use them regularly. The study recommends that English language teachers should employ pre-reading activities such pre-teach vocabulary, discussion and pre-questioning in teaching reading comprehension.
KEYWORDS: reading, reading strategies, reading comprehension, achievements.
