College students can read, but they often lack the prereading and postreading skills needed to help them think about and respond to what they read. A three-step plan can help students read and understand the text more fully. The first step entails using measures of fitness to determine: (1) the grade level of the text being considered and how it compares with the level the college has determined is necessary for material to be used in various college curricula, (2) how ready students are to use the text, and (3) the type of responses the teacher can expect from students in discussions about selections in the text. The second step consists of testing one's own (the instructor's) assumptions about how to teach this material against the information gained in the first step to see if they are realistic, and then revising one's goals accordingly. The third step involves accommodating the information found in the first two steps to prepare the student via guided reading. Students learn to scan the preface and table of contents to get the gist of the text and find its organizational framework, then analyze the arrangement of a typical chapter to learn what to expect in their reading assignments. Next, techniques are introduced to help students develop into active readers. These may include vocabulary previews; thought provoking questions that evoke interest in the selection and engage the students in examining their own experiences and beliefs; and various prereading procedures designed to help the student grasp the main points of the story, its setting, character, and tone. (An appendix contains test materials, charts, and a study techniques summary. (RBW)