Synthesizing is a process in which readers change their thinking as they read. They try to put together all of the strategies you have taught them to form thoughts, opinions and conclusions. Skimming is reading a text quickly to draw a general idea of meaning. It can differ with scanning, which is reading in order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names. A paraphrase is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. Inferring is finding out something that an author doesn’t actually say. You can use clues that are in the text, and things from your own mind. Sometimes it’s called “reading between the lines,” and it adds a lot more meaning to the story.