Reading

• Of all the skills necessary to

succeed , the two most important
are:
• Reading – the intake of information
• Writing – the production of
information
• In this presentation, we deal with
how to make your reading
skills work for you…
 Take Charge of Your Reading
• Before all else, if you don’t like to read,
accept the importance of the skill and work on
it. This is CRITICAL to your success!
• Commit to reading goals
• Plan time and space to concentrate
• Capture and connect
• Know how to read primary and
secondary sources.
• Preview and Review…
 Commit to Reading Goals
• Stay positive, reading can be enjoyable.
• Break chapters into “chunks.”
• Preview each chunk before you start.
• Pace yourself according to difficulty level.
• Take breaks.
• Read other sources if the reading is confusing.
• Keep building your vocabulary.
• When necessary, skim readings for key points
• Make understanding the material of prime
importance.
 Plan Time and Space to Concentrate

• College reading takes a great deal

of concentration.
• Schedule time to read in a place
where you won’t be interrupted.
• Find an environment in which you
can concentrate best.
• If you must read in a noisy
environment, consider wearing
headphones with familiar
instrumental music just loud
enough to block distractions.
 Capture and Connect
• Capture the supporting details; connect
them to the main idea.
• Capture what you don’t know and connec
it to what you do know.
• Elements of Your Reading Plan
– Preview
– Skimming
– Active Reading
– Analytic Reading
– Review
 Developing Your Vocabulary
• Consider the context around new Learn to read
“outside the
and challenging words. box!”
• Jot down unfamiliar terms and find
the meaning using a dictionary.
• Analyze terms to discover the most
meaningful part of the word.
• Take the opportunity to use new
terms in your writing and speaking.
 A Reader’s Glossary
Cause-effect How one thing causes another to happen

Compare-contrast How things are similar and how they are different

Draw a conclusion To make up your mind about an idea

Context clue Getting the meaning of a word from the words around it

Implied Suggested without being directly stated

Inference To guess or speculate to draw a conclusion

Main idea The primary subject of a passage or paragraph

Objectivity Not influenced by personal feelings or prejudice

Prior knowledge What you already know

Supporting details Specific items that elaborate on the main idea

 Preview
This is a lot of work!
Who needs it?

• Scan the material to see what lies

ahead.
• Consider the context for the
assignment.
• Consider the length of the reading
assignment and estimate how long
it will take.
• Consider the structure and
features of the reading to help you
digest the material.
• Consider the difficulty and plan
your time accordingly.
 Reviewing
• Review to remember the main points
of the material.
• Test yourself on your comprehension.
• Some ways to review:
– notes
– study questions
– flash cards
– visual maps
– outlines
• Make reviewing every week a study
goal.
 Skimming
• Skimming covers the content
at a general level.
• It involves reading at about
twice your normal rate.
• Focuses on introductory statements, topic
sentences and boldface terms.
• Provides the chance for you to see what kind
of information the assignment contains
• Enables you to gather the surface ideas if you
don’t have enough time to read deeply.
 Right!
Read us the Get involved
story about the in reading!
wolf

Active Reading
• Use it to avoid empty reading—reading then
realizing that no information has come across.
• Identify yourself completely in what the author is
trying to say: throw yourself into his mind!
• Focus on identifying the main ideas and on
understanding how supporting points reinforce
those ideas.
• In other words, get really interested & involved!
 Analytic Reading
• Reading at a more intense level.
• Involves breaking ideas open and digging
underneath their surface.
• Enables you to try to spot flaws in the writer’s
logic.
• Promotes a comparison of the work to other
works.
• Should involve questioning the author and
yourself.
• In other words, active skepticism with a purpose
 Take a book
Tips for Improving
to lunch this
week! Reading Ability
• Find a quiet study location.
• Read in 50-minute blocks with
breaks in between.
• Take notes, recite key ideas or
jot down questions in the
margins.
• Experiment with your reading
Show them we’re a rate.
regular bunch this
week! • Focus on key issues in the text.
Highlighting Text
• Highlight:
– Topic sentences, Key words, Conclusions
• But watch out!
– Highlighting too much can cause you to re-
read everything because you don’t know
what’s important.
– Highlighting doesn’t show you why you
highlighted something
– You need to have the entire text with you to
review.
 Important Points About
College Reading
• You are expected to read the material
and understand it on your own.
• Successful students complete
assigned readings before class to
help them understand the lecture.
• Connections and overlaps between
lecture and reading reinforce
learning.
• Also, reading ahead prevents you
from being embarrassed when you
are called Instructors do NOT always
cover the reading material in lecture.
 A Summary of Strategies to
Improve Reading
• Practice a positive • Shift gears when you do
attitude. not make progress.
• Make the author your • Read other sources if the
companion. reading is confusing.
• Build your vocabulary.
• Pace yourself
according to difficulty • Work on reading faster.
level. • Increase your
accountability for reading.
• Take breaks to restore
concentration.