1. Chapter 1: Active Reading & Thinking Strategies
“You are responsible for the eventual outcome of your life. You have been given the greatest power in the world—the power to choose.” (Denis Waitley)
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2. In this chapter you will learn how to:
Read actively.
Preview.
Activate your background knowledge.
Check your comprehension.
Strengthen your comprehension.
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3. The 4 Step Reading Process
Step 1: Preview
Step 2: Read actively
Step 3: Annotate & highlight
Step 4: Review
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Step 1: Preview
Read the title
Read first sentence of each section (after bold headings)
Read graphic aids (bold print, graphs, photos, tables, etc.)
Read summary (last paragraph)
Skim over the questions
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Step 1: Preview
THINK about what you know about the topic
Make up one question that you would like to have answered in the first section.
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Preview
Read the title.
Check the author and source.
Read the introduction or the first paragraph.
Read boldfaced headings.
Read the first sentence after each major heading.
Note any typographical aids (letters, numbers).
Note graphic aids (photos, charts, tables)
Read the summary or last paragraph.
Read the end-of-chapter material (questions, summaries, highlights)
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Active Reading
What is it?
How do you do it?
Have you ever done this….
There is a BETTER way to read!
Here’s how:
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Step 2: Read actively
Read to find the answer to your question.
Use a pencil to mark and underline key points
Number key points
Stop at the end of a section.
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Read Actively
As you are reading, be looking for the most important point about the topic.
Read one section at a time, then stop.
This will also keep your mind focused so it will not wander and forget.
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10. Step 3: Annotate and Underline (Highlight)
Go back through the section you read and underline main idea & major points.
Make notes in the margins: the topic, lists of ideas, etc.
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Highlight & Annotate
Go back over what you just read and underline important points.
Make notes in the margins.
Write the topic.
Use abbreviations & symbols
Use “?” when it’s not clear
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Step 4: Review
Answer any questions you made up or turn the headings into questions and answer them.
Read your notes and annotations in the margins.
Review material daily 15 – 20 minutes
Review in different ways (the more places you store it the better you’ll learn it.)
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How to Read in College
1. Preview before you read
2. Read actively
3. Highlight & annotate
4. Review
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Active Readers...
Tailor their reading to suit each assignment.
Analyze the purpose of assignments.
Adjust speed according to purpose.
Compare and connect textbook material with lectures.
Skim and preview before reading.
Make sure they understand what they are reading as they go along.
Read with pencil in hand, highlighting, jotting notes, and marking key vocabulary.
Develop personalized strategies that are effective for them.
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Passive Readers...
They don’t do any of those things!
(See the list in the text for more details.)
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Review
Answer questions at end of chapter.
Make up questions using headings and see if you can answer them.
Review the material for 15 minutes each day.
Review in different ways.
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Dear Mrs. F…
I have to read ten paperback books for my research paper in psychology. How can I do all that AND my homework for two other courses, PLUS my part time job? Can you help me?
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18. Why Previewing Is Effective
Previewing helps you to make decisions about how you will approach the material.
Previewing puts your mind in gear and helps you start thinking about the subject.
Previewing gives you a mental outline of the chapter’s content.
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Let’s Try It!
Preview the article and answer the questions that follow.
Were you able to get the most important information from each section?
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Preview Practice
Preview the article “Relationships” by reading only what is highlighted in yellow.
Answer the 5 true-false questions at the end (write answers in the book).
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Guide Questions
Make up questions about the reading before you read.
Use headings, bold print, and graphic aids to help you.
Use questions at the end of the reading if they are available.
As you read, look for answers to the questions and mark them in your text.
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22. How to be an active reader
Preview
Activate your background knowledge
Interact with the reading as you read by highlighting, making notes, and asking questions.
Begin with Guide Questions
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23. Activating Background Knowledge
Ask questions and try to answer them.
Draw on your own experience.
Brainstorm. Write down what comes to mind about the topic.
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24. Positive Comprehension Signals
You have some knowledge of the topic.
You can recognize most words or can figure them out from context.
You can express the main idea.
You understand why the material was assigned.
You read at a regular pace.
You are able to make connections between ideas.
You are able to see where the author is heading.
You know which points are important.
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25. Negative Comprehension Signals
The topic is unfamiliar, yet the author assumes you understand it.
Many words are unfamiliar.
You must reread the main ideas.
You don’t know why the material was assigned.
You often slow down or reread.
You are unable to detect relationships.
You are unable to predict what will follow as you read.
Nothing (or everything) seems important.
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26. Strengthening Your Comprehension
Analyze the time and place in which you are reading. Check for distractions.
Paraphrase each paragraph in your own words.
Read difficult sentences or sections aloud.
Reread complicated sections.
Slow down your reading rate.
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27. Strengthening Your Comprehension
6. Write guide questions next to headings.
7. Outline the major points.
Highlight key ideas.
Write notes in the margin.
Determine if you lack background knowledge.
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28. When You Lack Background Knowledge
Use the glossary and index to consult other sections of your text.
Obtain a more basic textbook to review the unknown concepts.
Consult reference materials such as dictionaries, and encyclopedias.
Ask your instructor to recommend additional sources.
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29. U-Review: True or False?
1. Before reading you should look over the questions at the end of the selection, or make up questions.
2. Reading Actively means looking for answers to questions as you read.
3. In Step 3 of the Four Step Reading Process, you review the information.
4. In Step 4 of the Four Step Process you should highlight & annotate.
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5. Thinking about a topic before you read helps you to understand the material and remember it better.
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Testing Center in
What 3 things do you need to take with you to the testing center?
Pencil
Green Scantron
VID card
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