Student Learning Workshop #1 Fall 2012 A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF READING: RULES FOR FINDING WHAT A TEXT IS ABOUT

 Pre-Reading  Active Reading  Post-Reading THE READING PROCESS

 is what readers do before they read to create expectations, focus, and a plan for the best approach to the reading.  Pre-reading helps readers…  to activate prior knowledge as a framework for understanding  to stimulate interest in the topic  to identify the purposes and goals for the reading  to provide language preparation for the text  To get a sense of the organization of the whole WHAT IS PRE-READING?

 Tyler Junior College from the air (Pre-reading)   Tyler Junior College from the ground (Active Reading) PERSPECTIVE IS EVERYTHING

1. Read the Title 2. Read the Introduction 3. Read the Topic Sentences 4. Look over all pictures, charts, and graphs 5. Read the Conclusion 6. Read the end-of- chapter-questions OVERVIEW OF RULES FOR PRE-READING Activate Prior Knowledge Form Questions Outline

 While you are following the rules for active reading, do the following three things:  Activate Prior Knowledge  Outline the Chapter  Form Focus Questions

 K What do I already know about the subject of this reading?  B What are my biases? Can I put them aside and really hear what the author thinks? (Biases are strong opinions you may have about a subject. If you don’t acknowledge them and put them aside as you read, you may find it hard to understand differing opinions expressed by the authors in your assignments).  G What are my goals for learning as I read this? In other words, what should I learn by reading this assignment? ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

1.As you are following the steps to pre-reading, make a formal outline of the chapter using the basic outline at the start of the chapter. Or, go through the chapter and make your own outline using the boldfaced headings. 2.Skip several lines under each heading to leave room for main ideas and major supporting details 3.You will turn in a quiz in the form of a chapter outline at the end of this workshop. OUTLINE THE CHAPTER

Chapter “1” Outline: Title of Chapter I.Introduction (page numbers?) I.Main Argument II.Problem(s) chapter is addressing II.Middle (page numbers?) I.Title of First Section I.Subsection title I.Main idea for subsection II.Answer to end of chapter question #? (page number) II.Subsection title I.Main idea for subsection II.Chart/graph/picture (page number?) II.Title of Second Section III.Title of Third Section III.Conclusion (page numbers) I.Author’s summary of solution to chapter problem EXAMPLE OF OUTLINE

1.Use the boldfaced headings of your text to formulate focus questions for reading each section of the text. You will answer these questions as you read. The kinds of questions you should ask are basic previewing questions that facilitate essential comprehension.  These are questions that begin with: What is/are... Who...? When...? Where...? How much...? How many...? What is an example of...? 2.Dig deeper into your reading--”How” and “Why” questions generally encourage higher level thinking.  These are questions that focus on inference and analysis such as: How did the author write this? Why did the author write it this way? How do I know? How does this apply? Why do I believe this? How did I come to this conclusion? FORM FOCUS QUESTIONS

Read the title. RULE #1

 What can you determine about the subject of the chapter from reading the title? RULE 1 EXPLAINED Don’t forget to form focus questions, outline the chapter, and activate prior knowledge while completing this step.

Read the introduction. RULE #2

 Where to find the introduction to a chapter  Often an introduction is labeled, but sometimes it is not.  As a general rule, it is the first few paragraphs in a chapter.  What to look for in the introduction  Is there a problem or problems that this chapter primarily addresses itself to?  Can you identify the main argument? RULE 2 EXPLAINED Don’t forget to form focus questions, outline the chapter, and activate prior knowledge while completing this step.

Identify the main idea for each section in the chapter. RULE #3

 Where do I find the main idea for each section?  Read each boldfaced heading and read and underline or highlight the first sentence under each heading. This first sentence often provides the main idea for the section.  Main idea for each section = the topic sentence  Sometimes the main idea is contained in more than one sentence. RULE 3 EXPLAINED Don’t forget to form focus questions, outline the chapter, and activate prior knowledge while completing this step.

Look at all of the pictures, including graphs and charts, and read their captions. RULE #4

 Pictures, graphs, and charts are often in place to bring further clarity to important points in the text. Therefore, they can often help underline which points are most important in a text. RULE 4 EXPLAINED Don’t forget to form focus questions, outline the chapter, and activate prior knowledge while completing this step.

Read the conclusion. RULE #5

 Where is the conclusion located?  Though not always, the conclusion is usually found in the last couple of paragraphs in a chapter or section. It may be set apart with an emboldened title of some sort.  What am I looking for in the conclusion?  Look for a summarization of how the author has attempted to solve the problem of the chapter. RULE 5 EXPLAINED Don’t forget to form focus questions, outline the chapter, and activate prior knowledge while completing this step.

Read the end-of- chapter questions RULE #6

 What am I looking for these questions to do, if I have not read the chapter yet?  The end of chapter/section questions will offer a strong indication of what the author feels are the most important points in the text.  How should I use these questions?  The reader should keep in mind these questions as he/she reads the chapter. RULE 6 EXPLAINED Don’t forget to form focus questions, outline the chapter, and activate prior knowledge while completing this step.

 Using the rules taught in this module, conduct a pre-reading of any one chapter from the textbook of your Quest course. Type or print your response to the pre-reading questions detailed on slides 1-21 of this power-point in outline form (see slides 8-9). Within one week of having completed this module, turn in your outline to your Quest Tutor with your name, date, workshop number, Quest professor, and Quest course name at the top.  Complete the post-workshop survey at s/38/quest_classroom/3. s/38/quest_classroom/3  Note: Students who do not complete both the quiz and the survey will not receive credit for completing the workshop module. QUIZ