Active Vs. Passive Reading Theresa Davis, M. Ed, Instructor

Active Reader Before Reading Active, Mature, Efficient Textbook readers: Know their purpose for reading Activate prior knowledge of topic Choose appropriate reading strategies Focus attention on reading to be done Survey the text and write questions Ask: What do I already know? Ask: What do I want to learn?

Passive Reader Before reading Read without considering how to approach the text Do not know why they are reading the text

Active Reader During Reading Focus on constructing meaning from text Find something of interest in the topic Use prior knowledge to predict and anticipate what will come next Think about the text while they read Monitor their comprehension regularly Organize information into pieces Question text’s assumptions Active Reader During Reading

Active Reader During reading Regularly use fix-up strategies when they do not understand Read in meaningful word groupings Make decisions about meanings without being certain Rely on context clues to figure out meanings of words Develop concept maps showing relationships - visualize concepts

Active Reader During Reading Underline, mark and circle main ideas Take notes in their notebook Ask: What am I learning? Ask: Where am I confused?

Passive reader During Reading Read to get it done Start reading without looking at titles and subtitles Read without understanding text Do not realize they aren’t understanding text Read one word at a time and fixate on each word Read without thinking about definitions of unfamiliar words

Passive reader During Reading Unable to decide on meaning unless meaning is very clear Do not monitor their comprehension Seldom use fix-up strategies when comprehension fails Do not ask questions regarding how much they are comprehending Do not know what to do when comprehension is lost

Passive Reader During Reading Do not write in the text or take notes in their notebook Can’t wait to finish

Active Reader After Reading Reflect on what was read - process ideas Evaluate text and own comprehension Summarize major concepts Organize ideas for future study

Passive Reader After Reading Stop reading without further thinking Do not know what they have read Do not follow up with a comprehension self-check Do not identify and organize main ideas for future study

Reading Myth One MYTH 1: I HAVE TO READ EVERY WORD Many of the words used in writing grammatically correct sentences actually convey no meaning. If, in reading, you exert as much effort in conceptualizing these meaningless words as you do important ones, you limit not only your reading speed but your comprehension as well.

Reading Myth TWO MYTH 2: READING ONCE IS ENOUGH Many students automatically regress or reread doggedly with a self-punishing attitude. ("I didn't get a thing out of that paragraph the first time, so if I punish myself by rereading it maybe I will this time.") This is the hardest way to do it.

Reading Myth Three READING MYTH 3: IT IS SINFUL TO SKIP PASSAGES IN READING The idea that you cannot skip but have to read every page is old-fashioned. Children, however, are still taught to feel guilty if they find a novel dull and out it down before finishing it. I once had a student who felt she could not have books in her home unless she had read every one of them from cover to cover. No wonder many people dislike reading.

Reading Myth Four READING MYTH 4: I CANNOT READ VERY FAST, I MUST SLOW DOWN AND READ EVERY WORD. If you find yourself in need of a pusher, use a 3x5 card as a pacer, or use your hand, or your finger. However, there is one caution you should observe if you try this. Be sure that your hand or finger or card is used to push, not merely to follow your eyes.

Reading Myth Five READING MYTH 5: THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT MY EYES THAT KEEPS ME FROM READING FAST This belief is nonsense, assuming that you have good vision or wear glasses that correct your eye problems. Of course, if you cannot focus your eyes at the reading distance, you will have trouble learning to skim and scan. Furthermore, if you have developed the habit of focusing your eyes too narrowly and looking at word parts, it will be harder for you to learn to sweep down a page of type rapidly. Usually it is your brain, not your eyes, that slows you down in reading. Your eyes are capable of taking in more words than your brain is used to processing. If you sound out words as you read, you will probably read very slowly and have difficulty in skimming and scanning until you break this habit.

Understand purposes for reading and the reading process Many people--students and faculty alike--assume that when they encounter a text, they simply sit down and read it. Yet different types of texts call for different reading strategies. We should not assume that our students know this or have been taught this; in fact, many studies show that reading comprehension strategies are not extensively taught in secondary schools.

Understand purposes for reading and the reading process Students often have difficulties reading and retaining information from textbooks because they fail to recognize both the intent of the text and the purpose of their reading. It's like walking into a house for the first time without the benefit of a light or an idea of the floor plan. Newcomers could just bumble around in the dark until they found a doorway and would move from room to room with no clear idea of where they had been or were going.

Understand purposes for reading and the reading process We can "hand students a flashlight" by helping them identify the purpose of the text and understand the stages of an effective reading process.

Understand purposes for reading and the reading process Our learning goals for this module are: Students will recognize purpose-driven approaches to reading. Students will learn about three stages of the reading process.

Understand purposes for reading and the reading process Have you thought about your reading process? If so, how would you describe it? Has your process worked well for you, or are there parts you would change? Many college students would define their reading process something like this: find the reading assignment on the syllabus, locate the textbook and open to the appropriate page, use a yellow highlighter to mark passages that might be important to remember for the test, read to the end of the assignment, close the book, take a coffee break. While this is certainly a process, it’s not particularly effective for comprehension and retention of ideas.

Understand purposes for reading and the reading process Understanding the PURPOSES FOR READING There are three primary purposes for reading, and each one is identified by different motivations, activities and strategies.