Reading & Listening

When your teacher gives you a reading assignment: Teachers assign you to read from your text books because they contain information your teacher wants you to know—THEY EXPECT YOU TO READ THE ASSIGNMENT You MUST read the assignment before you try answering questions or completing the worksheet You will never understand the information or what the author is trying to get across to you if you do not READ FIRST! Reading first actually takes less time that looking at the questions and then fishing around for information without having read it.

The text book author will give you all sorts of clues—or learning tools--to help you understand the information you are reading! Bold-faced sub-titles that introduce the information to you Important words in bold print or in italic print Pictures Charts Graphs Vocabulary lists Chapter or section summaries Review questions These tools are there to help you understand what you are reading—not just to help you answer questions.

There is a system that you can use to help you do a better job of reading, understanding, and remembering what you have read. SCAN READ REVIEW

Step One—Scan You scan by quickly looking over the information you are going to be reading Read titles, sub-titles, and everything written in bold or in italics. Look at things like pictures, charts, and graphs If there is a summary at the end—read it If there are review questions at the end—read them Scanning will provide you an overview of what you will be reading, and lot of information Scanning will help you understand what the author thinks is important Scanning give you the author’s main ideas. Once you understand the main ideas, it is easier to understand and remember more detailed information

Step Two—Read Read with a purpose in mind Read the information assigned carefully, and use the the author’s main ideas to help you understand and remember the details Turn each section or sub-title into a question Keep that question in your mind as you read and try to answer the question The question will give you some specific to look for and will help to keep your mind from wandering By the time you are done reading the section, you should be able to answer your question That will help you remember more of what you have read By the time you have finished the entire reading assignment, you should be able to answer the review questions

Step Three—Review Once you have finished reading—you are not done Take a few minutes to go back and review what you have just read—reviewing after you read is very much like scanning before you have read Reviewing helps you lock in the information and will make a big difference in how much you remember SCAN, READ,and REVIEW does not mean more work—it means better grades!

LISTENING SKILLS HEARING—Using your ears to perceive sound. Hearing happens naturally. LISTENING—Concentrating on sounds you hear so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences. Listening is something you can control—something you choose to do (have you ever heard the term “selective listener?”). SKILL—An ability—something you are good at, usually because you have practiced. Listening is a skill something you can improve on and get better at with practice. LISTENING LEADS TO LEARNING

LISTEN WITH YOUR FACE Act like a listener—use your face to show you are listening and interested You listen better when you look at the person talking Your eyes pick up non-verbal signals that the speaker sends out When there is eye contact between you and the person speaking—you are completing the communication circuit (sending and receiving) React to what the speaker is saying be sending out non-verbal signals of your own

WAYS TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER Give your 100% attention to the person speaking—if nothing else, that shows respect Respond to what is being said—either verbally or non-verbally—give feedback to the speaker Focus on content, not delivery Do what it takes to avoid becoming distracted Do not be a passive listener. Concentrate on what is being said so you can process the information Ask mental questions and then try to find the answers Be aware of the time gap between listening and speaking—thoughts move four times as fast as speech

THE THREE STEPS OF THE LISTENING PROCESS 1) Hearing—listening just barely enough to grasp the main idea of what a speaker is saying 2) Understanding—Taking what you have heard and processing it 3) Judging—Once you understand what was said, you determine whether it makes sense or is believable

COMMUNICATION The communication process consists of two parts—SENDING and RECEIVING In order for two or more people to communicate effectively, they have to be on the same wave- length The message or information coming from THE SENDER must be understood by THE RECEIVER. Therefore, listening become a very important part of the communication process. LISTENING LEADS TO LEARNING