1. GUST 1270 College and Career Planning
CHAPTER FIVE
READ:
Building Your Reading
and Comprehension Skills

2. UNIT 5 OBJECTIVES This chapter can help you:
Read and remember what you read
Know your reading speed and comprehension level
Tell whether you are an active or passive reader
Learn to use the dictionary
Develop a powerful vocabulary
Find main points while reading
Use SQ3R
Apply Bloom’s Taxonomy for comprehension

3. TOP ACADEMIC PROBLEMS
The two greatest problems college students face today are college math classes and reading comprehension.

4. SIX PACK FOR SUCCESSFUL READING
The material you’re An open mind Pencils
reading   
A highlighter A tablet or loose-leaf paper A dictionary

5. ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE READERS
Active readers
Enjoy reading
Visualize while reading
Approach text with an open mind
Passive readers
Just want to get reading over with
Only read when required to do so

6. ARE YOU READING BELOW THE AVERAGE RATE?
Are you concentrating on the passage?
Is there vocabulary that is unfamiliar?
Are you fixating too long on words?
Are you reading often enough to build your speed?

7. USING YOUR DICTIONARY (From The American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd College Edition)
Pronunciation
The Word Part of Speech
Usage
Meaning
Word Origin

8. INCREASE YOUR CONCENTRATION
Reduce outside distractions
Reduce internal distractions
Set a reading goal (amount and time)
Take short breaks every 20 minutes
Take notes as you read

9. BUILD YOUR VOCABULARY Stop and look up words you don’t know
Keep a list of new words
Study your vocabulary list
Work on crossword or other word puzzles

10. FIXATION Your eyes stop on an average of 2.5 words per fixation
Practice reading in phrases:
Nutrition is important to good health.
Therefore, you should work hard
to eat proper meals every day.
By doing this you can maintain
good health.

11. IDENTIFYING THE TOPIC (D. Seyler, 2001)
The topic is the subject of the paragraph
“Who or what is the paragraph about?”
General enough to cover all details in the paragraph
Specific enough to exclude related topics in other paragraphs

12. Using SQ3R
Survey
Question
Read
Recite
Review

13. Scan Question Read Recite Review Using SQ3R
Scan or pre read the assigned chapter
There are five common questions that you can ask yourself; Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Now you have to read the chapter
Recitations is easy but very crucial to this survey. Repeat the information to yourself
After you have read the chapter and followed all the previous steps go back and read it again

14. READING THE CHAPTER Read the entire paragraph before marking anything
Identify and highlight the topic or thesis statement if stated
Mark key phrases
Don’t highlight too much
Stop to look up unfamiliar vocabulary
Make margin notes

15. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR READING TIME
Reduce distractions in environment
Read at the best time of day for concentration
Read with a healthy snack
Read in sections and take breaks
Form questions from material
Look up unfamiliar words
Manage your time to allow enough time for reading

16. UNIT REFLECTION Approach text with an open mind
Free your mind to focus on reading
Read with your “six-pack”
Mark and look up unknown words
Make and review a new vocabulary list
Use SQ3R and Bloom’s Taxonomy
Get a tutor if needed
The more you read, the more skilled you’ll be

17. JUST FOR FUN !!
Character Illustration by Christian O’Brien