1. Core Course Knowledge Lesson 7
Reading Comprehension 2: Strategies for Close Reading

3. Strategies Active Reading Making Connections Re-Reading
Chunking Information
Challenging Ideas and Assumptions
This is a long lesson, and it’s broken up into two parts. The first part will cover 1 -3, and the second part will cover 4 and 5. We will be doing activities with each part, which will be a separate grade in addition to your notes, so PAY ATTENTION.

4. Active Reading & Making Connections
Part I
Active Reading & Making Connections

5. What Makes a “Good” Reader?
Often people think “good” readers are those who read quickly. However, speed does not equal success, especially when it comes to processing difficult texts. You are more likely to understand these texts if you read with a close and critical eye, which is called “close reading.”
Key Term:
Close Reading: A thoughtful, critical analysis of a text which focuses on both structure and meaning to develop a deep and precise understanding.
Keep in mind, the strategies we cover can be used for any kind of reading, not just for your AICE EGP exam. Try these when you’re reading textbooks for other classes, the material you are given for the Palm Beach Writes and the FSA, your Achieves, and even just things you read for fun.

6. Speed is not your friend!
DON’T speed-read a text! Students often feel under pressure, especially in a situation where time is limited, to quickly skim the text before diving into the questions. This is a BIG MISTAKE! Just as you need to understand an essay question BEFORE you begin writing your response, you also need to understand the reading material before you can answer questions about it.
Especially in exam situations, where the results are so important, you may feel the need to read through the text quickly so you can be sure to finish and not miss any marks (points) by not being able to answer all the questions. But if you misunderstand the information, you could be getting ALL the answers wrong, and therefore missing TONS of marks, so it is best to read CAREFULLY.

7. Reading Actively to Build Comprehension
All year I’ve been asking you to interact with the power points I give you. This is a form of active reading that will benefit you in the exam and with ALL your reading tasks in ANY class or situation. Interacting directing with the material can help you identify specific elements of the text that you might not otherwise notice. Annotate by circling, underlining, or writing notes in the margins. This draws your attention to important information that you can come back to later.
Reading actively can help you understand a text on a deeper level. Making notes as you read can help keep you focused, particularly when reading long texts, or ones that don’t interest you. If you interact with the text this way, you’re more likely to connect ideas within the text and link these with your own experiences or with other ideas you have read. This will also help you develop your output skills.
If you have previewed the questions like you should, you should mark any place in the text that will help you answer any of the questions.

8. Reading Actively As you read, you could write down:
Notes to explain meaning
Synonyms for unfamiliar words
Challenges to opinions that are expressed
Examples to support points that are made
Connections to your own experiences or wider knowledge
Questions about the text
This kind of intellectual engagement can help you develop your critical thinking skills and deepen your appreciation for the issues that are explored. The more you understand a topic, the more effectively you will be able to respond to it.

9. 2. Making Connections
Reading the text closely and carefully gives you time to think about how the ideas within the text connect. It can also help you see how these ideas or examples connect with your own experiences or with that of society as a whole. Being able to apply the ideas from a text to your own life and experiences is one way of making the information more memorable. This is a key skill for a critical thinker.
I’m sure you’ve heard of text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world. Let’s review what that means.Take notes on your powerpoint. If you are taking these notes at home because you were absent, you can look here for information:

10. Activity 2: Active Reading and Making Connections
We will be actively reading the article “An Ethiopian Runner Makes a Brave Gesture of Anti-Government Protest at the Olympic Finish.”
But first, let’s practice the strategies we learned in lesson 6 by asking ourselves some pre-reading questions.
What is the topic of the text?
When was it written?
What issue(s) will be addressed?
What conclusion(s) might the author reach about the issue(s)?
We will also make note of the vocabulary words and definitions provided on page 39. Based on the headline, the picture, and the vocabulary words, what can we infer before even reading the article?

11. Activities 2 &3: Practice
Read the box at the top of page 38. As we read, think about these questions and make notes on your powerpoint.
We will also be answering the exam-style questions on page 39, so preview them before we begin to read.

12. Re-Reading, Chunking, and Challenging Ideas & Assumptions
Part II
Re-Reading, Chunking, and Challenging Ideas & Assumptions

13. 3. Re-Reading
Have you ever read a book or seen a movie that you loved so much you read it or watched it over and over? When you did, did you notice things you didn’t catch the first time? Sometimes we NEED to read the information more than once to really “get it” in order to respond to it.
In this course, and for the exam, you will be asked to read material, some of which might be challenging for you. If so, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, or that anything is wrong with you. It just means you may have to apply some re-reading strategies to comprehend the material. When you come across a particularly difficult section, try the following.

14. 3 Steps to Help You Understand
Read ahead: The text will probably offer further information to clarify what you do not understand. (This does NOT mean “skip” ahead!)
Re-read the challenging section a second time, now that you have read ahead for more information.
Make a note in the margin to clarify or simplify the section of text once you understand it better.
Notes like these can easily provide a quick reference that you can return to when you begin drafting your responses to comprehension questions. Also, careful note-taking is characteristic of a critical reader and thinker. This not only helps you meet the needs of this course, but can also help you develop the skills and qualities which are required at a university level.

15. 4. Chunking Information
When you are dealing with longer texts, it can be useful to break down the information into smaller, more digestible chunks. A simple way of doing this is to divide the text into three sections: beginning, middle, and end. Consider each section, one at a time, before attempting to process the message of the entire article. As you read each section, ask yourself:
What has happened? Who or what was involved?
How is the information structured?
How does it link up with what comes before it?
Where is it likely to lead next?
Once you understand the smaller sections you can put them together to see the bigger picture, and the purpose behind the article.

16. Activity 4 (page 40)
We will read the article that starts on page 40, “Bollywood influence on fashion trends waning?”
Preview the article, the glossary, and read the “Activity 4” box on page 40. I will model how you are to break down the article and identify what it says and what it does in each section. Be sure to write your answers either on the powerpoint itself or on another piece of paper, but make sure you LABEL it!
What is Bollywood? Based on the picture, and the vocabulary, what can you infer about the article, before we read it?

17. 5. Challenging Ideas and Assumptions
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and it’s even in the textbook): Don’t believe everything you read! In today’s world, online media allows anyone to publish information. For this reason, you can never be sure that what you’re reading is entirely accurate, objective, or unbiased. One person cannot be the sole authority on a subject. His or her voice is only one perspective, shaped by by circumstances, and therefore likely to emphasize or omit information depending on those experiences.
Therefore, if you want to fully comprehend a text, it is important that you learn to challenge the assumptions and perspectives of other writers when necessary. You can do this by asking yourself questions such as:

18. Challenging Ideas and Assumptions
Do you believe what the writer believes? Should you?
How or why is the writer in a position to know?
Would anyone else disagree with their view? On what basis?
What could be missing from the discussion that the writer presents? What does the discussion fail to consider?
Readers engage with a test on a critical level when they take the time to challenge the ideas and assumptions presented. This is a more advanced skill that will take time to develop.