READING YOUR TEXTBOOK

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READING YOUR TEXTBOOK

• A Study Skills Series Presented by Student
  Success Programs

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Reading Leads to Success

• Successful students learn how to read effectively
  and REMEMBER what they have read.
• Part of becoming a good reader is finding a
  strategy that works for YOU.
• Remember dont give up, keep
• looking until you find a strategy
• that best suits YOU.

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Reading Textbooks

• Is not like reading for pleasure
• Unless notes are taken, most information will be
  forgotten
• Make sure you are understanding the information,
  rather than just looking at it

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Why are College Textbooks more Difficult to Read ?

• Many new technical terms
• More abstract concepts
• More idea dense
• More words per page
• Longer chapters
• Higher reading level
• Lower interest level
• Lack of background about the topics

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General Strategies for Reading College Textbooks

• Buy your textbooks early
• Preview your textbooks
• Read the chapter before the lecture (or, if you
  find that listening to the lecture first helps,
  at least skim the chapter)
• Read ten pages at a time
• Monitor your comprehension

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3- Phase Technique

• Before You Read
• Preview, Outline, Question
• While You Read
• Reflect, Underline, Answer
• After You Read
• Recite, Review, Review Again

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Before you Read Preview

• PREVIEW the entire assignment
• Look over
• Summaries
• Introduction
• Objectives
• Headings and Subheadings
• Charts and Graphs

• Think of possible test questions
• Identify Main Points
• This will familiarize you with the chapter

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Before you Read Outline

• OUTLINE material to organize your thoughts
• Use the text headings in your outline
• Rewrite headings if you need to

• As you read, fill in your outline with key
  points
• Using an outline helps keep information organized

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Before you Read Question

• QUESTION- what you hope to learn
• Turn heading and subheadings into questions

• Ask who, what, when, where, why, and how
  questions
• Make list of questions based on the purpose for
  that reading

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While you Read Reflect

• REFLECT on what you already know about the
  subject
• Turn content into mental pictures

• Be conscious of what you are doing
• Reflecting helps your brain get prepared to
  accept information that follows

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While you Read Underline

• UNDERLINE- important concepts
• Highlighting can be substituted for underlining

• Avoid underlining too soon
• Underline after you have read each paragraph

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While you Read Answer

• ANSWER- the questions you came up with

• Fill in your outline
• Jot down new questions answers
• Note when you dont find answers

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After you Read Recite

• RECITE when you are done reading
• Read each question and answer it out loud
• Talking about what you read, helps you summarize

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After you Read Review Review again

• Review within one day
• Helps move information from short-term to
  long-term memory

• Go over your notes
• Read the highlighted parts of your text

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4 Different Reading Levels

• Previewing
• Skimming
• Active Reading
• Analytical Reading

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Skimming

• Covers the content at a general level
• Involves reading at about twice your normal rate
• Gives a chance to see what the chapter/assignment
  contains

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Active Reading

• Use to avoid empty reading
• Absorb yourself in what the author is trying to
  say
• Focus on identifying the main points and how the
  supporting points reinforce them

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Analytic Reading

• Reading at a more intense level
• Involves breaking ideas open and digging beneath
  the surface
• Promotes a comparison of the work to other works
• Should involve questioning the author and yourself

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Reviewing

• Makes the main points stand out so they are
  easier to remember
• Is an opportunity to test yourself on
  comprehension
• Consolidates learning

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Elements of Your Reading Plan
Preview
Intensity of Effort
Skim
Active Reading
Analytic Reading
Review
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Reading Strategies

• P2R
• preview, read actively, review
• SQ3R
• survey, question, read, recite, review
• S-RUN-R
• survey, read, underline, note take, review

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A Summary of Strategies to Improve Reading

• Practice a positive attitude
• Pace yourself according to difficulty level
• Take breaks to restore concentration

• Shift gears when you dont make progress
• Build your vocabulary
• Work on reading faster
• Read other sources if reading is confusing

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Reading Tough Material

• When you dont understand, slow down and reread
• Break long assignments into segments read 10
  pages, do something else, and so on
• Translate difficult materials into your own words

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Tips to Remember

• Read in a quiet environment
• Stay focused
• Take short breaks
• Turn the content into mental pictures (visualize
  it)
• Avoid reading in bed