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Answer 1

Being an Active Reader Have you ever read an entire article or essay only to put it down and scratch your head wondering what it was about? Sometimes, we don't practice actively reading texts. Instead, we might skim the newspaper while eating our breakfast or try to read our homework on the bus. What happens when we do this, though, is that we don't absorb the material. We snap the book shut wondering just what it was that happened. When it comes to reading, there's no point in cutting corners or practicing "passive" reading. In this lesson, you'll go over some strategies that will help you become an active reader. Objectives • Recognize and implement strategies for active reading. Vocabulary paraphrase to restate something in a simpler manner summarize to explain the main idea in a concise manner • Flash Cards • Spelling Bee Know Your Purpose The purpose for reading is to come away with an understanding of what you've read. The main reason for reading comprehension troubles is reading passively. Merely skimming over words and turning pages doesn't quite cut the mustard. Instead, a reader should engage her thoughts and focus on the reading as she goes, asking herself questions, making predictions, and relating the material to what she already knows. This might help! Texts are written for one of three purposes: to entertain, to persuade, or to inform. Figuring out which of these things the author is trying to accomplish is helpful. Preview the Material Read the title and headings. Look at any charts, graphs, or pictures, and read any captions that explain them. Ask yourself who, what, when, where, and why questions as you consider the new information. From your preview, what conclusions can you draw? What might the main idea be? Also, read all review or test questions based on the passage. By taking a few minutes before you begin to read to look at the material and think about the ideas in the text, you will be better focused on reading and more prepared to remember. Find the Thesis or Main Focus When it comes to active reading, the topic sentence is your best friend. Make a habit of looking for the topic sentence as soon as you begin reading. When you are reading a longer text (a story, essay, or lesson, for example), you will use the same method that you used to find the main idea in a paragraph. The only difference is that instead of looking at the topic sentence and concluding sentence, you will look at the introductory paragraph and the concluding paragraph. The introductory paragraph does the same thing that a topic sentence does: it introduces the subject you will read about for the whole essay, instead of just the paragraph. The concluding paragraph does the same thing that a concluding sentence does: it concludes the topic. Both paragraphs should contain the main idea of the reading. The first paragraph introduces the article. In the first paragraph, you will usually find a sentence or two that explains what the author is trying to accomplish through his or her writing. The topic sentence will not go into great depth, because the writer will use the rest of the essay or article to provide that information. Find the Topic Sentence When you are the writer, you know that you are supposed to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph to introduce the main topic. Then you use supporting details to explain the main topic for the paragraph. Use your knowledge as a writer to help you become a better reader. The people who have written your textbooks or news articles are professionals. They know all about topic sentences and supporting details. Highlight or Take Notes Think about how the title and headings helped you quickly grasp the meaning of the text before you started to read. The bold type stood out from the rest of the article. It drew your attention to important points of information. Of course, the author could not bold everything, but you can locate and highlight or underline the supporting details that help explain the main points of each paragraph. When you are taking a test, the underlining will help you quickly spot that information again without rereading an entire paragraph or section. Taking notes in the margin is also helpful. Perhaps you see how two points from various sections in the passage link together. Record your thoughts or findings. Write the definitions for challenging vocabulary near the word in context. The margin area can help you organize your thoughts and better grasp the meaning of the reading material. Review the Information after Reading In your preview, you drew conclusions about the main idea or focus of the article. Were your initial conclusions correct? Look again at the graphics, pictures, or charts. Do you better understand their meaning now? Summarize What You Read A summary is a brief statement that explains the meaning of something much longer. First, try to think of two or three words that explain the article's meaning. Then, try to create a sentence or two that briefly retells the main focus of the material. If you are asked to summarize an article, you must be sure that the brief statement covers the main idea of the entire passage rather than isolating one particular point or part of the article. If someone asked you, "What is it about?" what two words would summarize the main idea of the passage? Egyptian hieroglyphics If you needed to explain using one or two sentences: Egyptians developed hieroglyphics to communicate, but it took centuries before anyone could translate the ancient language. Paraphrase What You Read Paraphrasing is different from summarizing. From Greek origin, the common prefix "para-" most often means "similar to or beside." Therefore, paraphrasing is to re-phrase or retell something in a similar manner. When you paraphrase, you use different words to restate the same idea. Of course, when you are paraphrasing a lengthy passage, your retelling will be shorter than the original, but you still need to use more words to paraphrase than to summarize. If you are asked to paraphrase, your answer will not be as long as the original passage, but it will explain the key ideas of the entire passage using simpler terms: People in ancient Egypt used a series of pictures to communicate. They drew these pictures or symbols on a kind of paper. It took centuries before anyone could understand the meaning of the pictures. Finally, one of Napoleon's expeditions found an ancient document that had both the Egyptian symbols and the Greek meanings of each symbol. By using the document as a key, they learned to translate the ancient Egyptian language. Let's Review! Being an active reader will help you focus on the material and quickly understand what you are reading. • Scan or preview the material and any test questions before you read. • Once you have focused your attention on the topic, begin reading. Find the main ideas, and look for supporting details. • Underline and take notes to ease any later search for important information. • When you have finished reading, review the information. Draw conclusions about the ideas presented in the passage. Check your initial responses when you previewed the passage. • Mentally summarize and paraphrase the material.