close reading scanning - weebly · predicting skimming close reading scanning finding the ... this...

!

National Behaviour Support Service

Predicting Skimming

Close Reading Scanning Finding the Main Idea Making Connections Visualising Text Features Asking Questions Reading Back and Reading Forward

Learning from Textbook Reading at Second Level: Strategies for Success

!

!

National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) Navan Education Centre Athlumney Navan Co. Meath Telephone: +353 46 9093355 Fax: +353 46 9093354 Email: [email protected] Written and compiled by Fiona Richardson, Literacy Development Officer, National Behaviour Support Service, 2010. The National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) was established by the Department of Education & Skills in 2006 in response to the recommendation in School Matters: The Report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools (2006). The NBSS is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan 2007 – 2013 !!!

!

!

Learn from Textbook Reading at Second Level: Strategies for Success

Introduce 1st years to their new textbooks and to strategies that will help them learn in their new school by using and adapting some of the exercises in this resource. Research has shown that effective learners use a variety of comprehension and reading skills.

For example: • They bring their own experiences and background knowledge to the text - they

make connections. • They see pictures in their minds when they read – they visualise. • They have a purpose for continuing to read. They question, predict, confirming

their thinking and adjusting their thinking. • They are able to infer meaning based on background knowledge and text

clues. • They understand the main ideas of a text and can determine what is

important. • They are able to synthesise their reading and produce their own ideas and

create new thinking. • They keep an eye on their understanding and use ‘fix-up’ strategies like re-

reading when the meaning is not clear.

The direct and explicit teaching of strategies to develop these skills can support and improve learning. Explicitly teaching students about text features, how to make connections, how to ask and generate questions, how to visualise and infer, how to extract important ideas and summarise information will lead to deeper thinking and understanding.

This resource suggests exercises that can be used when teaching students about (1) text features and how they can support students in determining importance and making connections; (2) the different question types and their relationship to the answer - for example when an inference or reading between the lines is required; and (3) ways to find the main idea and supporting details in a text. Section 4 looks at the strategies proficient readers use when learning from a text.

*Other NBSS resources are also available on comprehension, learning and study skills and strategies. !

! !!!!!!National Behaviour Support Service

Textbook Reading Strategies 4!

Contents

1. Text Features Page 5

Take a Textbook Tour Page 7

Big Fox Page 8

Textbook Trifles Page 9

2. Questions Page 12

Question – Answer Relationships (QAR) Page 13

Using QAR Page 14

QAR in Your Textbook Page 15

3. Finding the Main Idea Page 16

3-2-1 Sum It Up Page 17

5-4-3-2-1 Page 18

Get the Gist Page 19

Important Ideas from My Reading Page 20

Main Ideas from my Reading Page 21

Pull it All Together Page 22

4. Textbook Reading Strategies Page 23-27

NBSS Academic Literacy & Learning Resources Page 29

!



. !

Let's&look&at&how&text&features&can&help&you&find&and&

learn&the&information&in&your&textbooks.&&

!Complete!one$exercise!from!this!section!using!a!page!or!chapter!from!a!textbook.!!



What are text features? Text features are parts of your textbook that have been created to help you locate and learn information. Text features include the design and organisation of pages in your textbook. The title page and table of contents are text features you can find at the beginning of textbooks. Headings, graphics, main idea boxes and bolded words are some of the text features you will find in the middle of your book. Glossaries and indexes are some text features you might find at the end of your book.

Below is a list of text features. How many can you find in your books? Title page ✔ Glossaries Headings Graphics (pictures, graphs, charts,

diagrams, photos, etc.)

Subheadings Table of contents Bolded or highlighted words Test or Review questions Vocabulary/Keyword boxes Icons Main idea boxes Header/Footer Other: Other:

Why should you look at text features? Looking at text features will help you know what is most important in a topic and help you locate information quickly. Looking at the titles in the table of contents and the headings and subheadings on a page can quickly tell you what information you will find out about on that page. How do you use text features? Knowing which text features to use and when to use them is important. The chart below can help you decide which text features to look at when you want to understand your textbooks better.

To understand words and vocabulary:

To find main ideas and topics:

To find data or places:

• glossary • vocabulary/word boxes • bolded or highlighted

words

• table of contents • headings/subheadings • index • main idea boxes • questions

• maps • charts • tables

Can you add to the bullet points?



1. Using the Table of Contents, find the chapter number for the topic _______.

2. In the Index at the back of the text, find and list all the pages that deal with ____________.

3. On page _____, what is the purpose of the coloured box (e.g. highlights a key or main idea).

4. What diagram appears on page ______? How is it connected to other information on that page?

5. In the Table of Contents, which topic is covered in Chapter____, Section __?

6. On page _____, what special feature helps you to identify the definition of __________?

7. In the Index, how many page references are there for ________________? Which reference provides you with the most complete information on the topic?

8. In Chapter ____, how many subheadings appear throughout the chapter? Where is the subheading that identifies __________ (e.g. summary, activity)?

9. Where would you go in the textbook to (quickly) find information about ___________?

11. Turn to page ______. Read the first paragraph and find the words in italics. What is the purpose of this feature?

12. Open the text to pages _____and _____. Scan the words in boldface type. Why did the writers use this feature?

13. Open the text to page _____. Look at the graphic (e.g. map, photograph, graph). What is the purpose of this feature? !

Source:!Think!Literacy!



Remember to leave your prints on the text!

B Bold – List any words or phrases that are in bold print.

i

Italics – List any words or phrases that are in italics.!

G

Graphics – Describe any graphics (photos, drawings, graphs, charts, maps, tables, etc.).

!

F

Facts – List at least 5 facts found in the pages.

O

Opinions – List any opinions found in the textbook piece.

X

X marks the spot – or at least the main point. In 2-3 sentences, write the main point of the piece you have previewed (Hint – read the opening sentence of each paragraph).

!Source:!teaching!today.glencoe.com!



Trifles – Find out the ingredients of your textbook!

Title What is the title? What do I already know about this topic? What does this topic have to do with the chapter before it? What do I think I will be reading about?

Read the headings What does this heading tell me I will be reading about? What is the topic of the paragraph beneath it? How can I turn this heading into a question that is likely to be answered in the text?

Introduction Is there an opening paragraph? Does the first paragraph introduce the rest of the chapter? What does the introduction tell me I will be reading about? Do I know anything about this topic already?

First sentence in a paragraph

What do I think this chapter is going to be about based on the first sentence in each paragraph?

Look at the visuals and vocabulary

Does the chapter include photographs, drawings, maps, charts or graphs? What can I learn from the visuals in a chapter? How do captions help me better understand the meaning? Is there a list of key vocabulary terms and definitions? Are there important words in boldface type throughout the chapter? !



Do I know what the boldfaced words mean? Can I tell the meaning of the boldfaced words from the rest of the sentences?

End-of-chapter questions

What do the questions ask? What information do they point to as important? What information do I learn from the questions?

Summary

What do I understand and recall about the topics covered in the summary paragraph? !!

Now you’re ready to eat up the information in your textbooks!

Adapted!from:!ReadWriteThink!



What’s in your Textbook TRIFLES?

Topic Title: _____________________ Textbook Page/s: ____________________

T

R

I

F

L

E

s



Let's&find&out&about&the&

different&types&of&questions&we&can&get&asked&in&our&

textbooks.&!

Complete!ALL!the!exercises!in!this!section!



Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) (Teacher Note: QAR provides a basis for three comprehension strategies: locating information; showing text structures and how the information is organised; and determining when an inference or reading between the lines is required. QAR shows students the relationship between questions and answers, how to categorise different types and levels of questions, as well as understand that the text does not have all the answers).

In secondary school you need to know HOW to find the information that is important in your textbook and how to ask different types of questions, as well as find the answers to different question types.

QAR IN THE BOOK

Right There The answer is in one place in the text. You can put your finger on it! Words from the question and words that answer the questions are often “right there” in the same sentence.!• Reread • Scan • Look for keywords.

Think and Search The answer is in several places in the text. You put together (think and search) different parts of the text to find the answer. • Skim or reread • Look for important information • Piece together different parts

from the text to answer the question.

IN MY HEAD Author and You The answer is not in the text. • Think about how what you know

and what’s in the text fit together • Reread • Think about what you already know

and what the text says

• Predict.

On My Own The answer is not in the text. • Think about what you already know • Think about what you’ve read

before • Make connections.

!

Source:!T.!E.!Raphael,!1982;!1986!



Using QAR with set questions After reading the text below work with a partner to decide the question-answer relationship for each question. Explain why it fits that QAR category.

Sam has lived in Merrytown his entire life. However, tomorrow Sam

and his family would be moving 100 miles away to Rosslare. Sam hated the idea of having to move. He would be leaving behind his best friend, Pat and the local football team he had played on for the last two years. And to make matters worse, he was moving on his birthday!

Sam would be thirteen tomorrow. He was going to be a teenager! He

wanted to spend the day with his friends, not watching his house being packed up and put in a van. He thought that moving was a horrible way to spend his birthday. What about a party? What about spending the day with his friends? What about what he wanted? That was just the problem. No one ever asked Sam what he wanted.

1. What is the name of the town where Sam and his family are moving?

2. Why was Sam not looking forward to the next day?

3. What might Sam do to make moving to a new town easier for him?

4. In what ways can moving to a new house and to a new town be exciting?

* If you were a teacher and there were 30 marks in total for this exercise, how would you divide the marks out between the different questions? Should each question be worth the same amount of marks or not? Why? Adapted!from:!McMillian!McGraw!Hill!



Look at the questions in your textbook chapters and find examples of the different question types. Put examples of the different types of QAR questions in the chart below.

!



Let's&find&out&ways&to&get&

the&main&idea&and&important&points&of&what&we&read.!

• Start!by!completing!the!3"2"1!or!5"4"3"2"1!exercise!by!reading!!a!paragraph!or!page!from!a!textbook.!

• Then!complete!the!‘Get*the*Gist’!exercise!using!the!information!from!the!same!page!or!paragraph.!

• Finally!read!one!more!page.!Then!complete!one!‘ideas*map’!from!this!section,!noting!down!the!main!points!in!the!circles.!Finish!by!writing!a!short!summary!using!the!points!from!the!‘ideas!map’!or!complete!the!‘Pull*it*All*Together’!exercise.!



!!!When you finish reading the paragraph or page write down your 3-2-1 points to help you sum up the main ideas and to figure out anything you don’t totally understand.

Important things I found out…

Interesting things…

Question I still have…



!

!

!

Keywords from the pages

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.!!

!!

Facts related to the main topic

1.

2.

3.

4,!!

!

New words

1.

2.

3.!!

!

Facts you already know

1.

2.!

!

!

Questions you still have

1.!

After reading a page or paragraph in your textbook complete the chart below to help you sum up what you have learned.



Heading: Textbook Page: !

1. Read the paragraph.

2. Who or what is the paragraph mostly about?

This paragraph is mainly about…

3. What important pieces of information are linked to the ‘who’ or ‘what’?

•

•

!

4. Put together the answers above and tell the main idea in 10 words or less!

!

Source:!Cunningham,!1982!



Topic: _______ Textbook Pages: ___________

Important Idea 1

Important Idea 2

Important Idea 3

Important Idea 4

Linked information Linked information



Where did it happen? When did it happen?

What happened?

Who was involved in the events?

How did it happen?

Topic Map about

_____________

Why did it happen?



!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You’ve now found out about text features, the different types of question you can be asked and also ways to find the main idea and important points in a paragraph or page of your textbook. Now pull all this learning together by using the exercise below.

Main Idea Record Name(s): _____________________ Section Title: ________________________ Main Idea of Section, Paragraph or Page:

Write some ‘teacher‘ questions you could ask about the ideas in this paragraph. (Remember the QAR question types)

What text features helped you get the ‘gist’ of what you skimmed and scanned?

!



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's&find&out&about&the&

different&reading&strategies&we&use&to&understand&and&learn&from&

textbook&reading.&&!



!!

So What Ways Do We Read?

Find!out!about!the!different!Reading(

Strategies(you!use!by!matching!the!‘how!to!explanations’!to!the!reading!strategy!listed!on!the!next!page.(Then!practice!using!them!to!help!you!understand!and!

learn!more!from!your!textbooks.!!



Predicting You make informed guesses about the text. You use what you already know and clues (like text features) from the text to make a judgment and predict what will happen next.

Skimming You read quickly to get the main idea of a paragraph, page or chapter to get the gist of what the text is about.

Scanning Your eyes dart around a text searching for a specific word/phrase/number/name, etc., for example when you look through the newspaper to find the time of your favourite TV programme or match result!

Close Reading You pay close attention to the meaning of each word in a sentence, for example when you read a maths problem.

Questioning You ask yourself questions as you read (in your head) to help you get the meaning and understand the ideas in the text.

Reading Backwards and Forwards

You read back in a text or read forward in order

to make connections and check your understanding.

Making Connections You connect what you read to your own life and to what you already know. You use your what you know

to understand something new!

Visualising You see a picture or movie in your mind to help

gain a better impression or understanding of the

text.

Inferring This is when someone makes a point that isn’t obvious

and you have to read “between the lines” to find

the meaning. !

How to Explanation Reading Strategies



Scanning$

What is it? When you SCAN, you move your eyes quickly down a page or list to find one specific detail, for example what time your favourite TV programme is on!

Why do I

scan? Scanning allows you to quickly find a specific fact, date, name or word in a page without trying to read or understand the rest of the piece. You may need that fact or word to answer a question or to add a specific detail to something you are writing.

How do I

scan?

Read in this

direction.

1. Knowing your textbook well is important. Note how the information is arranged on a page. Scan the features like headings, diagrams, boxed, highlighted, bolded terms, words, names and dates.

2. Move your eyes vertically - up and down, or diagonally down the page, letting them dart quickly from side to side looking for bolded words and other text features.

!

When you were looking at the titles, the bold words and the diagrams in the textbook features exercise you were skimming and scanning. But what exactly is scanning and why use it?




Skimming What is it?

When you SKIM, you read quickly to get the main idea of a paragraph, page, chapter, or article and a few (but not all) of the details.

Why do I skim?

Skimming allows you to read quickly to get a general sense of a text (the gist). You may also skim to get a key or main idea.

How do I skim? Read in this direction.

1. Read the first paragraph, a middle paragraph and the final paragraph of a piece, trying to get a basic understanding of the information.

2. You can also skim by reading the first and last sentences of each paragraph, that is, the first few sentences and concluding sentences.

3. If there are pictures, diagrams, or charts, a quick glance at them and their captions may help you to understand the main idea or point of view in the text.

4. Remember you do not have to read every word when you skim.

5. Generally, move your eyes horizontally- left to right (and quickly) when you skim.

!

What exactly is skimming and why use it?




!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that you ’ve found out about the d i f fe rent ways we read to learn don ’ t forget to use these s t rateg ie s when you are read ing , do ing your homework or s tudy ing from your textbooks !



National Behaviour Support Service

National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) Navan Education Centre Athlumney Navan Co. Meath Telephone: +353 46 909 3355 Fax: +353 46 909 3354 Email: [email protected]

For$further$information$contact$the$NBSS$Literacy$Development$Officer:[email protected]!

close reading scanning - weebly · predicting skimming close reading scanning finding the ... this...

Documents