Lesson 5. Active Reading and Memory Techniques

LESSON 5.

ACTIVE READING AND MEMORY TECHNIQUES
 

Self Reflection Question:

Do you recall the first thing you were asked to do in the beginning of this Blog?

Scanning, is one of the two active reading techniques which have to do with the reading material that we have in front of us.You scan when you look for your favorite show listed in the cable guide, for your friend’s phone number in a telephone book, and for the sports scores in the newspaper. For scanning to be successful, you need to understand how your material is structured as well as comprehend what you read so you can locate the specific information you need. Scanning also allows you to find details and other information in a hurry.

The material you scan is typically arranged in the following ways: alphabetically, chronologically, non-alphabetically, by category, or textually. Alphabetical information is arranged in order from A to Z, while chronological information is arranged in time or numerical order.

Learning to use your hands while scanning is very helpful in locating specific information. Do you do anything with your hands to locate a word in a dictionary? To find a meeting time on your calendar? To read a train or bus schedule? Using your hand or finger is extremely helpful in focusing your attention and keeping your place while scanning a column of material

 On the other side there is the skimming tool referring to look only for the general or main idea. Your overall understanding is reduced as you do not read everything in detail. What you read is more important than what you leave out. Once you read the First sentence of each paragraph-the topic sentence- and get the main idea dropping down the rest of the paragraph.

Now let’s clear out what passive reading is. A passive reader reads for his pleasure in his bed or while doing sunbathing at his own pace according to his mood.

 

On the contrary, active reading is what your teachers ask you to do within your textbooks and test materials. To keep your body and mind alert! After all, you have to engage the things that you read in order not to waste your time and effort.

Useful tips for active reading and influence on text comprehension:

-      Pre-reading or scanning

-      Skimming to note characteristics like length and organization, considering genre and general purpose or audience.

-      Note- taking, underling key words or write subheadings next to each paragraph

-      Read aloud

-      Draw a visual stimulus next to something difficult or activate prior knowledge

-      Discuss the material with a classmate, parents or teachers.

-      Force memory techniques

§  Regular review of class notes

§  Write and re-write items

§  Put hard memory items on flashcards

§  Develop your own examples

§  Pair or group-work

Self Reflection Question:
Can you unscramble jumbled letters and words mafe of numbers?

It's a Leave-your-Comment Question 7:

Which Active Reading Technique do you usually use?

Which Memory Technique do you usually use?