shloboe boe
TODAY we offer an active reading model. Remember some time last year we talked at length about the essence of reading. Planning for this week’s episode I came across some valuable information about reading given by an expert on reading.
How can you get the most from your reading? Effective readers are active readers. As they read, they have conversations with themselves about the text; and they get involved. Do not be a passive reader.
Use the following suggested strategies to help you read works of fiction, actively and effectively.
Predict. Predicting helps you anticipate events and stay alert to the less obvious parts of a story.
Make educated guesses about what will happen next by combining clues in the story with what you already know. Say to yourself . . . From the title, I would guess this story is about. This character will probably . . .
The next thing that should happen is . . . This story is different from my original prediction, now I think . . .
Now you need to connect by drawing parallels between the people, places, and events in the story and the people, places, and events in your own life. Ask yourself . . . How would I act in the main character’s situation? When have I felt the same way as this character?
What parts of my life does this story remind me of? What stories does this story remind me of? Ask yourself questions to help you clarify the story as you go along. Ask yourself . . . Have I understood what I have read so far? What is going on at this point of the story? Who said that? What does this mean?
Visualise . . . Form pictures of what is happening in the story. Pay attention to the details the writer gives you, and make them a part of your reading experience.
Ask yourself how does this scene/ character/object look? Who is in this scene? Where are the characters in relation to one another and to their surroundings?
Form opinions and make judgments about the story while you are reading. Ask yourself . . . Does this turn of events make sense? Are the actions of this character consistent? What is particularly effective about this writer’s style? Do I agree with this idea?
By so doing you are evaluating what you have read? Review . . . Pause from time to time to think about your reading. Summarise events in a story or rephrase difficult language to help you understand and remember what you have read. Say to yourself so far and in other words.
Respond while you are reading. Think about your spontaneous feelings. Say to yourself . . . if I were the character. . . I would like to ask the writer why . . . I think this character is . . . who else would enjoy this story? Choose a work of fiction or prose you have not yet read and practice using all of these strategies.
What else do you need to know? You need to know: SQ3R. Most learners do not understand this. Each letter stands for something you have to do: S-Q- and three Rs. S = Survey. Before you read text, survey it quickly.
You might skim or scan it, depending on the type of text it is. Read the title and the headings. Read the introduction quickly. Then read the first sentence of each paragraph.
Look at the pictures or diagrams. This will give you a good idea of what it is about. Q=Question — Ask yourself questions about the text. Ask questions that you think the text will answer. For example, with this text, you could ask, “What does SQER mean?”and how do I use SQER?”RI =Read – Read the text to find the answers to your questions.
R2= Recite, Say or write the answers to the question in your own words. This is to make sure you understand the information. R3=Review — Go over the material again to make sure you understand it. Look at it again in a day or two.
Finding the meaning — vocabulary. What do you do when you find the text has a lot of vocabulary? How do you find the meaning of the words you don’t know? There are four things you can do.
Do not worry. Read on. You cannot understand every word in a textbook. But not all words are important.
If you do not understand one word but you understand the sentence, then you just read on.
If you worry about every word your reading will become too slow and boring. We continue from here next week.
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