READING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE YOUR READING SKILLS

We need the method or strategies to comprehend what we are reading.

1.  Extensive Reading

-reading for pleasure any topic of interest

-main purpose: to relax and enjoy  yourself

-comics, humorous stories, tales, novels,  short articles in the newspapers and magazines, jokes, and other forms of light reading materials.

2. Intensive Reading

-careful or in-depth reading

-you read for details and extract specific info   on particular topics

-the kind of reading you do when you study, prepare a term paper, or an oral report

-has several techniques or sub-types: scanning, skimming, exploratory reading, study reading, critical reading, and analytical reading.

READING TECHNIQUES/SUBKINDS
for Intensive Reading

a. Scanning

-rapid reading assisted by key words to locate specific pieces of info 

-for research, review

-gets info that answer what, who, where, when, how

Exs.  looking for a word meaning in the dictionary, getting a docu from the filing cabinet, looking through the yellow pages

b. Skimming

-rapid reading focusing on the TITLE, HEADINGS, TOPIC SENTENCE, SIGN POSTS to get the main idea

- effective preliminary step to reading thoroughly bec. after skimming, you can quickly go back to details you need to read entirely

Skimming Steps

1. Preview the text by reading the title and the introduction. (Usually, the intro has the thesis statement).
2. Check if there are headings and subheadings.
3. Read the 1^st parag. and the 1^st sentences of the succeeding parags.
4. Quickly check keywords in the parag. (sometimes higlighted, italicized, underlined)
5. Read the last parag. (Usually it summarizes the main points.
6. If you feel that a parag. contains impt. Info that answers what, why, when, how, and who, read it fully. 

Examples

-Surveying a chapter/article

-Reviewing something you’ve read

- Choosing a magazine/book to buy in the bookstore        

c. Exploratory Reading

-Aims to get a fairly accurate picture of a whole presentation of ideas; how the whole selection is presented

-Allots more time for reading

- Examples:

•       Long articles in mags, short stories, descriptive texts

d. Study Reading

- the reader must get a maximum understanding of the main ideas and their relationships

- examples:  SQ3R, SQ4R (survey, question, read, record, recite, review)

SQ4R: STEPS

 1)  SURVEYING: (preparing for reading) Take note of the titles, headings & subheadings; words in italics or bold print; intro & summaries; pictures & captions; questions at the end of the chapter or section (do this in few minutes only)

2) QUESTIONING:  (focusing your reading)

Turn headings & subheadings into questions by asking who, what, when, where, why, and how about. them.

3) READING:  (focusing your reading)

Take time to read with maximum comprehension. Try to answer the questions you posed in the previous step. Try to det. the main ideas and major details of the text.

4) RECORDING:  (focusing your reading)

Take note so you can remember what you have read.

5) RECITING:  (recalling step)

Recite aloud or mentally, pair up with a partner for a Q&A session.

6) REVIEWING: (recalling step)

Repeat some of the previous steps and review on a regular basis

e. Critical Reading

- question, analyze and evaluate the text

- use critical-thinking skills to:

ü  differentiate bet. fact & opinion;

ü  recognize author’s purpose in writing;

ü  make inferences abt. purposes and        characters;

ü  recognize the author’s tone in writing;

ü  recognize persuasive techniques or        propaganda designed to sway you to     believe

ü  reader stops to consider the facts carefully, “take time to read in order to the get facts straight”

ü  Examples: Reading done in periodicals, books, ads which are loaded with propaganda devices designed to sway opinion.

f.  Analytical Reading

-careful attention to each word and its importance in relation to other words in the sentence or the paragraph.

         Examples:

         Reading mathematical problems, scientific formulas, and certain definitive statements of key ideas that require a questioning/inquisitive mind

g. Developmental Reading

 When a reader is under a comprehensive reading program that lets him go through stages & monitors him closely

Examples:

•       SRA

•       ARC

READING TECHNIQUE