Reading to Learn from Reading to Learn from College TextbooksCollege Textbooks

A Plan for Active ReadingA Plan for Active Reading

• What is active reading?

• Active reading will • increase focus and concentration

• promote greater understanding of what you read

• prepare you to study for tests and exams

• Four steps in active reading:• Previewing

• Marking

• Reading with concentration

• Reviewing

Your TurnYour Turn

Which of these four steps do you always, sometimes, or never do? Do any of them seem unnecessary? If so, why?

Strategies for Reading Strategies for Reading TextbooksTextbooks

• Math texts• Include more symbols, formulas and proofs than words

• Complete assigned textbook exercises

• Don’t memorize but understand the steps to solving a

problem

• Science texts• Important to understand concepts/terms

• Underline/highlight or outline chapters

• Social science and humanities texts• Filled with terms/jargon unique to a particular field of study

• Expand viewpoints in ongoing debates/controversies

• Supplementary material• Enriches your understanding of the textbook

Your TurnYour Turn

What is your favorite text in one of your current courses? Why? Which is your least favorite text? Why?

Your TurnYour Turn

Are you ever tempted not to buy a textbook for one of your courses? Why? What can you do as an alternative? How important do you think textbooks are in your courses? In what other ways can you access the information you want and need to learn?

Monitoring Your ReadingMonitoring Your Reading

• Important to monitor comprehension

• “Do I understand this?”

• Checking comprehension

• Recite the material aloud to yourself or a group

• Ask: What are the key ideas? What will I see on

the test?

• Guess what information will be presented in the

next section

Your TurnYour Turn

How do you monitor your own reading comprehension? On the basis of the material, what are some strategies you could use to ensure you understand what you are reading?

Improving Your ReadingImproving Your Reading

• Developing your vocabulary• Write down unfamiliar terms

• Consider the context

• Analyze the term to discover the root of the word

• If English is not your first language• Read slowly and more than once

• Look up every word you don’t know

• Practice thinking, writing, and speaking in English

• Take advantage of your college’s helping services

Tech Tip: Embrace the E-Tech Tip: Embrace the E-bookbook

• The pros and cons of a digital reader

• Pros

• Portable

• Holds a range of media

• Saves trees

• Can buy books online from anywhere, even internationally

• Can type notes, highlight passages, copy and paste

selections

• Cons

• Expensive

• Can break if you drop it

• Harder to flip through the pages

• Textbooks not widely available yet