Notes Speed

Estimated Completion Time

  • Estimated completion time: 25 minutes for the reading activity.

Effective Reading Strategies

Questions to Consider

  • Methods to incorporate into reading routines.

  • Benefits and approaches to active reading.

  • Specific reading requirements for courses or majors.

Allowing Adequate Time for Reading

  • Importance of determining reading requirements:

    • Understand expectations for each class early in the semester.

    • Recognize the purpose of reading the assigned text:

    • Close reading for details (cause and effect).

    • Skimming for familiarity with the topic.

  • Impact on Scheduling:

    • Enhances timing for reading, note-taking, and approach.

Reading Statistics (Figure 5.3)

  • Reader | Pages Read in 5 Minutes | Pages per Hour | Approximate Hours to Read 500 Pages

  • Marta: 4 | 48 | 10 hours, 30 minutes

  • Jordi: 3 | 36 | 13 hours

  • Estevan: 5 | 60 | 8 hours, 20 minutes

Suggestions for Scheduling Reading Time

  • Factor in unexpected events (e.g., delays, cancellations) during commutes.

  • Balance between primary (e.g., legal documents, historical letters) and secondary sources (e.g., summarised essays).

  • Allocate realistic time for reading and reviewing across the semester to reduce overwhelm.

Benefits of Reading

  • Alleged transformative power:

    • Quotes by successful individuals:

    • Harry Truman: "Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers."

    • Thomas Jefferson: "I cannot live without books."

    • Frederick Douglass: "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

    • George R. R. Martin: "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies…"

    • Reading as an investment in success.

Determining Reading Speed and Pacing

  • To estimate reading speed:

    • Read for 5 minutes, count pages read, and multiply by 12 to get pages per hour.

    • Note: Speed may vary with note-taking and complexity:

    • Example: If Marta reads 4 pages in 5 minutes, she can read approximately 48 pages in an hour.

  • Application of speed:

    • For a 497-page novel, Marta needs about 10 to 11 hours to finish within two weeks (just under an hour daily).

  • Considerations:

    • Distractions and dense texts may slow reading speed.

Active Reading Sessions

  • Active Reading vs. Passive Reading:

    • Active reading requires double the time of passive reading (noting and marking text).

Recursive Reading Strategies

  • Definition:

    • Recursive reading involves re-reading texts for deeper comprehension.

  • Purpose:

    • Important for detecting emphasis, connections, and the overall context of readings.

  • Steps involved in reading:

    • Bring prior knowledge into reading sessions.

    • Steps include:

    • Asking questions about the reading.

    • Inferring information from content.

    • Learning vocabulary to enhance understanding.

    • Evaluating information critically.

    • Applying learned material to other contexts.

Six Elements of Recursive Reading

  1. Accessing Prior Knowledge:

    • Reflect on existing knowledge about the topic to enhance comprehension.

  2. Asking Questions:

    • Write down questions about the relevance and significance of the topic.

  3. Inferring and Implying:

    • Use reasoning to draw conclusions from the text.

  4. Learning Vocabulary:

    • Master discipline-specific vocabulary for better engagement with the content.

  5. Evaluating:

    • Question and analyze the text critically for deeper understanding.

  6. Applying:

    • Relate new information to previous knowledge and experiences.

Evaluating Texts

  • Steps to evaluate a text:

    1. Scan titles and headings.

    2. Read through the passage fully.

    3. Answer questions about significance, audience, and biases in the text.

    4. Determine the structure, main points, and evidence used by the author.

Reading Primary and Secondary Sources

  • Primary Sources:

    • Original documents providing direct evidence (e.g., historical letters).

    • Can contain biases or inaccuracies relevant to context.

  • Secondary Sources:

    • Interpretations or analyses of primary sources by other scholars.

    • Readers must assess objectivity and potential for bias in writings.

Researching Topic and Author

  • Pre-Reading Strategies:

    • Understand context before diving into texts.

    • Use author bios and critiques for background on the reading.

  • Significance of Context:

    • Knowing author background helps enrich understanding of the text.

Application to Reading Material

  • Reflect on personal biases and preconceived notions while approaching new materials.

  • Remain open to different viewpoints when reading discipline-specific texts to avoid close-mindedness.

Active Reading Steps: SQ3R Strategy

  1. Survey:

    • Skim for titles, headings, and summaries to grasp overall context.

  2. Question:

    • Formulate questions to guide the reading process.

  3. Read:

    • Read thoroughly to answer prior questions and highlight key information.

  4. Recite:

    • Summarize verbally or write down main points to reinforce learning.

  5. Review:

    • Recap the material, ensuring understanding and revisiting complex sections.

Summary of Reading Session

  • Conclude by writing a concise summary of the material read.

Student Perspectives

  • What factors influence reading thoroughness for courses:

    • Engagement level of material.

    • Relation to majors.

    • Assessment requirements from the instructor.

    • Necessity for participation in class discussions.

  • Different Reading Approaches:

    • Comprehensive reading of material.

    • Skimming and focused reading on specific sections or examples.

Learning and Contextualizing Information

  • Understanding Existing Ideas:

    • Engage and assess preconceived ideas critically.

    • Apply findings to broaden knowledge base in various disciplines.

  • Be aware of biases that may limit comprehension and willingness to engage with new ideas.

SQR

  1. Survey:

    • Skim for titles, headings, introductions, summaries, captions for graphics, and keywords to grasp overall context.

    • Include copyright information and author qualifications to get a full picture.

  2. Question:

    • Develop questions to discover main ideas, support, examples, and conclusions of the reading selection.

    • Use the headings as prompts to create valid questions.

    • Consider how the material relates to personal, school, community, and global contexts.

  3. Read:

    • Read the passage with the objective of finding answers to questions from the previous step.

    • Determine your reading pace, whether by paragraph for complexity or by section or chapter for larger texts.

  4. Recite:

    • Summarize verbally or document main points to reinforce learning and retention.

  5. Review:

    • Recap all material covered, ensuring understanding and revisiting sections that are complex or unclear.