Outcome #1

At the end of the course, students should be able to read on a regular basis with increased comprehension, speed, and confidence.

Sample Activity:

7-Step Reading Journal

Purpose: To practice reading strategies, develop the habit of reading, increase reading stamina, and improve reading comprehension. The reading journal is designed to allow students to customize and to think more deeply about their reading. The journal will help students to remember what they have read, highlight important moments from the reading, think through the reading and to find their interest in the reading. In order to be successful in this endeavor, students must spend time with their reading. They must be able to remember what they have read and think critically about the reading. Critical reading means students are able to synthesize, evaluate, analyze, apply, interpret, and translate their reading.

Directions:

1. The title of the article, date of publication, publisher, and author of the article.

2. Evidence of previewing: a couple sentences addressing what you think the article is going to be about and what you hope to learn from the article. Look at the title, subtitle, pictures, captions, first sentence of each paragraph etc. What do they suggest?

3. A statement (in 1-2 sentences) of the main idea. Read the selection more than once to determine the main idea. The main idea is the main point, central focus, gist, controlling idea, central thought or thesis of the reading. It is not the topic, but rather it includes the topic.

4. A brief list of the main supporting points. Supporting points develop, prove and explain the main idea. Supporting evidence may include reasons, incidents, facts, examples, steps and definitions.

5. A one-paragraph summary. Summaries contain no opinion, but do contain the main idea and supporting evidence and is written in your own words. Use complete sentences and paragraphs. After completing the summary, reread it to see if it makes sense.

6. A one-paragraph reaction, analysis, and or/criticism. React, criticize and/or analyze what you have read. Analysis means to break the reading into parts and then reassemble to discover each part’s significance or meaning. Take time to explore the meanings behind a theme, character, symbol, plot, or image. What is significant to you? What is your perspective on what you have read? If you read carefully, you cannot help but react to the reading. This level of reading is often emotional (angry, sad, happy) or associative (oh, that reminds me of…). For a journal entry of this type, simply record your emotion and explain what in the text inspired it or write down your association and what in the text inspired that. Criticism is an evaluation of your feelings – either positive or negative -- about a particular analysis. Feel free to vent your emotions but only after an analysis of a part of the reading which impacts you.

7. Definitions of at least five vocabulary words (you should list all words that you either you don’t know or could not explain well to someone else). You should use context clues, word structure, dictionary skills, and/or decoding skills.

Rubric:

Excellent

All seven steps are complete.

The main idea and supporting evidence are correct.

The summary is thorough, well written, and is written in the students own words.

Reaction is thoughtful and contains evidence of critical reading.

Satisfactory

All seven steps are complete.

The main idea and supporting evidence are essentially correct.

The summary is essentially correct but is not entirely stated in the student’s own words.

Reaction is thoughtful and contains some evidence of critical reading.

Unsatisfactory

All seven steps are not complete.

The main idea and supporting evidence are not correct.

The summary does not follow the rules of summary writing: e.g., in your own words, contains most important information.

Reaction is too brief, superficial, and does not contain evidence of critical reading.

Sample Activity:

Outside Reading Journal

Purpose: To practice reading strategies, develop the habit of reading, increase reading stamina, and improve reading comprehension. The reading journal is designed to allow students to customize and to think more deeply about their reading. The journal will help students to remember what they have read, highlight important moments from the reading, think through the reading and to develop an interest in the reading. In order to be successful in this endeavor, students must spend time with their reading. They must be able to remember what they have read and think critically about the reading. Critical reading means you are able to synthesize, evaluate, analyze, apply, interpret, and translate your reading. See attached sheet for more information.

Directions:

In your blue book:

1. State the name and the author of the book you are reading.

2. Every time you read write down the date, number of pages read, and the amount of time you spent reading e.g. 11/27/01, 10 minutes, 6 pages.

3. At the end of the week, total the number of pages you have read. You should be reading a minimum of 30 pages a week.

4. Write a summary of what you read. Your summary should include major events and characters. Summaries do not contain opinion and should be written in complete sentences. Reread you summary to make sure it makes sense.

5. Respond to what you have read. You may respond in a variety of ways but do not simply summarize what you have read. You may tell why you liked the reading or why you didn’t like it. You can tell what you are learning about the characters in the novel. You can make a connection between this section of the reading and something else that you noticed in the novel. You may make predictions based on the ideas in the selection. You may ask questions about parts that you don’t understand or about why characters are acting in a certain way. You can tell how the passage made you feel. Or you may relate a story in your life that is similar to something from that section. Remember: comment, predict, relate, question, but don’t summarize.

Good ways to begin your response are

I think This passage is I remember I agree

I like This seems This passage reminds me

I don’t like I guess I don’t understand I don’t agree

I wonder This shows that I am surprised I predict

Rubric:

Excellent

All parts of reading log are complete.

A minimum of 30 pages read every week.

Log is turned in on time.

The summary is thorough, well written, and is written in the students own words.

Reaction is thoughtful and contains evidence of critical reading.

Satisfactory

All parts of reading log are complete.

A minimum of 30 pages are read every week.

Log is turned in on time.

The summary is essentially correct but is not entirely stated in the student’s own words.

Reaction is thoughtful and contains some evidence of critical reading.

Unsatisfactory

All parts of reading log are not complete.

Fewer than 30 pages have been read.

Log is not turned in on time.

The summary does not follow the rules of summary writing: e.g. in your own words and contains most important information.

Reaction is too brief, superficial, and does not contain evidence of critical reading.

Outside Reading Journal

Name:_________________________

Class:_________________________(Day and Time)

Book:_________________________

Author:________________________

Date Minutes # of Pages

Total for the Week= ______________________

Summary:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Reaction:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Evaluation: Excellent____Satisfactory____Unsatisfactory____

Outcome #2

At the end of the course, students should be able to employ a variety of the college’s human, print, and electronic resources in order to meet course expectations and meet academic challenges as confident, independent learners.

Sample Activity:

Introduction To Information Literacy Lesson

What Is The Internet?

You will be given an internet site to investigate. Go to the Library Home Page and replace the URL (address) with the one I have given you. Click enter. You are now ready to begin your investigation.

Thoroughly investigate the site. Use some links to explore and answer the following questions about the site.

1. My site URL: _______________________________________________________

2. The name of my site is ________________________________________________

3. From your site's home page, choose a link to explore. Describe below what you are investigating:

From my home page, I chose the link _____________________________________

This link (describe or explain your new page________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

4. From your new page (#2 link, described above) move to another link and explain:

From this new page I linked to __________________________________________

This third page (describe or explain your new page) __________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. Choose a link from this third page of your investigation. Are there still a number of links to choose from this new (your fourth) link? ____________________________________________________

More than four new links? _____________________________________________

Explore a few more links - enough to be able to recommend or not recommend the site to your classmates. Go back to the original site listed as your URL above. Explore a few links from this beginning page. Use the second sheet to evaluate your site.

Sample Activity:

Citations and Annotations Assignment

1. Look up an article on tarot cards in an encyclopedia in the reference section with the call numbers REF BF 1407 .M34 1994. (Use the index volume to find the article.) Using the blue guide sheets handed out in class, cite the article as if it were to appear on a work cited page.

2. Find the September/October 2001 issue of the Skeptical Inquirer. Check out the article on sun signs, and write a citation for it in the space below.

3. Write a citation for the article attached.

4. Use the sheets of web addresses, and select something of interest. Access a professional page. Cite the source below.

Now, link to something from this page. Cite this link as part of the original site.

Sample Activity:

Library Scavenger Hunt

According to Random House Dictionary, a scavenger hunt is a team search for various items. You will undertake a scavenger hunt to search areas of the Library for information. Conduct the following search, answer the questions asked and/or find the item required. Hope you have fun while learning a little about our Massasoit Community College Library!

1. Find a reference librarian. A reference librarian’s job is to assist you in any search. He/she will be a great resource in your college life. Write his/her name.

My Reference Librarian: ___________________________________________

2. Have the reference librarian point you in the direction of the circulation desk. The circulation desk is where you check out books and where you return them when finished. Pick up a yellow map of the library layout while you are there. This will help you locate other sections of the library.

Your new map will show you where in the library you can find magazines. They are called periodicals in the library because they come “periodically” and you will have to find their location on the map that way. The periodicals/magazines are arranged in alphabetical order by the title. Using the map provided, find the July 1999 issue of Boston Magazine. From this issue, locate the name of the biker gang that has made technology a part of its lifestyle.

Biker Gang: ____________________________________________________________

3. If you turn around from the periodical section where you located Boston magazine, you will notice the computers. Each one of these computers has access to MCAT, Massasoit’s catalog. Click on the book icon from the desktop, and see if our library holds a copy of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. List below the author of that book.

Author: _________________________________________________________________

4. Go back to the Circulation Desk located at the front of the library. Get a library barcode for your ID and pick up a free bookmark.

Your hunt is complete!

Sample Activity:

Scavenger Hunt

1. Use the MCAT to locate a student dictionary (i.e., The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and a subject specific dictionary; i.e., Black's Law Dictionary). Look up the word "latitatio" in both sources. What do you find? Find an unabridged dictionary (ask the librarian where they are located) and look up the term "latitatio." What do you find? Record your research.

2. Massasoit Community College Library subscribes to several papers. List 5 of them. Find the area in the library where you can read newspapers.

3. Find the Massasoit Community College web site. Click on "Online Databases." Investigate one of the databases and print out an article about one of the following:

chads

MCAS

Alan Greenspan

flu vaccine availability

book review for a new novel written by Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin

J. Rudolph, Librarian

Sample Activity:

Annotated Bibliography

Objectives:

1. to be able to transfer class work into a bibliography of sources on a topic

2. to be able to find biographical, encyclopedic, periodical index, and electronic sources on a topic

3. to be able to evaluate these print and electronic sources

4. to be able to annotate such sources

5. to be able to cite these sources

6. to be able to communicate this information to others - orally, in writing

Before you begin this project:

1. You must be able to write an annotation. Check the examples provided and ask for comments on a sample of your work if you are unsure.

2. You must be able to cite sources correctly. Using the MLA style sheet handed out in class. If you are confused about the proper format for a particular source, please ask.

Your friend has an assignment to write a paper on a topic. He/she knows that you just finished the library course and asks for your help in finding some good sources for the project.

I want you to compile a list of sources for your friend. That list should include the following:

1. A subject encyclopedia with background information about the topic.

2. A biographical source containing information about someone important in the field your friend is working on.

3. Two (2) periodical indexes (paper) where your friend can locate articles about the subject.

4. One (1) electronic subscription service that will assist your friend in finding current articles about the topic.

5. Three (3) web sites that will give your friend some credible college-level sources.

Some important things to remember:

1. Use the sheets passed out in class to assist you in identifying good sources.

2. Annotate each source. That is, briefly explain what each source contains. Look at the flyleaf of the book jacket, the preface or introduction of the book for help. The electronic sources usually have a help screen that explains the service in general. Don't copy that information (plagiarism), summarize it. Note the examples I have given you for proper length and form.

3. Cite each source using the MLA format. See examples.

4. Choose a topic that gives you some room. Don't be so specific that the sources are hard to find. If you are confused about a topic, check the online catalog for the number of books under your topic, use suggested topics, or ask me.

5. Most of our work was in the reference area. Your bibliography, except for electronic sources, should be a list of reference sources.

6. You are not actually finding the information for your friend, but suggesting the places where he/she can do research. That is, the reference book, but not the chapter; the index, but not the journal article; the web address and home page, but not the page he/she may eventually use.

7. Make sure that your topic is covered in a source before listing it in your bibliography. (I will check.)

8. Type/word process your paper.

Topic Suggestions:

The following are suggestions for this bibliography. You may have better ideas.

sports a religion

adolescent issues congress or the senate

the impressionists (art) the movies

opera exploration

abortion chemistry, biology, etc.

distance learning culinary arts (cooking, food)

censorship historical period (middle ages, etc.)

civil rights a literature genre (sci fi, detective)

Sample Annotation with Citation:

BOOK:

Manguel, Alberto and Gianni Guadalupi. The Dictionary of Imaginary Places. New

York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1980.

This is a book of imaginary geography with an alphabetical listing of invented cities, volcanoes, deserts, islands and other places. The entries include the place name with a description and history. Also added is the background of the author, title and publisher of the original work.

ELECTRONIC SOURCE ONLINE:

Natural Hazards Center. U. of Colorado. 25 March 1998.

This site contains comprehensive information on natural disasters. Listed are reports of both natural and man-made disasters including links to other Internet sites.

http://www.colorado.edu/hazards

J.Rudolph, Librarian

Rubric:

“A” Range	The directions for the assignment were followed. The assignment is written in the student’s own words. The assignment is well organized. The assignment demonstrates critical reading. The assignment is carefully proofread.
“B” Range	The directions for the assignment were essentially followed. The assignment is written in the student’s own words. The assignment is organized. The assignment demonstrates critical reading. The assignment is proofread.
“C” Range	The directions for the assignment were not followed carefully. The assignment is written mostly in the student’s own words. The assignment is not well organized. The assignment does not clearly demonstrate critical reading. The assignment is not carefully proofread.
“D” Range	The directions for the assignment were not followed. The assignment is not written in the student’s own words. The assignment is not organized. The assignment does not demonstrate critical reading. The assignment is not proofread.

Outcome #3

At the end of the course, students should be able to acquire and use general knowledge to enhance comprehension and to promote connections to the world around them.

Sample Activity:

Take double-column notes on three current news topics seen on a newsmagazine show such as 60 minutes, 20/20 or Dateline. Read and share a related newspaper article.

Rubric:

“A” Range	The notes are organized. The notes include main ideas. The notes include strong supporting points. The notes include one clear example per idea. The notes accurately use terms and definitions. The notes include both literal and exploratory questions. The notes are understandable and may be used as a study guide.
“B” Range	The notes are somewhat organized. The notes include some main ideas. The notes include supporting points. The notes include some examples. The terms and definitions are basically clear. The notes include both literal and technical questions. The notes are understandable and may be used as a study guide.
“C”	The notes are disorganized. The notes do not distinguish between main ideas and details. The definitions are incomplete or do not demonstrate the student’s understanding of the term. The notes include only literal questions. The notes are incomplete.
“D”	The notes are unorganized, unclear, and confusing. The main ideas are missing. Some definitions are missing. Questions are sometimes missing. The notes are incomplete.

Sample Activity:

Newspaper Project

GETTING THE FACTS

Student Objectives: To locate the facts in news stories by identifying the 5 W’s.

Directions: A reporter must write all the facts in a news story. To get the facts a reporter answers the 5 W’s questions in his story. The 5 W’s are:

WHO? WHEN? WHERE? WHAT? WHY?

	1.	2.	3.
STORY
WHO?
WHEN?
WHAT?

COMPLETE SENTENCES

Student Objectives:To write complete sentences using headlines

Directions: Headlines in the newspaper are not always complete sentences. Words are often left out because only a certain number of letters and spaces can be used. Look for 10 headlines in the newspaper today. Write the headline and the complete sentences n the spaces below.

HEADLINE IN THE NEWSPAPER	HEADLINE AS A COMPLETE SENTENCE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

GET TO KNOW YOUR STATE

Student Objective: To read newspapers to learn more about your state

Directions: Your state is an interesting place to live—it’s always in the news! One of the best ways to learn about your state is to read your newspaper. Use your newspaper to discover something about each of the topics below. Write notes about each topic in the space provided.

State Government Officials	Schools
Legislative Concerns	Cultural Events
Recreation Opportunities	Industry
Tourist Attractions	History

CRITIAL READING

THE EDITORIALS

Student Objectives: To locate examples of fact and opinion on the editorial page

A good reporter attempts to write a news story factually and as unbiased as humanly possible. This is not the case on the editorial page. The editorial page exists for the purpose of presenting opinions about news issues. Editorials are written in conventional essay form and generally of the following types:

Informative, Explanatory, Laudatory, Humorous, Interpretive and Controversial.

Directions: Using an editorial found on the editorial page of your newspaper, list the examples of fact and opinion found in the editorial in the proper column below.

Editorial Title: _________________________________________________________

FACTS

OPINIONS

Newspaper Advertising

Student Objective: To learn about the three kinds of newspaper advertising and analyze the kind of information contained in each

Advertising in the newspaper can be classified as three types:

· General Advertising informs the reader about new products, their points of superiority and makes the product’s name familiar.

· Retail Advertising tells the reader where to obtain products or services locally and advertises the price.

· Classified Advertisements allow small businessmen or individuals to advertise merchandise or services. Classified ads help readers find lost articles and pets, find jobs, and locate homes or apartments for sale or rent.

Directions: Locate an example of a general ad, a retail ad, and a classified ad. Analyze the information contained in each to determine what is essential information for each kind of ad. List the information under the appropriate column below.

General Advertisement

Retail Advertisement

Classified Advertisement

Name: _________________________________________________________________

EDITORIAL CARTOONING WORK SHEET

1. Name an issue on which you would like to express an opinion with an editorial cartoon.

_______________________________________________________________

2. What is your opinion on this issue?

_______________________________________________________________

3. List at least three reasons to support your opinion.

1. _____________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________

What is a pun?

Pun (pun) n. A humorous use of a word where it can have different meanings, or of two or more words with the same or nearly the same sound but different meanings; play on words.

Look for the pun which appears every day in the upper right ear of page one.

Text Box: CLEAR BLOOM

Today, Clouds, then sun, 26
Tomorrow: Sunny, 30
High tide: 9:48 a.m., 10:28 p.m.
Full report: Page B8 Text Box: HE SLED,
SHE SLED

Today: Bright, frigid, 27
Tomorrow: More sun, 37
Details, Page B12

Text Box: SUN ON THE RUN

Today, Clear and cold
Tomorrow: Freezing rain
High tide: 11:29 a.m.
Full report: Page B8

BIOGRAPHIES OF JOURNALISTS

Research and report on one of the following people. How did this person influence the world of journalism?

E.W. Scripps

Grantland Rice

Katherine Graham

H.L. Mencken

Horace Greeley

Joseph Pulitzer

Benjamin Franklin

Frederick Douglass

Ring Lardner

Johann Gutenberg

Thomas Nast

John Peter Zenger

Donald Ring Mellett

John H. Johnson

Nellie Bly

William Randolph Hearst

Carl Thomas Rowan

William Lloyd Garrison

Lincoln Steffens

Samuel L. Clemens

Sir John Tenniel

Edward R. Murrow

Bill Mauldin

Damon Runyan

Ethel Payne

Alice Dunnigan

Margaret Bourke-White

Margaret Fuller

Robert Capa

Mathew Brady

Jacob Riis

Elijah Lovejoy

NEW DECISIONS

Subject Objective: To identify why news stories are selected to appear in the newspaper

What Makes News? Everyday, the editors of a newspaper must make decisions about which news stories will be printed in the available space. The following factors help to make these decisions.

WHAT MAKES NEWS?

Timelines Is the news current or of interest to readers at this time?

Proximity Did the action take place nearby? Does the story relate to local needs and interests?

Unusual Is the story unusual?

Consequences Does the story affect a large number of persons?

Prominence Does the story deal with well known people or social groups?

Suspense Does the story tell of suspense created by disasters?

Conflict Is there a conflict dealing with interesting persons, situations or emotions?

Emotions Does the story deal with love, pity, horror, fear, hate, jealousy, etc.?

Progress Does the story tell about discoveries or advances of humankind through science, medicine or technology?

Importance Is the story of importance to the reader’s work, family, education or health?

Directions: Select five stories in the newspaper. For each story, tell which factor (or factors) makes it newsworthy.

	HEADLINE	WHY IS IT NEWSWORTHY?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

GLOSSARY OF NEWSPAPER LANGUAGE

AP:	abbreviation for the Associated Press
Assignment:	an event that a reporter has been delegated to cover
Balloon:	a device borrowed from a comic strip which makes the words of a person in the picture appear to be coming directly from his mouth
Banner:	a headline running across the top of a page: also called a streamer or ribbon
Beat:	the area assigned to a reporter for his regular coverage
Blow Up:	to enlarge printed matter or pictures
Body:	the story itself
Bold Face:	a heavy or dark type used by printers
Break:	initial news coverage of an event
Bullet:	a large black dot used at the left edge of a column to mark each item in a series
Bulletin:	important and often unexpected news
Byline:	name of the writer appearing at the head of a news or picture story
Caps:	abbreviation for capital letters
Cold Type:	photographically produced print
Column Inch:	one inch of type (measured vertically) one column wide
Compose:	to set type
Copy:	all printed matter prepared for printing
Copyright:	an author’s exclusive right of property for his work
Cover:	to get all the facts of a news event and write it us as a story
Crop:	to cut away part of a picture to eliminate unwanted material or make it a particular size

BASIC FUNCTIONS OF A NEWSPAPER

Student Objectives: To learn the four Basic functions of a Newspaper:

1. To inform

2. To interpret the news

3. To provide a service to readers

4. To entertain

Directions: Read and answer the following questions.

I. To Inform. Newspapers provide facts that readers must have to be informed citizens and to make decisions.

Find an example of a story in your newspaper that informs readers. Write the headline

_________________________________________________________________

II. To Interpret the News. Newspaper stories interpret or explain the meaning of news to us. The stories often have opinions of the writer and should be read with caution.

Find an example of a story in your newspaper that interprets the news. Write the headline.

_________________________________________________________________

Find an advertisement that informs readers. What is the product or service advertised?

_________________________________________________________________

III. To Provide A Service to Readers. Newspapers provide information that help readers solve their business, home, recreation, and daily living problems. As a service to business, advertising space assists in informing readers about products and services.

Find an example of a story that provides a service to the reader. Write the headline.

_________________________________________________________________

Find an advertisement that informs readers. What is the product or service advertised?

_________________________________________________________________

IV. To Entertain. Some sections of the newspaper are designed to amuse or give enjoyment to the readers.

Find a puzzle or game in the newspaper. Write the name of the puzzle or game.

_________________________________________________________________

Writing Assignment: Of the above four Basic Functions of the Newspaper, which do you think is the most important? Why?

_________________________________________________________________

PROBLEM SOLVING – DETERMING CAUSE & EFFECT

Student Objective: To learn to solve problems by determining causes and effects

Directions: Your newspaper presents numerous problems that affect you directly or indirectly. As a citizen, it is your responsibility to be aware of these problems and the decisions being made about their solutions. Using the newspaper, locate three problems in the news. Briefly describe each problem and determine the causes and effects of each.

	Brief Description *of the Problem*	Causes	Effects
1.
2.
3.

COMICS

Student Objectives: To learn about the kinds of comics in a newspaper

Directions: Some comics make us laugh. Some comics are not funny at all. Turn to the comic page of your newspaper. See if you can find the following:

Rounded Rectangular Callout: Find a comic character that is not human.

____________________________

Rounded Rectangular Callout: What is your favorite comic?

___________________________

Outcome #4

At the end of the course, students should be able to use word structures, word meanings, contextual clues, and dictionary skills in order to expand vocabulary and improve reading comprehension.

Sample Activity:

Sample Cloze Activity

1. Using the cloze procedure (words omitted at regular intervals of every ten words) with a current events article, ask students to fill in the omitted space with a correct word (omit nouns, adjectives, verbs, or adverbs).

2. As a class, ask students what reasoning processes they used to come up with the various words.

3. Put the various contextual clues that they used on the board. (activating prior knowledge)

4. After the class has shared the clues or reasoning processes that they know, teach any contextual clues they may have missed.

“A Motive for Arson in the South: Boredom”

By Amber McDowell

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nashville—Those accused of starting some of the thousands of wildfires in the South have told nearly the same story each time, authorities say: They were bored.

“Most say it’s something to--------,” a Tennessee Agricultural Crime Unit supervisor, Max Thomas said of ----------suspects he has interrogated. “There’s not much activity in these rural -----------for people.”

More than 33,000 wildfires have hit the ----------this year. The outbreak has been the most -----------in almost a decade. Last week, almost 70,000 acres burned in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Georgia.

In two of the hardest-hit states, Kentucky and Tennessee, officials have ----------------almost all the blazes to arson.

Nine people have been ---------------on arson charges in Tennessee, when fires this month ----------burned 29,000 acres, have killed one firefighter, and have de-

“There’s Not Much Activity In These

Rural Areas For People.”

Max Thomas

Tennessee Investigator

stroyed a house. Five people have been --------------in Kentucky, where 115,000 acres have been scorched.

Investigators --------another thread links arsons. Some suspects suggest they were following in ------------- footsteps.

“Others have told us, ‘My daddy did it, so ------- doing it,” Thomas said. “It passes from one generation to the------------.”

Timothy G. Huff, a retired arson and bombing analyst -------the FBI , said the “like-father-like-son” outlook is a ----------------phenomenon. Mental health experts say underlying issues may be at---------------, including emotional immaturity and feelings of inferiority.

“They are -----------people who have little or no personal power of ----------------own,” said Dr. Pat Nation, a criminologist at Middle Tennessee State---------------------. “Controlling fire gives them a sense of power.”

A -----------------of Nation’s at Tennessee State, Dr. Gloria Hamilton a ---------------psychologist, gave a theoretical profile of arsonists in the woods: “They’re ----------------undereducated, unmarried, unemployed. They don’t have anything to fill up their---------, don’t have the demands of life the rest of ----have.”

Crime could also be a factor. In Kentucky, state police have theorized that some fires had been started by marijuana growers burning plots of weeds and debris in preparation for spring planting.

Complete Article for Cloze Activity

“A Motive For Arson In South: Boredom”

By Amber McDowell

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nashville—Those accused of starting some of the thousands of wildfires in the South have told nearly the same story each time, authorities say: They were bored.

“Most say it’s something to do,” a Tennessee Agricultural Crime Unit supervisor, Max Thomas said of arson suspects he has interrogated. “There’s not much activity in these rural areas for people.”

More than 33,000 wildfires have hit the South this year. The outbreak has been the most serious in almost a decade. Last week, almost 70,000 acres burned in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Georgia.

In two f the hardest-hit states, Kentucky and Tennessee, officials have attributed almost all the blazes to arson.

Nine people have been arrested on arson charges in Tennessee, when fires this month have burned 29,000 acres, have killed one firefighter, and have destroyed a house. Five people have been charged in Kentucky, where 115,000 acres have been scorched.

Investigators say another thread links arsons. Some suspects suggest they were following in parents’ footsteps.

“Others have told us, ‘My daddy did it, so I’m doing it,” Thomas said. “It passes from one generation to the next.”

Timothy G. Huff, a retired arson and bombing analyst for the FB”I , said the “like-father-like-son” outlook is a regional phenomenon. Mental health experts say underlying issues may be at play, including emotional immaturity and feelings of inferiority.

“They are often people who have little or no personal power of their own,” said Dr. Pat Nation, a criminologist at Middle Tennessee State University. “Controlling fire gives them a sense of power.”

A colleague of Nation’s at Tennessee State, Dr. Gloria Hamilton a clinical psychologist, gave a theoretical profile of arsonists in the woods: “They’re typically undereducated, unmarried, unemployed. They don’t have anything to fill up their day, don’t have the demands of life the rest of us have.”

Crime could also be a factor. In Kentucky, state police have theorized that some fires had been started by marijuana growers burning plots of weeds and debris in preparation for spring planting.

Sample Activity:

Getting Meaning From Context

Introduction:

Your vocabulary is your language. It’s all the words that you understand and can use in your talking, writing, reading, and listening. If you only “sort of know” a word’s meaning but can’t use that word yourself, then it’s not really a part of your vocabulary. Usually people need to see and use a word several times before they really know what it means.

This unit will show you a study skill that can help you increase your vocabulary and make your reading more interesting and enjoyable.

Getting Meaning From Context Clues:

When you are reading, you often come across words that are unfamiliar or unknown to you. Here are two good ways to learn about the meaning of an unknown word:

1. You can look it up in the dictionary.

Looking it up immediately is particularly useful when you need to know an exact definition of the word.

2. Another way to learn about an unknown word is to try to figure out its meaning from context clues.

CONTEXT means the setting in which something is found. For example, a person lives in the context of his or her family. A clue in a mystery is only meaningful in the context of other information.

In language, context means the words and sentences around any particular word.

CONTEXT CLUES are familiar words and phrases in a sentence or paragraph. These are words that you know. From these familiar words, you can often figure out the meaning of an unknown word.

Read the sentence below carefully. On the line beneath it, write down what you think the meaning of curfew is. Use context clues to help you discover that meaning.

EXAMPLE: It’s not unusual for young people to have a curfew set by their parents, for example, 11:30 PM or midnight.

curfew means __________________________________________________________

KINDS OF CONTEXT CLUES:

There are four kinds of context clues with which you will work in this unit:

Definition or restatement

Example or description

Comparison or contrast

Inference

DEFINITION OR RESTATEMENT:

Sometimes a sentence or paragraph actually includes a definition of the unknown word. It is usually not a dictionary definition, but it does tell you the meaning of the word.

Example of a Definition as a Context Clue:

If your house depreciates, that means that it loses some of its value.

depreciate means ______________________________________________________

At times authors will use a difficult or uncommon word and feel a need to explain its meaning. One way in which they do this is restatement: to include the meaning of the difficult word in the same sentence in which they use that word. Another way in which they do this is to include a synonym for the difficult word in the same sentence.

Example of a Restatement as a Context Clue:

One of the weapons available to a government is propaganda, the spreading of its own narrow and often false views.

propaganda means _____________________________________________________

EXERCISE I:

Directions: Circle the words in each sentence below that are context clues to the meaning of the italicized word.

1. A facsimile is always an exact copy.

2. They had already begun to dismantle the ship, taking it apart piece by piece.

3. The workers built a trestle, a braced framework made of wood, as a support for the railroad tracks where they crossed a stream.

4. An hypothesis is a proposed explanation for an event or a group of events. It is often used to guide investigation in scientific study.

EXAMPLE OR DESCRIPTION:

In its context, an unknown word may be followed by examples that can give you an idea of what the word means. The examples may also come before the unknown word. With this kind of context clue, you can gain a sense of what the unfamiliar word means by looking at the examples:

Example of Examples as Context Clues:

The sweatshops where many poor immigrants worked were characterized by overcrowding, poor heat and ventilation, no fire escapes, and very low wages.

sweatshops means _____________________________________________________

Another kind of context clue like examples is a description, a clause or phrase that tells you about the meaning of an unknown word. A description gives you a word picture of something or shows you some of its parts. The description usually comes after the unknown word.

Example of a Description as a Context Clue:

When I procrastinate and put off working on a project day after day until just before it is due, I usually don’t do as good a job as I am capable of doing.

procrastinate means ____________________________________________________

EXERCISE II:

Directions: Write a definition for each italicized word below on the lines provided. Use context clues to develop your definition.

1. Should our society have a censor who would decide what books and movies should not be available to children?

censor means _______________________________________________

2. Animals are divided into invertebrates and vertebrates. Monkeys belong to the vertebrates because they have backbones.

vertebrate means ____________________________________________

3. Squares, rectangles, and trapezoids are all quadrilaterals.

quadrilateral means __________________________________________

4. Some dishonest wine makers have been known to adulterate their expensive wines by adding water or cheaper wine to them.

adulterate means ____________________________________________

COMPARISON OR CONTRAST:

One kind of context clue is given when the author tells you about an unknown word by comparing it with something else. A comparison tells you what something is like. By knowing what something is similar to, you can often gain a sense of what it is.

Example of a Comparison as a Context Clue:

Her predicament presented her with the same difficult problem she had faced the year before when her family had moved for the first time.

predicament means _____________________________________________________

Another kind of context clue is given when the author tells you about an unknown word by contrasting it with something else. A contrast tells you what something is not like. By knowing what something is different from, you can often get an idea of what it is.

Example of a Contrast as a Context Clue:

Instead of being demoted as she had feared, she was offered a new and more challenging job that paid more.

demoted means ________________________________________________________

EXERCISE III:

Directions: Write a definition for each italicized word below on the lines provided. Use context clues to develop your definitions.

1. Rather than the usual 20 devoted fans, the basketball team found a large throng awaiting their return at the airport.

throng means _______________________________________________

2. Her prowess on the parallel bars is like the skillful daring of a great acrobat.

prowess means _____________________________________________

3. This year’s yard sale was a fiasco. They earned even less money than they did last year.

fiasco means _______________________________________________

4. At first people thought that television would make radio obsolete, but it’s turned out that millions of people still listen to radio.

obsolete means _____________________________________________

INFERENCE:

An inference is a conclusion or idea that you create by examining various facts and then making a reasonable judgment based on those facts. For example, you can often infer what the menu will be at lunch by walking past the cafeteria and recognizing the smells of the various foods.

Sometimes you can infer the meaning of an unknown word by examining the meanings of the words and phrases around it. Even when there are none of the special kinds of context clues about which you have learned in this unit, the context of the unknown word can sometimes still help you understand the meaning of that word.

Example of an Inference as a Context Clue:

If you’ve ever gone on a blind date, you’ve probably experienced that moment of trepidation just before you meet your date for the first time.

trepidation means _______________________________________________________

EXERCISE IV:

Directions: Write a definition for each italicized word below on the lines provided. Use context clues to develop your definitions.

1. I’m a very friendly person. I always like to be with people, either doing things that we enjoy or just talking. I suppose that’s why people say I’m gregarious.

gregarious means ____________________________________________

2. There are still no cures for the common cold. The medicines that people take for a cold are simply palliatives, which help them to feel a little better for a few hours at a time.

palliative means _____________________________________________

3. The tortuous road we had to climb had one steep and narrow curve after another all the way to the top. That’s probably why it’s called Snake Hill Road.

tortuous means ______________________________________________

4. I like Mary because she’s not exclusive. When she has a party, she invites the whole class, not just her best friends.

exclusive means _____________________________________________

HINTS FOR USING CONTEXT CLUES:

1. When you come to an unknown word as you read, stopping to look it up in the dictionary can interfere with the flow of your reading. Instead of looking it up, try to use context clues to get a sense of the unknown word’s meaning. Then, you can keep on with your reading.

2. When you can figure out the meaning of an unknown word from context clues, quickly jot that word down. Then, when you come to a natural break in your reading, look the word up in the dictionary. Check to see how close your context definition is to the dictionary definition.

3. When you can’t figure out the meaning of an unknown word from context clues, you need to look up the word when you want to learn what it means.

EXERCISE V:

Directions: Write a definition for each italicized word below on the lines provided. Use context clues to develop your definitions.

1. They were lying on their stomachs, inert, like dead men except for the soft hum of their breathing.

Inert means _________________________________________________

2. They had to bring in mercenaries or hired soldiers to fight the war.

mercenaries means __________________________________________

3. The surveillance of the suspect’s house went on for more than a week, but the police learned nothing new from all their hours of waiting and watching.

surveillance means ___________________________________________

4. After working for two years in the dark, overheated office, Felicia developed such a loathing for the place that she vowed to find another job as soon as she possibly could.

loathing means ______________________________________________

5. The talk show host always gesticulated as he spoke, moving his arms and hands to help him welcome guests, praise them, ask them questions, and even make fun of them.

gesticulated means ___________________________________________

6. Our lungs and other parts of the respiratory system enable us to breathe.

respiratory means ____________________________________________

7. The Mayor’s waiting room used to be full of petitioners who were seeking special favors.

petitioner means _____________________________________________

8. Rather than disparage people when they make mistakes, you should try to praise them when they do things correctly.

disparage means ____________________________________________

9. Claude has become such a good mechanic that I can’t differentiate between his work and work done by the man who owns the garage.

differentiate means ___________________________________________

10. The brothers were very different. One was parsimonious while the other spent his money like water.

parsimonious means __________________________________________

11. Many animals such as dinosaurs are now extinct.

extinct means _______________________________________________

12. The disease brought with it a feeling of lassitude, which made her feel like lying in bed all day.

lassitude means _____________________________________________

13. To emote or express one’s feelings is usually very healthy.

emote means _______________________________________________

14. At election time people face a difficult dilemma if they don’t like any of the candidates who are on the ballot.

dilemma means _____________________________________________

15. Jack told his friends that he had already ignored several provocations, such as curses directed at him and a snowball thrown at his head.

provocation means __________________________________________

Sample Practice Quiz :

Directions: Write a definition for each italicized word below on the lines provided. Use context clues to develop your definitions.

1. The President has a group of people who travel with him wherever he goes. Some of them are bodyguards. Others are aides and advisors. Even when he’s with his family, this entourage is never far away.

entourage means ____________________________________________

2. Even as a child Denise liked to watch birds in flight and paint pictures of them. “When I grow up,” she told herself, “I’ll spend all of my time learning about birds.” Now, after all these years of preparation, she is finally an ornithologist.

ornithologist means __________________________________________

3. Wood is opaque. So are concrete and iron. But glass and water are not opaque.

opaque means ______________________________________________

4. It takes a lot of stamina for a runner to complete a marathon. She or he must have both strength and endurance.

stamina means ______________________________________________

5. He had known her for little more than a week. He’d only talked with her twice, but he’d already sent her flowers three times. Clearly, he was infatuated with her.

infatuated means ____________________________________________

6. The lifeguard worked on the man for almost five minutes before he was able to resuscitate him.

resuscitate means ___________________________________________

7. She explained that she had only two siblings, a brother and a sister.

sibling means _______________________________________________

8. In April Roberto spent a week hiking through the mountains alone. Many of his friends thought he was foolish for undertaking such a project. Yet when he returned, they were all eager to know how his solitary week had gone.

solitary means ______________________________________________

9. Before people learned that the Earth was round, they did not know that they could circumnavigate the globe in ships.

circumnavigate means ________________________________________

10. Sheila and her friends had gone to the museum without bothering to check the price of admission. They had expected to pay two dollars or more to get in and were happy to learn that there was only a nominal charge for students.

nominal means ______________________________________________

11. He suffered from amnesia and could remember neither his name nor his address.

amnesia means _____________________________________________

12. This document contains every word that was said in the courtroom. If you read this verbatim account of the trial, you will know what went on.

verbatim means _____________________________________________

13. The officer thought that Robert was inebriated because his car was weaving across the road. It took Robert a long time to convince the officer that he had not been drinking and that the car was weaving because his steering had failed.

inebriated means ____________________________________________

14. The students at this school are a heterogeneous group. They include people of every race and major religious group in the world.

heterogeneous means ________________________________________

15. She put on her protective gear and headed out to the apiary to collect a fresh supply of honey.

apiary means _______________________________________________

Sample Practice Activity:

Choose ten words you are not familiar with and define them based on their use in the current events selection. The definitions should be in your own words and reflect how the words are used in the selection. Then look the words up in a dictionary and write the dictionary definition that closely matches your definition.

Sample Context Clues Test:

1. The general public apparently thought tranquilizers would be a panacea to banish all cares. panacea:_____________________________________________________

2. Clearly the infection with the weakened bacteria had equipped the chickens with a defense against the fully potent bacteria. potent: ____________________________

3. His lecture was filled with vapid remarks: they were so uninteresting that students fell asleep. vapid: ___________________________________________________________

4. The students were admonished against cheating on the exam. admonished:_____________________________________________________________

5. Loquacious though he was, talk alone couldn’t persuade her. Loquacious:______________________________________________________________

6. The troops were forced to capitulate when food supplies were cut off. capitulate:_______________________________________________________________

7. At the death of Princess Diane the world press paid homage to a great woman. homage:_________________________________________________________________

8. Her proclivity for helping the weak motivated her to become a nurse. proclivity:_______________________________________________________________

9. Along with subject matter learned in school are the concomitant learning’s of cooperation and self-discipline. concomitant:_____________________________________________________________

10. The new director didn’t find his duties onerous. He spent only four or five hours a day at work. onerous:__________________________________________________________

11-14. Kinetic Theory: The existence of Brownian motion contradicts the idea of matter as a quiescent state and suggests rather that the molecules of matter are constantly moving. A particle of cigarette smoke appears to be jostled by its neighboring molecules, and thus indirectly the motion of the smoke particle reflects the motion of the submicroscopic, invisible molecules of matter. Here then is powerful support for the suggestion that matter consists of extremely small particles which are ever in motion. This “moving molecule” theory is known as the kinetic theory of matter. quiescent:_______________________________________________________________

submicroscopic:__________________________________________________________

kinetic theory of matter:_________________________________________________

15. Although the majority of the Southern lawmakers agreed that the law should be kept, six declared that it should be abrogated. abrogated:______________________________________________________________

16. The salubriousness of the climate draws many new residents to California. salubriouness:___________________________________________________________

17. Some of her club’s members are hostile to new ways; they cleave to the customs and traditions of the past. cleave:______________________________________________________________

18. Certain serious diseases can be successfully treated if detected in their incipient stage. incipient:_______________________________________________________________

19. Unlike Arnold Palmer who is a golf pro, Ted is a tyro. tyro:__________________________________________________________________

20. She is so sanguine, so optimistic, that she always expects good luck.

sanguine:________________________________________________________________

Rubric: Word Analysis Skills

Excellent

Understands contextual clues and applies the clue to define a new word

Uses dictionaries and glossaries to find the correct definition

Understands words have various meanings

Uses word parts to determine the meaning of unknown words

Satisfactory

Understands contextual clues and applies the clue correctly sometimes

Uses dictionaries and glossaries correctly most of the time

Understands words have various meanings, but does not always apply the correct meaning to the context

Knows roots and prefixes meanings but does not always apply the skill correctly

Unsatisfactory

Knows the contextual clues but cannot apply the skill to content

Does not use dictionaries or glossaries

Does not understand that words have various meanings and cannot apply correct meaning to content

Knows the meaning of roots and prefixes but cannot apply to content.

Outcome #5

At the end of the course, students should be able to use the many parts of a college textbook (table of contents, preface, forward, glossary, index, and appendices) to access information necessary for learning.

Sample Activity:

Previewing Your Textbook

Your Name:______________________________________________________________

Title of the book here:_______________________________________________________

If the book has a subtitle, write it here:

________________________________________________________________________

Write some questions that the title and subtitle suggests:

________________________________________________________________________

When was the book published? _______________________ Is this information important?

________________________________________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________________

Write down some important ideas that the author presents in the preface, forward, or introduction:

________________________________________________________________________

Read the table of contents and change the chapter headings into questions. Write eight questions suggested by different chapter headings.

1. _____________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________________________________

6. _____________________________________________________________________

7. _____________________________________________________________________

8. _____________________________________________________________________

Page through the entire book and look at the pictures, maps, charts, and graphs; read the captions under them. List below the three most interesting illustrations in the book, and state the reasons for your choices.

1. _____________________________________________________ on page ________

Reason__________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________ on page ________

Reason__________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________ on page ________

Reason__________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

If there are appendixes in the book, list each one, and tell how it will be useful.

________________________________________________________________________

Page through several chapters to discover which study aids have been included. Check those that you find on the list below.

Chapter outline____________________________________________________________

Italics ___________________________________________________________________

Headings_________________________________________________________________

Footnotes _______________________________________________________________

Chapter summary __________________________________________________________

Supplementary Readings ____________________________________________________

Chapter Glossary__________________________________________________________

Chapter problems or projects _________________________________________________

Questions for Study or Review ________________________________________________

Other study aids ___________________________________________________________

Use the index to survey what you know or do not know about the contents of the book. Read down each column to see how many names, places, and terms are familiar to you. From the entire index, select ten items that you know a lot about and ten that you know absolutely nothing about. If you cannot find ten items that are completely unfamiliar to you, you already have basic knowledge of the subject.

KNOWN		UNKNOWN
1.	6.		1.	6.
2.	7.		2.	7.
3.	8.		3.	8.
4.	9.		4.	9.
5.	10.		5.	10.

Rubric: Effective Use of a Textbook

Excellent

Uses appendices to find supplemental information

Uses text to see organization, identify learning tasks, make predictions about test

Identifies location of pertinent materials/topics consistently

Cross-reference data from class and from original source accurately

Finds particular term in textbook using multiple strategies

Demonstrates information about college text which promotes learning of text

Identifies and articulates purpose and use of each section of text

Uses index to locate necessary information and understand section of text

Uses table of contents, glossary, index, and foreword appropriately

Satisfactory

Uses appendices to find supplemental information most of the time

Uses text to find information

Identifies location of pertinent materials/topics most of the time

Locates data from lecture and cross-references to source when asked

Finds particular term in textbook using one strategy

Demonstrates 75% information about college text which promotes learning of text

Identifies and uses sections of the text

Uses index to locate necessary information and understand section of text most of the time

Uses table of contents, glossary, index, and foreword appropriately most of the time

Unsatisfactory

Does not use appendices to find supplemental information

Does not use text to see organization, identify learning tasks, make predictions about test

Does not identify location of pertinent materials/topics consistently

Does not cross-reference data from class and from original source accurately

Does not find particular term in textbook using multiple strategies

Does not demonstrate information about college text which promotes learning of text

Does not identify and articulate purpose and use of each section of text

Does not use index to locate necessary information and understand section of text

Does not use table of contents, glossary, index, and foreword appropriately

Outcome #6

At the end of the course, students should be able to apply various reading skills and strategies (previewing, detecting main ideas and related details, summarizing, note taking, outlining, skimming, scanning, and reviewing) in order to comprehend oral and written material presented in the various college disciplines.

Sample Activity:

Focus on First Lines: Increasing Comprehension through Prediction Strategies

Students will examine opening sentences from texts and make predictions about the texts. They will later read the text selection to check their predictions. Some questions to ask:

What predictions would you make about this book (short story, poem, etc.) based on its title?
How does your knowledge of the time period and/or the author affect what you expect to find in this story?
What predictions would you make based on the first line?
What can you tell about the story by looking at the table of contents (or the chapter titles)?
Based on your reading to this point, what predictions would you make for the rest of the piece? (In other words, at the end of the first chapter, first paragraph, and so forth, what predictions would you make for the text?)

Web Resources: Famous First Words: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3894040

Opening Lines from American Literature

“A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the swift water twenty feet below.” From “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce

“It is very seldom that mere ordinary people like John and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer.” From The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

“When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. ” From Walden by Henry David Thoreau

“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the

clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback,

through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of

the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.” From “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe

“I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot county, Maryland.” From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

“Some of the caddies were poor as sin and lived in one-room houses with a neurasthenic

cow in the front yard, but Dexter Green's father owned the second best grocery-store in

Black Bear--the best one was ‘The Hub,’ patronized by the wealthy people from Sherry

Island--and Dexter caddied only for pocket-money.” From “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott

Fitzgerald

"Mr. President, no man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House.” From “Speech to the

Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry

“Hah-ah’ eel-me’-whem, the great Spirit Chief, called the Animal People together.” From

“The Spirit Chief Names the Animal People” by Mourning Dove

“Ships from a distance have every man’s wish on board.” From Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

“In compliance with the request of a friend of mine, who wrote me from the East, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and inquired after my friend's friend, Leonidas W. Smiley, as requested to do, and I hereunto append the result.” From “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain

* Since this is an opening activity no formal assessment is needed. Look for participation and engagement. You might ask students to note their predictions in their journals or notebooks. You can check for completion when you review journals.

Opening Lines Recording Sheet

Time Period
Genre
Prediction
Explanation

Recording Sheet Sample

Time Period	Colonial? Pre-colonial?
Genre	Fiction
Prediction	I think this is a story about a young man involving mystery or witchcraft.
Explanation	I think this is a story about mystery because of the questions that the sentence raises. The events happen at the wrong time of day. They’re in Salem, which is a town known for mystery. The main character is distracted and forgets his wife, even though they probably haven’t been married long since they are both young. Even the way he kisses her is odd. He’s too distracted to actually go back in the house. There are a lot of questions and mysteries and this is just the first sentence. I think it’s an older piece because some of the words seem older. There are things that we wouldn’t say today, and the main character’s first name is a little unusual.

*Adapted from www.readwritethink.org
Sample Activity:

Exploring Disability Using Multimedia and the B-D-A Reading Strategy

In this lesson, students apply the before, during after, reading comprehension strategy as they explore varied aspects of disability by investigating rich, interactive multimedia resources. “Beyond Affliction: The Disability History Project” is a National Public Radio documentary series about the shared experience of people with disabilities and their families since the beginning of the 19^th century. The companion Web site, which features audio transcripts, text transcripts, images, timelines, primary source documents, interviews, and other resources, provides the main source of information for the students’ literacy activities.

Students will apply the B-D-A reading comprehension strategy.

Before reading, students will

Brainstorm ideas on disability
Read a variety of resource materials to gain background information on disability
Conduct a survey on disability, and evaluate and discuss the results to activate background knowledge on the topic of disability

During reading, students will

Read, view, and listen to information from a multimedia website to learn about disability
Work in small collaborative research groups
Utilize a reading comprehension strategy worksheet to synthesize their understanding of the materials they are reading by writing a main idea and a summary statement

After reading, students will

Create a visual presentation that highlights their understanding of disability
Respond in writing to reflective/assessment questions

NAME__________________________ DATE _________________

CLASS __________________________

Before

List everything you know

about this topic before reading.

During

Briefly note new information

you find during reading.

After

Write a summary and three questions.

Write a one-sentence main idea statement.

____________________________________________________________________

B-D-A- Reflection Questions

NAME: ________________________

Answering the following questions:

What connections did I make between what I already knew about disability and what I learned during the lesson activities?

_____________________________________________________________

Were my notes accurate and complete? Provide two examples that reflect this below:

_____________________________________________________________

Did my notes help me focus on important ideas and concepts in my reading? Provide two examples that reflect this below:

_____________________________________________________________

Was I able to verify my “Before” ideas as I read new information? Is so, provide an example below:

_____________________________________________________________

In what ways did my notes help me understand what I was reading on the

Web site?

_____________________________________________________________

What predictions did I make as I read? _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

Did I confirm my predictions as I read?

_____________________________________________________________

Was I able to summarize what I had learned as I wrote my three questions?

_____________________________________________________________

How did the questions I created show my understanding of this topic? _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Did my one-sentence main idea clearly express what I learned? ____________

_____________________________________________________________

Did the B-D-A strategy have an impact on my reading comprehension? If so, in what ways? __________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Adapted from www.readwritethink.org

Sample Activity:

Magazine Redux: An Exercise in Critical Literacy

Overview

The proliferation of magazines with an online counterpart increases every year. This lesson prompts students to act as critical readers as they consider how and why their approach and experiences differ when reading an online version versus a print version of a magazine. Teachers can use this activity as part of a larger unit on media literacy.

Student Objectives

Students will

Monitor, reflect on, and share insights about their impressions and experiences after reading both a print and an online magazine
Compare and contrast the structure and format of a print magazine versus an online magazine and delineate some of the factors that contribute to their similarities and differences
Compare and contrast their approach to reading a print magazine versus an online magazine and share insights and observations about their reading process for each media form

Instructional Plan

Preparation
Research, examine, and select a list of online magazines that you feel comfortable using for this exercise. (A sample list of online magazines is provided). Make sure that for each online magazine on the list, you have at least one print copy of the magazine accessible to students in the classroom.

Session 1. Before Reading
Explain to students that they are going to critically examine their reading of an online magazine and see how it compares to reading the print version.

Spread out various copies of the print magazines, which have an online counterpart (see the sample list of online magazines), and allow students 15 to 20 minutes to peruse them. Then ask students to identify the specific magazine (e.g., Sports Illustrated, Time) that they would like to use for their reading activities. Make note of their selections on a class roster. You might consider limiting the number of students per magazine for more reading variety within the class.

Using the Self-Portrait of a Reading Experience transparency, go through and explain the various items that students will address while they are reading the online magazine. Give students time to ask questions and request clarifications about the items before they begin reading and working independently.

Session 2. During Reading
Have students navigate to their online magazine, assisting them as necessary and checking to make sure that they are viewing the correct website. Then invite students to begin reading the online magazine, at least the homepage and a few articles. Students should attempt to read as much of the online magazine as time permits and also take note and read some of the advertisements. While reading, they should fill in their copy of the Self-Portrait of a Reading Experience handout. Give students the rest of the class period to read and record their responses on the handout while you walk around and observe and assist students who are struggling.

Session 3. During Reading
If time in class is not available, this activity can be assigned for homework. Invite students to read a recent print issue (within the past three months) of the same magazine they were reading online. They should read the Table of Contents and at least a few articles, and also take note and read some of the advertisements in the magazine. Ask them to use Post-it notes to make comments on the magazine's structure and format and their reading process. If they are not sure what to write on the Post-its, tell them to refer to the Self-Portrait of a Reading Experience handout and cover most, if not all, of the same items. Ask students to stick each Post-it note on the page of the magazine that relates to their response about a particular aspect of the format or their reading process.

Session 4. After Reading
Have students use their completed Self-Portrait handout for the online magazine and their Post-it note-filled magazine to complete this follow-up activity.
Ask students to use the interactive Venn diagram to compare and contrast:

The structure and format of each media form
Their reading process for each media form

Students will need to complete two Venn diagrams, each with one circle labeled as "Print Magazines" and the other circle labeled as "Online Magazines." The first diagram should be used to compare and contrast the structure and format of a print magazine versus an online magazine. The second diagram should be used to compare and contrast their reading process for each. Remind students to print out their Venn diagrams when finished.

Using the Venn diagram printouts, have students share insights they had and observations they made about both media forms and their reading process for each. Insights and observations may be as follows:

The content is typically similar in both forms, but the way the information is conveyed is different depending on the strengths of each medium.
The process for reading a print magazine differs from the process for reading online because of the conventions and constraints inherent in each form.
The features of each medium are different and often help or hinder the reading process.
The advertisements are usually the same or similar because of the target audience, but their format is usually different depending on the media form.

Student Assessment/Reflections

Successful navigation to and through the various sites, as evidenced by the completed Self-Portrait of a Reading Experience handout
Completion of the Self Portrait handout for the online magazine and the Post-it note comments for the print magazine---rate each response or comment using a minus sign for weak, vague, or incomplete information; a check mark for sufficient or adequate information; and a plus sign for thorough and specific information
Printout of the interactive Venn diagram showing at least three differences and three similarities the student observed about the structure and format of each media form and his or her reading process for each
Teacher observation and anecdotal notes on the quality of insights and observations shared during class discussions

Self-Portrait of a Reading Experience

Name: ____________________________________ Date: ___________________

Class/Section: ___________________

Use this sheet to keep track of your impressions of online reading experiences,

including the magazine’s presentation of content and your own reading

process.

Online Magazine Name: ___________________________________

URL Address: _________________________________________

1. My initial impression of this site is…. Because.…

2. Things I notice about the way the material is organized or structured are….

3. Things I notice about the typography (typefaces and styles) used on this site

are….

4. Things I notice about myself as I am reading this online magazine are….

5. The colors I see used on this site are…. Things I notice about the color used

on the site are….

6. The symbols or icons used on this site and what they indicate to me are….

(Roughly sketch at least some of the symbols or icons and indicate what

you think they mean.)

7. What I think about the kinds of illustrations and images I see on the site is….

Because….

8. A brief description of the process I am using to read this online magazine

is.…

9. Some special effects (e.g., audio, video, interactives) or elements I notice

incorporated into this online magazine include…. My impressions of these

elements are….

10. The types of advertisements incorporated into this online magazine include

ads for the following types of products and services….

11. What I liked about reading this online magazine was…. Because….

12. What I didn’t like about reading this online magazine was…. Because….

13. Reading this online magazine left me wondering about.… Because….

14. As a reader I would/would not (circle one) recommend this online

magazine to others because…. (Make note of specific features that

facilitated your reading or obstacles that hindered it.)

15. Freebie—Note or discuss an element or aspect of the online magazine’s

content or your reading of it that you have not covered somewhere else on

this self-portrait sheet.

List of Online Magazines

Below is a sample list of 20 representational online magazines. A complete listing of over 1,300

online magazines is also available at http://www.magazinesatoz.com/. Make sure to review each

site before using it in the classroom to ensure that the site is appropriate for the level of your

students and acceptable for your school and community standards.

Automobile http://www.automobilemag.com/?atoz

Better Homes and Gardens http://www.bhg.com/

Book http://www.bookmagazine.com/

Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/

Chile Pepper: Cooking Zesty http://chilepepper.com/

Esquire http://esquire.com/

Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com/

Ladies Home Journal http://ww4.lhj.com/lhj/index.jhtml?ordersrc=ls1

Newsweek http://www.msnbc.com/news/NW-front_Front.asp

Organic Gardening http://www.organicgardening.com/

Premiere http://www.premiere.com/

Prevention http://www.prevention.com/

Runner’s World www.runnersworld.com

Spin http://spin.com/

Sports Illustrated http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/

The Nation http://www.thenation.org/

The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/

Time http://www.time.com/time/

U.S. News & World Report http://www.usnews.com/usnews/home.htm

*Adapted from www.readwritethink.org

Outcome #7

At the end of the course, students should be able to prioritize time, organize lecture notes, employ effective memory strategies, and anticipate objective and subjective test items in order to prepare for examinations and to achieve academic success.

Sample Activities:

View and take notes on the film Time Management

Design a semester schedule

Create mnemonic devices for content needed to be memorized

Prepare a study guide for an upcoming exam

Rubric: Preparing a Study Guide

Excellent

Study guide includes all main ideas and supporting evidence from lectures and assigned reading materials

Study guide includes all pertinent vocabulary

Study guide includes all concepts and examples highlighted by the instructor

Study guide is written in the student’s own words

Study guide is well organized and easy to read

Satisfactory

Study guide includes most of the main ideas and supporting evidence from lectures and assigned reading materials

Study guide includes most of the pertinent vocabulary

Study guide includes most of the concepts and examples highlighted by the instructor

Study guide is written mostly in the student’s own words

Study guide is somewhat organized and easy to read

Unsatisfactory

Study guide does not include all main ideas and supporting evidence from lectures and assigned reading materials

Study guide does not include all pertinent vocabulary

Study guide does not include all concepts and examples highlighted by the instructor

Study guide is not written in the student’s own words

Study guide is not well organized and easy to read

Outcome #8

At the end of the course, students should be able to conduct and evaluate research, link new knowledge with acquired knowledge, document information, and report the results of research in an orderly manner.

Sample Activity:

Argumentative Speech on a Social Issue

1. Your choice of summaries, maps, outlines, or double-column notes of at least three library sources.

2. Use your MLA handout as a reference to create an MLA works citation page.

3. Present your findings orally in a 5-10 minute class presentation.

Soon we will be visiting the library to find out how it works -- that is, how do we find information we want to know via books, articles, the Internet etc. You will be required to submit a thesis statement on a social issue of your choosing. After you have approval, you will begin your research. You must have a minimum of three sources and must submit a works-cited page (we will go over how to do this) as part of your project. Your summaries, maps, etc. should be word-processed. Your presentation to this class should be aimed at persuading the class of your point of view. Your presentation should be between 5 and 10 minutes.

Checklist for Evaluation Oral Presentation

Establishing and Maintaining Contact with Audience

___Greeted audience

___Noted and responded to signs of puzzlement, boredom, curiosity, etc.

___Varied the pace of presentation

___Spoke at a rate which allowed audience to take notes as necessary

Organization of Presentation

___Stated purpose of the presentation

___Presented brief overview of content

___Presented examples to clarify new, abstract or difficult ideas

___Explicitly stated relationships among ideas

___Periodically summarized the most important ideas

___In concluding, restated what students were expected to learn

Presentation Style

___Voice could be easily heard

___Voice was raised or lowered for emphasis

___Speech was neither too formal nor too casual

___Speech fillers, e.g. “ahmm,” were not distracting

___Rate of speech was neither too slow nor too fast

___Maintained eye contact

___Listened carefully to comments and questions

___Facial and body movements did not contradict speech or expressed intentions

Clarity of Presentation

___Defined new terms, concepts, and principles

___Explicitly related new ideas to familiar ones

___Reiterated definitions of new terms as needed

___Used alternate explanations when necessary

___Slowed word flow when ideas were complex

Questions, Ability

___Asked questions to see what audience already knew about topic

___Paused after all questions to allow audience time to think of an answer

___Repeated answers when necessary so that entire group could hear

*Adapted with permission from “Improving Your Lecturing,” Nancy A. Diamond, Greg Sharp, and John C. Ory of the Office of Instructional Resources, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Rubric:

Criteria	3	2	1	0
Had an introduction	Introduced him/herself and noted the source of the information first	Introduced him/herself and noted the source of the information after beginning	Neglected to introduce him/herself or note the source of the information	No Presentation
Had a specific thesis statement	Topic clearly introduced in a thesis statement	Topic introduced without a thesis statement	Topic was not introduced at all	No Presentation
Narrowed the Topic	Stayed focused on same topic	Wandered slightly from topic	Did not stay focused on topic	No Presentation
Made connections or transitions between points	Made appropriate transitions consistently	Occasionally made appropriate transitions	Made no appropriate transitions	No Presentation
Gave concrete examples to support topic	Provided several examples to support topic	Provided a few examples to support topics	Provided no examples to support topics	No Presentation
Showed depth of knowledge	Referred to notes seldom during presentation	Referred to notes often during presentation	Referred to notes consistently during presentation	No Presentation
Offered his/her opinions	Used critical thinking and previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	Used some critical thinking and some previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	Used no critical thinking and no previous knowledge to provide appropriate opinions	No Presentation
Had a conclusion	Ended presentation with a suitable conclusion	Ended presentation with a partial conclusion	Ended presentation with no conclusion	No Presentation
Clarity	Spoke clearly consistently during the presentation	Spoke clearly during some of the presentation	Spoke unclearly during the presentation	No Presentation
Voice Variety	Maintained voice variety consistently during presentation	Maintained some voice variety during presentation	Maintained no voice variety during presentation	No Presentation
Eye Contact	Made eye contact consistently during presentation	Made some eye contact consistently during presentation	Made no eye contact during presentation	No Presentation

Outcome #9

At the end of the course, students should be able to strengthen Core Competencies in order to increase academic and workplace success. Core Competencies are reading, writing, oral communication, technology skills, and critical thinking.

Sample Activity:

Ethical Dilemma

Your final project should be on a current ethical dilemma in your discipline or an area you may be considering as a future area of study. The key to success with this project is to keep the scope of the problem limited. Read five magazine, newspaper articles, or journal articles on the subject you have chosen. The sources must be no more than five years old and must come from at least three different magazines, newspapers, or journals. As you research your subject, consider the cause of the dilemma, how the dilemma expresses itself, and some possible future solutions. This assignment receives four grades: research paper (minimum of five word-processed pages), oral presentation, power point presentation, as well as, a critical thinking grade. Attached are the assessment tools that will be used to grade the project.

As you research your subject, you may want to think about the following:

· How do you differ from the way others view this issue?

· What do I know about the problem?

· What results am I aiming for?

· How can I define the problem?

· What are the possible alternatives?

· What are the advantages and the disadvantages of each alternative?

· What additional information do I need?

· What is the solution?

· What alternatives should I pursue?

· What is my evaluation?

· How well does the solution work?

· Do my arguments have truth, validity, and soundness?

· What creative processes did I use to create the power point presentation?

· Truth: How True Are the Supporting Reasons given in my research?

· Did I evaluate the arguments, or at least, the values underlying the arguments?

Rubric:

Criteria	4 Oral Competency	4 Written Competency	5 Critical Thinking Competency	4 Power Point Competency	Points
Ideas: Clear & Focused
Organization: Purpose & Audience
Word Choice: Words Conveying Message Are Precise
Presentation: Pleasing To The Eye
Voice: Compelling & Engaging
Self-Regulation: Appropriate Adjustment In Response To Audience Questions.

Sample Activity:

Literacy Autobiography

Beginning Thoughts

The aim of this assignment is to explore in some depth the origins of some of the theories that you hold about reading, writing, and language. Try to give an account of significant factors and events that have contributed to your development as a reader and writer. In the end, the essay you write might address any number of questions: How do your experiences help all of us to understand what literacy means? What sort of environment supports the development of advanced literacy?

As you reflect on your literacy journey, you may want to consider one or more of the following:

· The education and literacy levels of current and preceding generations of your family.

· Your earliest recollection of reading and writing -- anything. What was it? Where did it take place? Why did it take place?

· Your memories of other members of your family reading and writing. What was it? Where did it take place? Why did it take place?

· Any other memories of reading or writing (handwriting included) in school. Whatever you can remember will do -- assignments, instructions, teacher comments, etc.

· Memories of reading and writing out of school. Self-sponsored writing. Writing associated with social and religious organizations or other extracurricular activities. Letters, diaries or journals, etc. Writing context/awards/publications.

· People who were important to your reading and writing development.

· Barriers to your development as a reader and/or a writer.

· Role of reading in your writing development.

· Role that language (including talk) plays in your family and different social groups.

· Role that written language plays in your family’s social, religious and cultural practices.

· Role of written language in play and peer groups. How did reading and writing figure into your relationship with your friends at various stages of your life?

· Role of libraries and bookstores.

· Significant memories of successes and failures.

· Role of reading and writing in developing your identity.

You are free to include in your account any other information you think is pertinent. Bilingual/bicultural students are free to describe the process of learning to read/write in their native language.

SampleRubric:

“A” Range	The directions for the paper were followed. The paper contains numerous examples and details to support the thesis and topic sentences. The paper is well organized. The paper demonstrates critical thinking. The paper is carefully proofread. The paper is word-processed.
“B” Range	The directions for the paper were essentially followed. The paper contains some examples and details to support the thesis and topic sentences. The paper is organized. The paper demonstrates some critical thinking. The paper is proofread. The paper is word-processed.
“C” Range	The directions for the paper were not followed carefully. The paper contains few examples and details to support the thesis and topic sentences. The paper is not well organized. The paper does not clearly demonstrate critical thinking. The paper is not carefully proofread.
“D” Range	The directions for the paper were not followed. The paper does not contain examples and details to support the thesis and topic sentences. The paper is not organized. The paper does not demonstrate critical thinking. The paper is not proofread.

INTEGRATING

READING

SKILLS

Nancy L. Dowling

Elizabeth Marconi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Unit One - Introduction to Reading Skills and College Study Skills

Unit Two - The Three Growth Areas of Reading

I. Word Recognition

A. Word Structures

B. Word Meaning and Multi-meanings

C. Terms and Definitions

D. Glossary and Index

E. Dictionary Meanings

F. Contextual Clues

G. Discipline Example, Western Civilization I.

H. Discipline Example, General Psychology

II. Comprehension

A. Literal Recall

B. Interpretation

1. Detecting the Author’s Purpose and Style

2. Detecting the Author’s Pattern of Organization

3. Drawing Inference

4. Detecting Propaganda

5. Making Generalizations

6. Drawing Conclusions

C. Understanding Symbols in Literature and Poetry

1. Symbolism

2. Literally and Figuratively

3. Similes and Metaphors

4. Imagery

5. Poetry

D. Examples How to Remember What You Read

III. Reading Study Sills

A. Previewing

1. Discipline Example, Western Civilization I.

2. Example, Student Exercise

B. Detecting Main Ideas and Related Details

C. Outlining and Summarizing

1. Outline Definition and Form

2. Discipline Example, General Psychology

3. Example, Student Topic Outline

4. Summarizing Definition and Form

5. Example, Signal words and Typographical Clues

6. Exercise, Student Summarizing Sheet

D. Categorizing and Classifying

1. Using a Formula

2. Using a Map

E. Classification and Sequence

F. Guide Words

G. Skimming and Scanning

Unit Three - College Study Skills

I. Introduction to Studying

A. Studying suggestions

B. Example, Student Scheduling Sheet

II. Listening and Note Taking Skills

A. Listening suggestions

B. Example, “LISAN”

C. How to Take Good Lecture Notes

1. A Recap

2. Shorthand Device

D. Marking Text Books

1 The Three Major Rules for Underlining

2. Example, “Transfer of Learning”

3. The Three Major Rules for Highlighting

4. Example, General Psychology

III. Text Taking Techniques

A. Introduction

B. Types of Tests

C. Coping with Test Anxiety

D. What to Study

E. Keys to Memory Improvement

F. Taking Essay Tests

G. Taking Objective Tests

H. Recapping

Unit Four - The Conclusion

I. Planning Suggestions

II. Example, Pyramid of Learning

III. Integrating Reading

UNIT ONE - INTRODUCTION

Reading is decoding

comprehending the printed work in its various forms

various levels of difficulty.

Massasoit Community College has an open admissions policy; therefore, students with a high school diploma or a GED certificate are accepted without entrance exams. Many of these students graduate from high school without the complete array of essential skills for success at the college level.

This is cause for today’s instructors to be concerned that students lack particular analytical skills or the facility to appreciate the nuance of style and language. Thus, poor student retention occurs.

Today’s students can be given the tools to gain these skills while studying their various courses. With basic conceptual skills, students will be able to deal successfully with the various types and levels of college materials.

A number of reading skills and study tools can be built into each discipline and the use of text books, thus increasing the utility of the books and helping students to understand the nature of the discipline. Also, and at the same time, it will assist students in developing the skills necessary while embarking on a successful collegiate career.

The ability to read with understanding, to appreciate words and their meanings, to master terms and their definitions, to understand the discipline’s concepts are possible when a skills component is integrated into the discipline.

For example, a number of the study tools that can be built into the discipline are as follows:

· Previewing the syllabus, the text book and the chapters within the text, thus increasing the utility of the book and understanding the nature of the discipline and “getting ready to read”

· Providing an enrichment List of Vocabulary from context, per chapter, and from primary and secondary sources with exercises

· Providing a List of Terms and their definitions with exercises

· Providing a List of Concepts or Facts to be understood and remembered with exercises

· The Skill of Summarizing Chapters and articles with exercises

· The Skill of Outlining Chapters and Articles

· Note Taking Skills

· Library/Reference Skills and assignments

· Exam Preparation and Test Techniques previewing essay and objective exam questions

· Oral Presentation and Debates when appropriate

The Skill Component will provide the student with new strategies for reading and understanding the materials to be studied. It will, also, assist students with their assignments more fully and with their exams more confidently.

Attach exercise samples

· Previewing - History Text

· Vocabulary/Terms - History Text

· Concept Map - Psychology

· Flow Chart - Biology, Sociology, etc.

· Outlining - Psychology

In the following Units, you will find all the Reading Skills and College Study Skills with explanations, suggestions, samples, and exercises, that will assist instructors in their discipline planning and students in their quest for SUCCESS.

The Skills that are being dealt with are as follows:

· Vocabulary

· Comprehension

· Reading Study Skills

· College Study Skills

UNIT TWO - THE THREE GROWTH AREAS OF READING

They must be taught, mastered and applied

to college level materials in order for students to experience success

with their various disciplines.

I. Word Recognition - the ability to recognize:

A. Word Structures, prefixes, roots, suffixes

This is the anatomy, or structure of most big words:

PREFIX

ROOT

SUFFIX

Change meaning - a syllable that comes in front of a word

Meaning

Part of speech, tense number - a syllable that comes at the end of a word.

The reason words are long is that someone has added prefixes and suffixes to the root words. This is also a way to make more language. You will learn more words and more meanings if you don’t try to memorize words, but rather understand how to find the root and the prefix. When words are broken into parts by meaning, you look for the root word, and then for the prefixes and suffixes which are added to change its meaning or job (part of speech), e.g.,

bark/ing auto/mat/ic/al/ly.

In the last word, auto is the root meaning self, and mat is the root meaning mechanical machine. Ic, al, and ly are all suffixes telling what part of speech the word is, adverb. If you familiarize yourself and learn a basic list of root words and prefixes, you will discover that each root can be found in several hundred other words in English, so that learning one gives you a key to many others.

If you can pronounce words and take them apart, you will be able to read articles, chapters, and books.

The same holds true for prefixes. This is much easier than memorizing long lists of words and their meanings.

PREFIXES

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
ab- abs-	away from	abbreviate, abnormal, abstract
ac- ad- af- ag- al- an- ar- as- at-	to, toward	accept, advance, affix, aggressive, allow, annex, arrange, asset, attach
amb- ambi-	around, both	ambition, ambulance
amphi-	two, both	amphitheater, amphibian
an-	not	anonymous, anemic
ana-	back, excessive	analogy, analyze
ant- anti-	against	antacid, antifreeze, antidote
ante-	before	antecedent, anterior
apo-	away from	apology, apostrophe, apostle
be-	intensive	behavior, betroth, beguile
bi- bin- bis-	two, twice	bicycle, binocular, biscuit
cata-	down	catalyst, catalogue
circ- circum-	around	circumference, circuit
con- co- com- col- cor-	with, together	connect, cooperate, compound, collision, correlate
de-	away from	decay, deprive, defend
demi-	half	demitone, demitasse
di-	two, separate	dichotomy, dioxide, divide
dia-	through	diagonal, diagram, diameter
dis-	take away, not	disagree, disease, dispose
dyn- dynamo-	power	dynamite, dynamometry
e- ec- ef- ex-	out, from	eject, eclipse, effort, exit, extend, excite
en- em-	into, in	encourage, embrace, employ
epi-	upon, beside	epidermis, epigraph
eu-	good	eulogy, eugeny
hemi-	half	hemisphere, hemiplegia
hyper-	over, excessive	hyperactive, hyperpole
hypo-	under, less	hypodermic, hypothesis
il- ir-	not	illegal, illusion, irrational
in- im-	in, into	inhale, interior, immigrate
in- im-	not	invisible, immature, immortal
inter-	between, among	interfere, intermission
intra-	within	intramural, intravenous
intro-	into, inward	introduce, introvert
macro-	large, excessive	macron, macrometer
mal-	bad, evil	malevolence, malignant
mon- mono-	one	monarchy, monologue, monotone
non-	not	nonsense, nontoxic, nonstop
ob- oc- of- op-	against, facing	object, oblivious, occult, offence, opposite
para-	beside, position	parallel, paradox, paralysis
per-	through	perennial, perceive, percent
peri-	around	perimeter, period, peripheral
post-	after, behind	posterior, postpone, postern
pre-	before	precede, predict, prevent
pro-	forward	proclaim, progress, project
re-	again, back	repay, reverse, rebuild
se-	apart, without	secret, secession, segregate
semi-	half	semicircle, semiweekly
sub-	under	submerge, substitute, subject
super- supr-	over, beyond	superhuman, supervise, supreme
sur-	above, more	surface, survey, survive
syl- syn- sym- sys-	with, together	syllable, synonym, synthesis, sympathy, symbol, system
tra- trans-	across, through	transmit, transparent, traverse
ultra-	beyond, exceed	ultramodern, ultraviolet
un-	not	unknown, uneducated, unable

ROOTS

Root	Meaning	Examples
acer, acid, acri	sour, bitter	acerb, acidic, acidemia, acridity, acrimony
ag, agi, ago	move, go, do	agility, agent, pedagogue
ali, allo, alter	other	alias, alien, allonym, alternate, alteration
anni, annu, enni	year	anniversary, annuity, annual, centennial, decennial
anthrop	man	anthropology, philanthropy
arch	ruler	anarchy, monarch, patriarch
aster, astro	star	astronaut, asterisk, astrology
aud, aus	listen, hear	audience, audition, auscultate
aut, auto	self	autarch, automatic, autograph
bene, bon	good, well	benefit, benediction, bonus
Root	Meaning	Examples
bio	life	biology, biography, biopsy
cap, cep, cept	take, receive	capture, capable, accept, except, deception
capit, capt	chief, head	capital, caption, decapitate
cause, cuse, cus	cause, motive	because, accuser, excuse, accusation, excusable
cede, ceed, cess	go, surrender	concede, precede, succeed, exceed, success, proccess
chrom	color	chromatic, chrome
chron	time	chronology, chronic, synchronize
cise	cut	precise, concise, incise
civ	citizen	civil, civilization, uncivil
claim, clam	call out, declare	exclaim, proclaim, clamorous
clud, clus	shut	include, seclude, conclusion
cognosc, gnosi	know	recognize, incognito, prognose
cor, cour, cord	heart	core, courage, cordial
corp, corpor	body	corpuscle, corporal, corpse
crea	create	creative, creature, creator
cred	believe	credit, incredible, creed
cub, cumb	lean back	incumbent, encumber, succumb
cycl, cyclo	circle, wheel	cyclone, cycle, cyclic
dem, demo	people	democracy, democrat, demagogue
dent, don’t	tooth	dentist, denture, orthodontist
dic, dict	declare, say	dictionary, dictate, predict
dorm	sleep	dormitory, dormant
duc, duce, duct	lead	deduct, educate, product, induction, reduce
endo	within	endocrine, endotoxin
fac, fact	make	facilitate, factory, facsimile
feder, fide, fid, feal	faith, trust	federal, confederate, confide, confidant, fidelity, fealty
fic, fect	make	defective, certificate, infect
fer	bring, yield	reference, suffer, transfer
fin, finis	end	finish, infinite, confine
fix	fix	fixative, affix, transfix
flect, flex	bend	flexible, deflect, reflector
fluc, flu	flowing	fluctuate, flush, fluid
forc, fort	strong	force, forte, fortitude
fum	smoke	fume, fumigate
ge, geo	earth, ground	geography, geology
gen	kind, race	gender, genius, general
germ	vital, part	germinate, germy, germicide
gest	carry	gesture, congest, disgest
grad, gred, gress	step, degree, walk	gradual, ingredient, progress, aggressive, digress
graph	write	autograph, mimeograph
grat	pleasing	gratitude, congratulate
grav, gravi	weighty, heavy	gravity, aggravate, grave
greg	group	congregate, gregarious
hab, habit	have, live	habitate, rehabilitate
hema, hemo	blood	hemophilia, hemorrhage
hum, human	man, earth	humane, humus, humble, inhuman
hydro, hydra, hydr	water	hydrant, hydrosphere, dehydrate, hydroplane
hypn, hypno	sleep	hypnosis, hypnotize
intellect, intellig	to know and to think	intelligence, intellectual, unintelligible
jac, jec, ject	throw, lie	adjacent, inject, objection, projection, reject
junct, join	join	disjoint, juncture, conjunct
jud, judi	judge	judicial, prejudice, judge
jur, jus	law	jury, adjustment, jurisdiction
lav, lut, lot	wash	lavatory, dilution, lotion
leg	law	legislate, illegal, legal
litera, liter, lit, letter	letters	literature, alliterate, litany, obliterate, letter, literal
liber, liver	free	liberal, deliver, delivery
lic, licit	permit	license, illicit, licensee
loc, loco	place	locate, relocate, locality
logo, log	word	logic, logogram, catalog
loqui, loc	speak	eloquence, loquacity, elocute
luc, lum, lun, lus	light	lucid, luminous, lunatic, luster, translucent
magna, magni	great	magnitude, magnanimous
man, manu	by hand	manufacture, maneuver, manual
mar, mari, mer	sea	mariner, submarine, mermaid, marina, maritime
matri, matric	mother	matrimony, maternity, matrix
medi	half, middle	median, medieval, mediocre
mega, megalo	large	megaphone, megalopolis
mem	remember	memory, memo, memoir, memento
meter	measure	perimeter, metrical, meter
micro	small	microscope, microphone
migra	wander	emigrant, migration, migrant
mis, miso	wrong, bad	mischief, mistake, misbehave
miss, mitt	send	admission, remit, missile
mob, mot, mov	move	motive, mobile, immobile
monstr	show	demonstrate, monster, muster
mors, mort	death	mortal, remorse, mortify
multus, multi	many, much	multiple, multiped, multitude
nat, nasc	to be born	nativity, renascent, nation
neo	new	neology, neophyte, neon
neur	nerve	neuralgia, neurologist
nunci, nounc	declare, warn	announce, enunciation
nov	new	novel, innovate, novelty
numer	number	numerical, numerator, numeral
omni	all	omnipotent, omnibus, omnium
opus, oper	work	operator, cooperate, opera
oss, osteo	bone	ossify, osteopath, osteal
pan	all	pancrease, panacea, panorama
pater, patr	father	paternal, patriotic, patron
ped, pod	foot (children)	pedal, podium, pediatrician
pel, puls	drive, push	compel, repulse, impulsive
pen, pend	hang	pendulum, depend, appendix
phil, phila, philo, phile	love	philharmonic, philosophy, philodendron, Philadelphia
photo	light	photograph, photobiotic
pict, picto	paint	pictorial, picture, depict
pac, plais	please	placid, placate, complacent
plur, plus	more	plural, plus, plurisyllabic
poly	many	polygon, polygamy, polyarchy
pos, pen, pound	place, set	position, posture, postpone, expound, impound, expose
pop	people	population, popular, populace
port	carry	import, report, transport
portion	part	proportion, apportion
poten, potes, posse	power	potent, possess, potential, possible, omnipotent
prim, prime	first	primate, primary, primitive
punct	point	punctuate, punctual, puncture
put	think	deputy, repute, computer
rect, recti	straight, right	rectangle, rectory, director
ridi, risi, ri	laughter	ridicule, ridiculous, derisive
roga, rog	ask	arrogant, interrogate
sat, satis	enough	satisfy, saturate, insatiable
scope	watch	telescope, microscope
scrib, scrip	write	scribble, transcript, script
sign, signi	mark, sign	signature, design, insignia
simil, simul	resembling	similar, simulate, simile
sta, stit, sist, stet	stand	stage, distant, resist, standard, stand, stamina
soph	wisdom	sophisticated, philosopher
spec, spect, spectro	see, observe	spectator, species, special, circumspect, spectroscope
sphere	ball	hemisphere, spherical
spond, spons	answer, pledge	respond, sponsor, correspond
stereo	solid	stereotype, stereophonic
stru, struct	build	structure, instruct, obstruct
sume, sump	take, use	consume, assume, consumption
tact, tang, tig, tag, ting	touch	tactile, tactful, tangent, contingent, contagious
ten, tent, tain, tinu	hold	content, tenant, maintain, continue, tenacity, retain
techni, technic	art, skill	technical, technique
tempo, tempor	time	temporary, tempo, extemporaneous
tend, tens, tent	stretch, strain	tension, intend, intensive, attention, intensifier
test	bear witness	testify, contest, protest
the, theo	god	theology, atheist, theologian
tract, trah	pull	tractor, detract, contract
trib	pay	contribute, attribute, tribute
tuit, tut	teach, guard	tutor, tuition, intuitive
ultima	last	ultimate, ultimatum
uni	one	unity, unique, university
vac	empty	vacuum, evacuate, vacant
vale, vali, valu	worth, strength	valiant, valor, value, valid, valuable, evaluate
ven, veni, vent	come	event, adventure, convene
vers, vert	turn	invert, reverse, versatile
vest	clothe	invest, vest, investor
vic, vicis	change	vicar, vicarious
vinc, vict	conquer	victory, convince, evict
vis, vid	see	vision, visualize, provide
viv, vivi, vita	life	vitamin, vital, vivacious, revive, vivid

SUFFIXES

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-able, -ible	can do	reliable, sociable, terrible
-ad, -ade	result of action	blockade, myriad, cavalcade
-age	act/state of	damage, forage, storage, courage
-al	relating to	internal, manual, mental, oral
-an, -ian	relating to	Italian, Cuban, American
-ance, -ancy	action, state	tolerance, alliance, resistancy
-ar, -ar, , -or	one who	dancer, tractor, baker
-ary, -ery, -ory	relating to	dictionary, bravery, dormitory, factory, dietary
-osis, -esis, -asis	action	genesis, neurosis, osmosis, psoriasis, symbiosis
-ate	make, cause	exaggerate, fascinate, advocate
-cian	possessing skill	technician, musician, physician
-cide	kill	suicide, homocide, autocide
-cule, -icle, -ling	tiny	ridicule, article, gosling, sapling, molecule
-dom	state, quality	wisdom, Christendom, stardom
-ee	action, receiver	employee, assignee, refugee
-en	made of, make	woolen, lighten, frighten
-ence, -ency	action, quality	fluency, conference, difference
-ful	full of	fearful, pitiful, doubtful
-fy	make	simplify, terrify, verify
-ic	like	poetic, metallic, patriotic
-ile	relating, capable	infantile, mobile, senile
-ine	nature of	routine, chlorine, genuine
-ion, -sion, -tion	act of, state of, result of	action, infection, fusion, option, dominion, celebration
-ish	nature, origin	foolish, womanish, clownish
-ism	manner, act	baptism, heroism, realism
-ist	one who	biologist, alarmist, terrorist
-ite	native, mineral	suburbanite, favorite, dolomite
-ity, -ty	quality	clarity, eternity, acuity
-ive	making	cohesive, digestive, additive
-ize	make	liberalize, idolize, penalize
-less	without	noiseless, effortless, artless
-ly	like	lifelessly, tenderly, manly
-ment	act of	excitement, ferment, testament
-ness	state of	happiness, tenderness, sadness
-oid	like	spheroid, typhoid, thyroid
-ology	study	geology, psychology, biology
-ous	full of	obvious, nervous, delicious
-ship	quality, office	citizenship, authorship
-tude	condition of	latitude, solitude, fortitude
-ure	state of, act	picture, signature, future
-y	tend to	dirty, furry, rosy, salty

B. Word Meaning and Multi-Meanings

An additional problem with language has to do with the meanings of words. In fact, that is at least two different problems:

1) Colloquial or street talk;

2) words which have many different meanings.

Some words are pronounced the same but have different meanings, for example, meet, mete and meat; hare and hair; there and their; to, two and too. These words are spelled differently even though they sound the same. These are called homonyms.

Words that have many meanings, such as line, act, and bank are usually the short words, what we call the easy words. And you will find that many long words that we have called hard have only one meaning, such as indefatigably and impeccably.

If you look at the little words which have so many meanings, you will notice that many of them look alike; for example, lime, line, like and live, and they sound a bit alike. But when you look at longer words such as etymology, trepidation, and antidisestablishmentarianism you notice that they sound quite different from each other, and they do not look much alike. Again, the reason words are long is that someone has added prefixes and suffixes to the root words and to give new meanings, thus more language.

C. Terms and Definitions

Each discipline has very specific terms that students are expected to learn and to understand. (An example of such terms can be seen on p.10). Often they are unknown words and their meanings also unknown. Each textbook has a glossary containing such terms and their meanings in order to help students master the language of the discipline. Students should use the glossary as they use their dictionary.

D. Glossary, the language of the discipline, and Index, the list of important topics and the pages

1. The glossary in a college textbook contains the language of the discipline. Words are listed, with their meanings, therefore, when you come upon an unknown word while reading, you can stop and look the word up. Use index cards with the term on one side and the definition on the other. This is a great study system. The glossary is always at the back of the book.

2. The index is organized in alphabetical order by topics, names, battles, etc., which is at the back of each textbook. These items are also listed with the exact pages where they can be found. The index is a very helpful tool for locating and learning specific information.

E. Dictionary Meanings

The dictionary is always an important tool for understanding the language of the discipline being studied. It is an item that ought to be listed on every syllabus under required textbooks. Students should be reminded that the dictionary will be with them for the duration of their college life.

F. Contextual Clues

VOCABULARY: GETTING MEANING FROM CONTEXT

Introduction: Your vocabulary is your language. It’s all the words that you understand and can use in your talking, writing, a reading, and listening. If you only “sort of know” a word’s meaning but can’t use that word yourself, then it’s not really a part of your vocabulary. Usually people need to see and use a word several times before they really know what it means.

This unit will show you study skills that can help you increase your vocabulary and make your reading more interesting and enjoyable.

GETTING MEANING FROM CONTEXT CLUES

When you are reading, you often come across words that are unfamiliar or unknown to you. Two good ways that you can learn about the meaning of an unknown word are:

1. You can look it up in the dictionary.

· Looking it up immediately is particularly useful when you need to know an exact definition of the word.

2. Another way to learn about an unknown word is to try to figure out its meaning from context clues.

· CONTEXT means the setting in which something is found. For example a person lives in the context of his or her family. A clue in a mystery is only meaningful in the context of other information.

In language, context means the words and sentences around any particular word.

· CONTEXT CLUES are familiar words and phrases in a sentence or paragraph. These are words that you know. From these familiar words, you can often figure out the meaning of an unknown word.

*See outcome #4 for additional information.

Remember that context clues are often used together and with other clues to help you understand unfamiliar words.

G. Discipline Example, Western Civilization I

The Axial Period, which refers to the world-wide development of higher ethical thought that occurred during the Iron Age (ca. 800 B.C. - ca. 400 B.C.).

VOCABULARY LIST
stereotype	soothsayer
ethnocentrism	sorcerer
provincialism	necromancer
intrinsic	pastoral
empathy	seer
faux pas	connotation/denotation

HISTORICAL CONCEPTS AND TERMS
ETHICAL MONOTHEISM	ZOROASTRIANISM
Deuteronomy	Ahura Mazda
Moses	Zarathustra
	dualistic
	Mithraism
	Manicheism
	Gnosticism

BUDDHISM	HINDUISM
Buddha	Vedas
Gautama	Brahmar
Brahmanism	Shiva
Nirvana	Krishna
The Four Noble Truths	Vishnu
Buddhist Ten Commandments	Karma
Buddhist Ten Perfections	caste
	Brahmana
	Sudra
	Guru
	Ashoka
	Manu
	Kshatriya
	Vaisya
TAOISM	CONFUCIANISM
Lao-Tzu	Confucius
Tao-Ten Ching	Five Cardinal Human Relationships
Mo Ti	mencius
Doctrine of Utilitarianism	Jen
analects	Li
“Legalist
“Mate of Heaven”

Most instructors, regardless of the discipline, generally provide students with a list of vocabulary words, or terms and definitions from the textbook that they expect their students to know and understand. It is imperative that students familiarize themselves with the language of the discipline they are studying in order to improve their reading comprehension and conceptualization. Therefore, prior to previewing and reading the assigned material, students must use their knowledge of word structure, word meanings, the use of the text book glossary and index and contextual clues in order to focus their study and enhance their grasp of the issues at hand.

H. Discipline Example, General Psychology

A list of the major senses, the type of energy necessary to activate the sense, the name and the location of the specific receptor, and the response (the sensation) associated with activation.

Terms and definitions to be learned:
Sense	Stimulus	Receptor	Sensation
Gustatory	molecules of soluble substances	taste buds of tongue	flavors (sweet, salty, sour, bitter)
Olfactory	molecules of volatile substances	nerve endings in the olfactory epithelium	Odors, (camphor like, musky, pepperminty)
Skin Senses	Mechanical energy, thermal energy	Receptors In Skin	Pressure, pain, warmth, cold
Auditory	sound waves	hair cells in the organ of corti	sounds, tones
Visual	electromagnetic (light waves)	Receptors in joints, muscles and organs	Position and movements of muscles and bones
Equilibrium	Mechanical energy and gravity	hair cells of the semicircular canals	movement in space, pull of gravity

II. Comprehension - Understanding and Remembering What You Read

A. Literal Recall - the ability to remember facts, figures, and dates - - who, when, what, where, and how many

B. Interpretation - the ability for a reader to bring his or her intelligence, background of experience, and education to the printed word in order to bring meaning to what he or she reads. Interpretation is reading between the lines, understanding what the author really meant, the author’s purpose, the author’s intention even though it wasn’t said in the selection. Each student must be able to:

1. Detect the author’s purpose and recognize the author’s style

2. Detect the author’s pattern of organization

a. Narrative

b. Cause and Effect

c. Sequence

d. Compare and Contrast, etc.

3. Draw Inference - the ability to read between the lines.

4. Detect Propaganda - propaganda is the art of persuasion:

a. an attempt to get the reader or listener to think or act differently

b. an attempt to get the reader or listener to keep acting the same way

Propaganda is used on us all everyday, in speeches, in textbooks, in sermons, in newspapers, in magazines in the advertising of products, cars, candidates, etc.

5. Making Generalizations - Generalizing from what you read is really what you have done when you make inference; when you add yourself and your experience and knowledge to what appears in print. You write yourself into the material, actually. When you generalize, you literally make something specific, or a group of specifics more general.....more inclusive. General means inclusive and broad, when specific means limited, narrow, exclusive.

A generalization is when a stated concept is intended to hold true in a very large number of individual cases, e.g.,

Americans are materialistic.

A fact is something that can be proven; something that is capable of being verified, e.g.,

Americans own an average of 2.3 televisions and 1.2 cars per family.

It is easiest to identify concepts when related facts are present for contrast. The following lists contain words which can be ranked from general to most specific:

Facilities			Dead Babies
Classrooms			War
Education			Air Power
Schooling
Blackboards			Destruction

Class Structure
Coal Miner
Society
Blue Collar Worker
Exploitation

6. Draw Conclusions - the ability to answer two questions, What would you do and why would you do it? The answer is based on the information you have been given and your own store of knowledge and experience.

This involves quite a bit more than just reciting what the author said; it involves more than pointing out the main idea or its supporting details. It involves all of that as the foundation on which to make a reasonable, logical step in thinking. When you draw a conclusion, presumably you have collected many facts and information, you have organized these in your own mind in some fashion, and you have sought relationships among these facts and details so that you could draw a conclusion. Obviously, some conclusions we draw when we read or when we listen are incorrect, others are correct, and the major differences between them is that one conclusion is based largely on your ability to comprehend the basic information given, and then to jump a couple of steps and logically complete the circle made by the individual facts. Some authors give conclusions after they have developed certain arguments and presented their ideas of the pertinent and relevant facts; others do not give it to you, but expect you to draw your own on the basis of the facts they have given, and the development of their argument.

To draw a conclusion from any reading matter, regardless of subject requires the reader to use all the skills mentioned and to close the circle of the facts, opinions and intent that is garnered from the reading.

For example:

C. Understanding Symbols in Literature and Poetry

When you are required to interpret poetry or literary material, it is not the same as picking out main ideas or outlining. There are other skills and techniques which are very helpful when trying to interpret a poem, a novel, or a short story.

1. Symbolism - All language is symbolic.... that’s obvious, because words cannot do anything but point to something in the real word. The word is not a thing or a person nor any tangible condition. Symbolism is commonly found in literature, perhaps more in poetry than in any other aspect of literature.

The flag is a symbol, so is the cross, the swastika, the peace symbol. These all represent or point to some cluster of meanings for some group of people. Symbols like these are very effectively used in propaganda and in all kinds of movements to organize, inspire and lead people to new action. Every major movement of any kind, religious, political, racial, has its symbols. With these it identifies itself because of some special meanings attached to the symbol, and the group becomes attached to the symbol, and the group becomes identified by that symbol, perhaps differently than those who created it. Meanings are in, around, under and between all symbols. The meanings, as is true of any symbolic language or code or device, lie primarily with those who use it, either for magic (which is true of almost all symbols) or for some kind of protection or identification.

There are many non-verbal symbols, mainly in the form of symbolic gestures.

Give an example of a non-verbal symbol.....describe it, tell us it’s meaning

2. Literally and Figuratively as it applies to Literature and Poetry. Literal refers to reading just what it says and giving back that information exactly.

Figuratively means you are making associations with the author’s words; you use all of your background to figure out what the author says. What you are really doing is reading between, above and below the lines written.

3. Similes and Metaphors are used to describe things or people

a) A Simile is a comparison between two or more things or people in which you say that one thing or person is like the other, e.g.,

“He’s as big as a house.”

“That house is like a morgue.”

“She’s as graceful as a gazelle.”

Similes are easy to pick out, and they do add some color and life to writing.

b) Metaphors are also comparisons between things or persons, but this kind of a comparison is even stronger because in the metaphor you say that the things or persons compared are the same, e.g.,

“The lion is king of beasts.”

“Gravel voiced speaker.”

In each case the comparison is made, not stated, and in each case it gets pictures or sounds going in your head. These are images.

4. Imagery - All imagery that you find in literature and in your own conversation, tries to paint pictures in color, sound and texture in a number of ways. Images make reading more enjoyable.

5. Poetry as well as prose literature is filled with good examples of imagery. When you read and interpret these images and this type of writing, use these skills. When looking at poetry, you can see that the writer really does a lot of summarizing and condensing. In prose you can ramble on and on, but in poetry you pack each line, each word full of meaning and suggestions creating imagery and allusions.

D. How to Remember What You Read

“The trouble with me is that I can’t remember what I’ve read!” So that’s your trouble? You feel that much of what you read flies away as soon as your eyes leave the print. One consolation is yours; you have much company among your fellows and kinsmen along the road of print. Yet, this need not be so. In the normal individual there is really no valid reason why people cannot remember what they’ve read.

Remembering isn’t some strange art. It is not some gift of Fortune; it is not some mysterious mental attribute that some people have, while others have it not. It is a skill that can be developed; like reading itself. You remember because you actively do something to help yourself remember. The memory process doesn’t merely mean becoming a human storage battery. It is more than the hoarding of facts and figures. It is the faculty of appreciating facts and their relationship to each other, figures and their meaning and interpretation with reference to pertinent fact. The way not to remember is to think of remembering as some Herculean task of superhuman feat. The skill of accurate recall is, like any other skill, capable of development. But, that you may better understand how to proceed in developing it, a few simple rules may be of help.

E. Steps In Remembering What You Read

1. Approach the Page with a Positive Purpose. Do you pick up an item to be read simply knowing that you will not retain the details and the facts. If so, the chances are that you will not be disappointed. The old adage that we get pretty much what we look for holds for reading as it does for most other situations of life. Many people simply “accept the fact” -- that’s their phrase for graceful, but unconditional surrender -- that they cannot remember what they have read. And, in consequence, they don’t.

Remembering begins with your psychological outlook. Are you capable of coming to the page in a highly hopeful and expectant mood? The will to recall is your greatest initial asset. It is with such a psychology that the achievement of remembering what you read begins. This may not seem important, it is true, but it may make a great deal of difference in the net result of your achievement. Don’t underestimate the power of a positive purpose in setting the stage for remembering what you’ve read.

2. Survey Before you Select. You must select only those facts that are worth remembering. Remembering is a discriminative process, based upon an evaluation of what is most worth while. Take time to look around. Here is where the skimming technique should be used.

Too many readers start attempting to remember before they know whether what they have decided upon is worth the effort that they are putting into it. Many an author have summarized for their readers the important facts at the end of the article, or they have pointed them out in boldface type or section division, but the reader is so intent in trying to remember what he reads that he grabs the first fact in sight and proceeds mentally to salt it down. Because it is a fact, such readers feel that it must be an important fact. Some students study like this. They arm themselves with a pencil and sally forth to underline their texts. When they finish, practically every word is underlined!

To such readers every fact is important. If they are to remember anything, they must remember everything. And so, like the indiscriminate woodsman, they start chopping at the first tree they see. Whether it be a sapling or a giant of the forest, they know not; nor do they care. To the woodsman it is the first tree; to the inexpert reader it is the first fact. Both fall upon their find with the same uncritical zeal.

Take your time! Apply all of the suggestions made on your TECHNIQUES OF SKIMMING sheets. Spy out the land, the length of it and the breath of it, and size up the inhabitants of it. You may be surprised what you will see!

3. Facts of a Feather Flock Together. Like bees, facts swarm. Within the subdivisions of the material you are reading, you will find swarms of facts with a generic “common denominator”: which binds them together. In common language call these “related” facts. It is only natural that this should be so. Each paragraph has a central idea. Following the main ideas are facts, a string of them, that support the main idea, explain it, and give it meaning. Facts are the bricks within the larger structure.

Try to see facts, therefore, as units of information within the larger framework. This viewpoint groups the factual material for easier remembering. Don’t attempt to remember each fact as a “fact” in isolation; relate it to its proper place within the greater whole. Not all facts are equally important. There are principal facts and supporting facts, and all the facts are integrated by means of a factual pattern into the larger common whole. Facts are gregarious. You will find them in the company of each other. Seldom are they found alone, and they are usually found also in the custody of a main idea -- principal fact.

4. Perceive if Possible How the Facts Are Packed. When you read, look for the way the facts are packed. The container is the paragraph. But within the paragraph there are certain conventional styles of fact packaging.

One of these is the straight chronological arrangement. Facts are frequently reported in the paragraph in a natural time-sequence arrangement, one following the other as they might happen in point of time.

Then, there is the logical arrangement. That is, presenting the facts as they logically relate to each other. Action and reaction, cause and effect, circumstance and reason for the circumstance -- all these are relationships with respect to the logic of the situation. Reasoning and logic dictate this pattern of fact arrangement.

Sometimes facts are contrasting in quality. They are arranged alongside each other in a paragraph in a kind of comparison-contrast arrangement.

However the author may arrange them, the smart reader will look at the paragraph in an attempt to discover the pattern by which they are packed. By so doing, the reader may be helped in remembering the facts as they first appeared to him when, lifting the lid of the paragraph, he saw them neatly arranged in groups. Therefore, it is wise to perceive, if possible, the way in which the facts are presented.

5. Quiz Yourself with Questions. When you find that you are surrounded with facts, don’t do anything rash. Stop to think. Settle certain things in your own mind before you dash headlong into doing anything. Reading for accurate recall is a strenuous mental process,. Take it easy until you have certain matters settled in your own thinking.

For example, ask yourself: Why is the author presenting these facts, anyway? Have you attempted to see the author’s idea as a complete thought structure? Can you visualize the place which each fact occupies in the structure as a whole? Is it important that you try to remember all the facts? If not, what facts are important? Why do you want to remember these facts, anyway? Is there any method by which you can make the recalling of these facts easy for yourself?

With respect to this last question, do you recall a certain gentleman, Roy G. Biv? Perhaps your mind may hark back to the days when you studied the colors of the spectrum. You may remember that your instructor suggested that by remembering the name of the certain acrostical personage you would never again have trouble with reciting all the hues of the spectrum in their proper order from red to violet. He suggested that you acquaint yourself with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Take the initial letter of the name of each color, and you form the acrostic. It is often possible to remember other facts in similar fashion. Such a memory trick or device is called a mnemonic.

All the questions proposed above, and others like them, should buzz around in your head as you begin to read. They should serve to bring the whole factual picture into sharp focus in your own mind. They should serve as aids in helping you to define the purpose for which you are reading.

6. Read, Reflect, and Recall. Now you are ready to read. You know what you are looking for; and, having thus established your purpose, you will try to accomplish it by reading with the purpose in mind. But navigators do not settle upon a destination and then strike out, leaving their charts and instruments behind. Any navigator who hopes to arrive checks and rechecks his course again and again en route. It may take him but an instant, but by so doing he knows that he is “on the beam.” He knows he is flying toward his destination.

Now, what is your destination? It is to remember what you have read. You should, therefore, check your bearing as you fly through the domain of print. After you have finished a paragraph, with the speed of lightning, let your mind flash back over it; note the main idea again; summarize in a split second the facts that the author presented to support his statement or prove his point. This split second review will do much to set the facts in your own mind before you go on to pile more data upon the undigested mental material which you already have on hand.

It may help you to focus upon the facts to read the topic sentence and, immediately upon reading it, to pause momentarily to ask yourself the question, “What does that mean?” or “Why?” then, read to find the answer. When you read a topic sentence -- which is a generalization -- and then you ask yourself the question, “What does that mean?” you are, from that point forward looking for facts to answer the unresolved question which is lingering in your mind. By approaching the paragraph in an interrogatory frame of mind, and leaving it with a last lightning glance you have very literally assaulted the facts both coming and going. Such treatment of the paragraph should help you considerably in remembering what you read.

7. Practice Recall Persistently. Use every occasion to improve your powers of recalling specific data accurately. There are thousands of opportunities every day that can be utilized for building a better mental recall. Addresses, telephone numbers, names of people to whom you have been introduced, bits of information from here and there -- these are all excellent situations to test your faculties of remembering and recall.

One of the best aids to factual recall is the daily newspaper. Pick up the paper and read a paragraph or a couple of paragraphs. Turn the paper face down. With a note pad, list in a 1, 2, 3 fashion all the facts that you can remember from the item which you have just read.

Then go back to your news story, and with your pencil check off in the story itself, point for point, the facts as you have listed them on your note pad. Out of the total number of facts in the news story -- which number you might consider as 100% -- figure out the percentage of facts which you recalled correctly.

Another exercise which may be helpful in strengthening your recall ability: take a certain width or column from a magazine or a book and measure 1, 2, 3 or as many inches down the column as you think is a sizable block of print that you can handle. The density of the factual data will dictate somewhat your selection length. Read this. Then take your note pad and, with the material turned face down, try to recall as much of the data as possible. Go back, check against the material read, again to determine your percent of accurate recall.

On the same article, try to increase the number of inches in the block of print that you choose as a selection. Try also allowing a lapse of time between reading the material and recalling the facts. Stretch these dimensional factors both ways. For instance, you read a two-inch sample and recall six out of the seven facts presented. You therefore have a good comprehension (86%) of what you have read.

Now read another two-inch sample taken from another part of the same article. Allow a five-minute time lapse before you attempt to jot down any of the facts by way of recall. Think of something else during the intervening five minutes. When the five minutes are up, take your note pad and repeat the exercise as described above.

Practice these exercises for 15 minutes or more each day. Keep up this practice on your own initiative. You will be surprised what perseverance, skill, hard work, and will can accomplish in improving your recall ability within a relatively short time!

When you are satisfied with your recall and comprehension rates for newspaper articles, start with your textbooks. Using the same methods, take a paragraph at a time in the beginning and gradually work up to a page, and then a few pages . . . until you can do the above exercise with an entire chapter. Just remember --- perseverance, will, and patience are the main ingredients of achievement here!

NOW: Try the following paragraph, using the method you just learned.

Some 9000 stars can be seen with the unaided eye over all the earth throughout the year, but only some 2500 to 3000 at any one time in any one place. They range form the sixth magnitude to the first magnitude, and the first magnitude stars are 100 times as bright as the faintest stars that we can see.

III. Reading Study Skills

Reading Study Skills are applied to non-fictional materials. The first one, previewing, is one of the most important as it gives an overview of what you can expect to find in the selection you are about to read.

A. Previewing - textbooks, chapters and articles, which means to look over, to read, to think about and to take apart the following:

1. The Title

2. Author (s)

3. Publisher (s)

4. Copyright Date

5. Preface, Forward or Introduction which tells the reader why the book was written and for whom

6. Maps, graphs and Illustrations

7. The Glossary - the language of the discipline

8. The Index - topics, names, battles, etc. with the pages where these topics can be found

9. Table of Contents - the outlining of the whole book. It tells something about each chapter

*Now you are ready to preview each assigned chapter as follows:

1. Chapter Title - read and think about it

2. Bold Face Print and sub-headings

3. Check the visual aids

4. End of Chapter Questions

5. End of Chapter Summary

*Now you are ready to read.

*View the Discipline Example, Western Civilization I.

*View the Student Previewing Exercise.

1. Discipline Example, Western Civilization I.

Previewing: By applying your previewing skills to your textbook complete the chart below. When previewing, reading, and thinking about each chapter title, form a question about each chapter title, form a question about it in your mind and then turn the title into a question and enter it on the chart. Ask yourself, “What does the title suggest?”

Title	World Civilization - Volume I
Page(s)
Author(s)
Publisher		p. 2-P. 4.
Copyright
List of Illustrations	yes--color--Black and White	p. 781
List of Maps	yes	p. 10
Foreword	no
Preface	yes	pp. 12-15.
Introduction	no
Table of Contents	yes	pp. 5-10

Chapter Titles

Put each Chapter Title into Question Form

Chapter 1.		What are the earliest beginnings of man and when?		pp. 5-20.
Chapter 2.				pp. 27-48.
Chapter 3.				pp. 51-72.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
Chapter 10..
Chapter 11.
Chapter 12.
Chapter 13.
Chapter 14.
Chapter 15.
Chapter 16.
Chapter 17.
Chapter 18.
Chapter 19.
Chapter 20.
Chapter 21.
Index	yes
Glossary	no		pp. 1-XXXII

2. Examples, Student Exercises Previewing Your Textbook

PREVIEWING YOUR TEXTBOOK

Your Name:_____________________________________________________________

Title of the book here:_____________________________________________________

If the book has a subtitle, write it here:

________________________________________________________________________

Write some questions that the title and subtitle suggests:

________________________________________________________________________

When was the book published? _______________________ Is this information important?

________________________________________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________________

Write down some important ideas that the author presents in the preface, forward, or introduction:

________________________________________________________________________

Read the table of contents and change the chapter headings into questions. Write eight questions suggested by different chapter headings.

1. _____________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________________________________

6. _____________________________________________________________________

7. _____________________________________________________________________

8. _____________________________________________________________________

1. _____________________________________________________ on page ________

Reason_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________ on page ________

Reason_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________ on page ________

Reason_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

If there are appendixes in the book, list each one and tell how it will be useful.

________________________________________________________________________

Page through several chapters to discover which study aids have been included. Check those that you find on the list below.

Chapter outline___________________________________________________________

Italics __________________________________________________________________

Headings________________________________________________________________

Footnotes _______________________________________________________________

Chapter summary ________________________________________________________

Supplementary Readings __________________________________________________

Chapter Glossary_________________________________________________________

Chapter problems or projects _______________________________________________

Questions for Study or Review ______________________________________________

Other study aids _________________________________________________________

Use the index to survey what you know or do not know about the contents of the book. Read down each column to see how many names, places and terms are familiar to you. From the entire index, select ten items that you know a lot about and ten that you know absolutely nothing about. If you cannot find ten items that are completely unfamiliar to you, you already have basic knowledge of the subject.

KNOWN		UNKNOWN
1.	6.		1.	6.
2.	7.		2.	7.
3.	8.		3.	8.
4.	9.		4.	9.
5.	10.		5.	10.

B. Detecting Main Ideas and Related Details

The paragraph is really the basic unit of writing (in non-fiction). Each paragraph in a chapter or in an article has one idea and some details that tell something more about that one idea. The following graph is generally how a good paragraph is structured:

MAIN IDEAðððððððððððis a broad general statement

MAJOR DETAILðððððððððgenerally restates the main idea in a narrower way

MAJOR DETAIL

MINOR DETAILðððððððððgive more information about each major detail, e.g. usually specific facts such as names, dates, figures

MINOR DETAIL

Two Questions must be asked in order to decide which statement is the main idea:

1. Who or what is the paragraph talking about? (a person, a group, an idea, an organization, an institution, etc.)

2. What happens or what happened to the person, group, idea, or organization, institution, etc.?

The answer to the two questions is the main idea of the paragraph, chapter or article. The complete main idea sentence can be the first sentence, in the middle or the last sentence in the paragraph.

C. Outlining and Summarizing

These two skills are really one skill done two different ways for the purpose of taking notes on something you have read or something you have heard. You cannot outline or summarize unless you can preview and find main ideas and details. Each one is dependent on the other!

1. An outline is a brief summary of main ideas and related details put into sequential, meaningful order. When outlining material from a book, a chapter, an article or organizing ideas and information for writing papers, it is done by following the acceptable form. A good Topic Outline follows these structural conventions:

· Its divisions show clearly which ideas are main ideas and which are major details

· It assigns appropriate symbols (ROM letters and numbers) according to their rank

· It aligns idea groups of equal importance by means of uniform spacing and indenting, e.g.:

I. 1st Main Idea

A. 1st Major Detail

1. Minor Detail

2. Minor Detail

B. 2nd Major Detail

C. 3rd Major Detail

1. Minor Detail

2. Minor Detail

3. Minor Detail

a) Mini Detail

b) Mini Detail

D. 4th Major Detail

II. 2nd Main Idea

* The Topic Outline is the most widely used.

2. Discipline Example from General Psychology, Chapter Six, Memory:

I. Definition of Memory

II. The Three Processes in Memory

III. The Three Memory Systems

IV. Three Methods for Measuring Memory

V. Memory and Learning

A. Differences in Memory

B. Differences in Learning

VI. Definition of remembering

VII. Definition of Forgetting

VIII. The Six Causes of Forgetting

IX. The Four Factors Influencing Retrieval

X. The Three Theories of Forgetting

XI. Amnesia and Forgetting

A. Amnesia Differences

B. Forgetting Differences

3. Example of a Student Topic Outline

Outline for Research Paper

Spina Bifida children deal with this birth defect much more easily today than they were forced to in the past.

I. Three kinds of Spina Bifida

A. Myelomenigocele

1. Severest Form

2. Spinal cord protrudes from the opening in the spine

3. Protective covering also protrudes from the opening in the spine

B. Meningocele

1. Second most severe

2. Spinal cord develops normally

3. Protective covering protrudes from the opening

4. Caused by damaged or missing vertebrae

C. Occulta

1. Mildest form

2. Means “hidden”

3. One or more vertebras malformed

4. Covered by layer of skin

II. The effects of “Myelomeningocele”, the most severe form of Spina Bifida

A. Muscle weakness

B. Paralysis

C. Loss of bowel and bladder control

D. Hydrocephalus

III. Caring for child with Spina Bifida

A. Special Equipment

1. Wheelchairs

2. Crutches

3. Catheters

4. Braces

B. School Equipment

1. Placing Spina Bifida children in with normal children

2. Psychometric Evaluations

3. Language/speech classes

IV. Surgery Available for Spina Bifida children

A. Fetal Surgery

1. Epidural given to pregnant women

2. Bikini incision made

3. Drain amniotic fluid

4. “Tulipan-Bruner Trocar” placed through uterine wall

5. Create a hysterectomy

6. Perform neurosurgical repair

7. Close uterus return to mother’s abdomen

8. Done qt between 22 and 26 week of pregnancy

B. Post Birth surgery

1. Early closure of the back and spinal cord

2. Management of Hydrocephalus if indicated

3. Make a tiny hole internally in the ventricle to re-establish normal flow

V. Life Expectancy of Spina Bifida Children

A. In the past

1. No known cure

2. Died shortly after birth

B. Presently

1. Live well into adulthood

2. Need operation within first 48 hours of life

VI. Signs and Symptoms of Hydrocephalus

A. Full, bulging, tense soft (fontanel) on the top of child’s head

B. Large prominent veins in the scalp

C. Child may look downward with only the white of the eyes being obvious

D. Changes in child’s behavior, such as irritability and/or lethargy

E. High pitched cry

F. Seizures

G. Vomiting or change in appetite

4. Summarizing Definition and Form - A summary is a condensed version of someone else’s work that is written in your own words. A good summary concentrates on the factual information contained in an article, a textbook chapter, a lecture or a discussion. It does not contain your opinion or evaluation of the material. It may be long or short, depending on what you need it for.

There are a few different kinds of summaries, but one of the most popular follows the pattern below:

a) Skim the selection. Then read it carefully, paying particular attention to key words and phrases

b) Jot down a few of the key words and phrases and then put the selection aside and consult the list of words called, “Signal Words and Typographical Clues.” It will help you to recognize the type of material you are summarizing, e.g., Comparison, Contrast, Comparison/Contrast, Cause/Effect. See p. 31.

c) Reread the selection carefully to determine the main ideas and supporting details. It helps to take notes on the selection therefore use the Summarizing Exercise Sheet, provided before you write your summary. See p. 33.

d) Begin the summary with an opening sentence that includes the author, source and main idea.

e) Next, include a few supporting details such as: Names, dates, facts, figures. Use your own words. Use technical terms and an occasional brief quotation. Enclose quotations within quotation marks. Be careful not to write too much.

f) Arrange your ideas in sequential order.

g) Write a complete sentence that draws a conclusion based on the evidence you have presented.

h) Use complete sentences and paragraphs.

i) Remember, don’t include your ideas or opinions.

j) After completing the summary, reread it to see that it makes sense and will be clear even weeks later.

*Remember, to document your source, name of magazine, journal or book; date; page(s), etc.

5. Example, Signal Words And Typographical Clues

Additional Words
moreover	and then	in addition	together with
further	likewise	equally important	along with
furthermore	also	plus	in conjunction with
besides	too	over and over	one/another
and	again	as well as	plurals(reasons, types)
another	next		1,2/A,B,C/I, II, III/first, second, third

COMPARISON/CONTRAST WORDS

Words that indicate similarities
similarly	in the manner	just as	identical	the same
likewise	similar to		in the same way	alike
like (ness)	comparatively	equal	comparable

Words that indicate differences
but	nevertheless	in contrast to this	though
yet	on the contrary	otherwise	whereas
however	notwithstanding	although	still
after all	for all that	on the other hand	less/more
different from	opposite	here/there	er (taller, shorter)
differ	even though	instead	unlike
			despite

Place Words
here	adjacent	next to
there	above	near
beyond	below	under
nearby	by	to

Cause/Effect/Explanation Words
therefore	accordingly	if-then	for	for the reason to
thus	consequently	since	owing to	for as much as
hence	thereupon	because	on account of	inasmuch as
cause	lead to	effect	reason
	so

Summary, Repetition, and Emphasis Word
to sum up	in short	as has been noted	to tell the truth
in brief	as I have said	in fact	in other words
on the whole	that is	indeed	finally
in sum	to be sure	in any event	for these reasons
thus	most important	est (biggest)
		above all

Example Words
for example	to illustrate	such as	once
for instance	let me illustrate	specifically
that is	in other words	including

Time Words
first	next	since	today	formerly
second	then	previously	at length	at last
third	before	later	in the meantime	subsequently
last	soon	meanwhile	afterward	often
now	after	finally	1,2/A,B,B/I, II, III until
during	following	when	while

Definition Words
is	is called	are known as
means	that is	or
are	refers to

THESE WORDS REPRESENT

JUST A FEW OF THE MANY WORD

IN EACH CATEGORY

AS YOU SEE SIGNAL WORDS OFTEN OVERLAP CATEGORIES

TYPOGRAPHY
TYPOGRAPHY:	bold face type, italics, headings and subheadings, extra white space to set off sections or to indicate change in fiction, colored type, shaded or tinted paper for supplementary material or to highlight very important material, quotations indented and in different type to support the point just made.

6. Exercises, Student Summarizing Exercise Sheet

Date__________________

Title of material that is being summarized________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Author_____________________________________________________________________

Located in which book or periodical_____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

The central thought of the material being summarized is:____________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

List four to ten core ideas presented by the author:

1. ________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________________________

5. ________________________________________________________________________

6. ________________________________________________________________________

7. ________________________________________________________________________

8. ________________________________________________________________________

9. ________________________________________________________________________

10. ________________________________________________________________________

D. Categorizing and Classifying is the way you put things together that are related to each other in some way.

In reading the sciences and studying the various history courses this skill is especially helpful, e.g., in biology animals and plants are all classified.

There are dozens of ways we categorize people, items, ideas, etc. An instructor can provide a categorizing/classifying formula from their materials and have students use it for pre-writing of papers, for study and for test preparation, e.g.,

1. Using a Formula

Identify the Problem(s)	Cause(s) of the Problem(s)	Way(s) Problem(s) Express Themselves	Result(s) of the Problem(s)	Possible Resolution(s)

2. Using a Map - The skill of mapping is another tool instructors can use when asking students to categorize/classify any of the information being taught.

OTHER NAMES

· Graphic Overview

· Webbing

· Networking

· Clustering

ADVANTAGES "4cs"

· Comprehension Improves

· Critical Thinking Increases

· Concentration is Heightened

· Condenses Information

õ ö

MAPPING

÷ ø

POINTS TO REMEMBER

· Don't need perfect circles or lines

· Be Flexible

· Paraphrase Ideas

STEPS IN PROCESS

· Activate prior knowledge of topic

· Put topic or title in center

· Draw lines from center and list subtopics

· List supporting details for each subtopic

E. Classification and Sequence - These two skills are very closely related. Let’s define them first. To classify is to group, organize various kinds of facts or information according to some system. For example, we can classify persons, places, events, conditions according to:

1. The alphabet....like the telephone book or a dictionary or an encyclopedia

2. Number....like the Dewey Decimal system, or zip codes or telephone numbers or social security numbers

3. Subject....like the Yellow pages, catalogues

Classification goes much deeper than just the categories used to arrange people or events. To classify normally requires a good deal of selective thinking, which is why the skill follows previewing, main ideas, details, and outlining and summarizing. Outlining is another way of classifying, as when we use I., A., B., 1., 2., a., b. These symbols represent a particular way of thinking about facts. Classification, of any and all types, demands a definite sense of the whole topic or subject. It is a way of grouping information for a particular set of purposes and needs. This skill when done properly, can be very stimulating to logical thinking, with a distinct sense of sequence and basic relationship among ideas and facts. It cannot be done mechanically or mindlessly.

The classification skill so useful in reading, all the sciences, the social studies, and almost everything else, is a very effective thinking tool. It is organization and relationships among parts, which is still the heart of good thinking and therefore good reading.

F. Sequence - Following a sequence of events or acts is very useful in literature, as well as in history and even in science. Sequence just means (seq....... to follow) the process of events following some pattern. First you do this, then this, then that, and finally, you do the next thing. That’s sequence.

When reading a novel or short story or even a newspaper story, one finds oneself repeating the sequence of events because that frequently emphasize a time-space relationship which directly affects what happened and why it happened as it did. In science, experiments are done this way: first get the test tube filled with gob; put it over the burner for eight minutes; then, remove from heat and add zyllch; reheat for three minutes; observe coloring; then freeze.

There are many ways to sensitize the readers to the existence and effect of sequence. Sequence is a form of classification in that it groups events in terms of time or space or both. The sequence of growth and development in infants as compared with the sequence of events in early childhood could illustrate this.

F. Guide Words do just that: guide the reader to the author’s development of ideas, or to the author’s conclusions, or signal the reader that there is a change of idea or direction in writing. Guide words used correctly are good highway signs, or obvious clues to what’s happening in the text. For example, take the cause and effect pattern, the words like as a result of, or because of the effect, all indicate a casual relationship and this clues the alert reader to the pattern and gets him thinking and looking for the causes of a given effect or the effect after some stated causes.

Guide words affect what we read. Words like and, or, more, moreover, in addition, also, furthermore, normally suggest to the reader that what follows them is very much the same as what came before. However, words like however, but, yet, still, on the contrary, on the other hand, despite, usually suggest that the author is changing his or her original statement or clause. In general, coordinating conjunctions tell the reader that more of the same is coming; while subordinating conjunctions (but, although, however) suggest a change in the direction of the author’s thought. You must slow down and read more carefully, looking for the nature of the change in the sentence.

The words and phrases like in summary, in conclusion, finally it is clear that they signal the reader to slow down and get the summary or the final conclusion or statement.

There are many other words, phrases, grammatical devices which warn the reader, signal them that something is happening to the line of thought which is being developed. Think of the tests you have taken, especially multiple choice and true-false, in which words like never, always, generally, in all cases, every, all, are used to trick the unwary student. This is not a world shaking and highly intellectual skill, but it clearly can help an unsure reader avoid some obvious and not so obvious pitfalls. Students need to take full advantage of every skill, every clue, every signal they can to assure the most accurate and intelligent reading.

G. Skimming and Scanning - These are two skills designed to assist students in locating information swiftly. Once you have answered these two questions about your purpose for reading and your familiarity with the material, you can choose several ways to read it quickly, without harming your comprehension of the material. The two basic ways to read rapidly are these:

1. Skim

2. Scan

1. Skimming is a technique for faster reading which means that you do a kind of thorough preview of the chapter, article or book. You flip through the pages spotting headings, sub-headings, main ideas or details. A good skim gives you a summary of the material.

If you want a good general summary of the whole article or chapter, skim for the main ideas after you have picked out the headings, sub-headings, and title.

Skimming gives you a quick general picture of the material, but you must use your skill of previewing and, or finding main ideas and details to really be good at it.

2. Scanning is another quick way to get information, but it differs from skimming in that scanning means you are looking for something in particular in the book, article or chapter. You want someone’s telephone number, so you can scan the phone book in the right letter for the last name, and you move down the page until you hit the right name. You do not read every name on the page or in the book.

When you use your TV Guide to locate a show you want to see, you scan. You look up the day, hour, and channel, going quickly down the page. You do the same when you are using a catalogue to order something.

When you skim you want general information; when you scan you want a particular piece of information.

UNIT THREE - COLLEGE STUDY SKILLS

I. Introduction to Studying

There are two ingredients necessary for succeeding in college; efficiency and self-discipline. There are certain techniques for studying that will assist students in becoming confident, independent thinkers. Some very conscious, deliberate, ‘talking to yourself,” must be done by students in order to find the proper balance when studying. Studying need not be drudgery! There are certain realistic, practical rules that must be put into place.

A. Suggestions

1. Studying by using a schedule as your guide.

2. Carefully pick your most energetic time periods in a twenty-four hour day to study.

3. Post your schedule and live by it. This is self-discipline.

4. Have a regular place of study as it conditions your study.

5. Study your most difficult subject first.

6. Study one hour and a half to two hours at a time.

7. Remove all distractions

8. Prepare for tomorrow and review lecture notes just before class.

9. Relax when your work is done and reward yourself.

B. Example - Student Class/Study Schedule

Name:______________________________

Date:_______________________________

TIME	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
6-7
7-8
8-9
9-10
10-11
11-12
12-1
1-2
2-3
3-4
4-5
5-6
6-7
7-8
8-9
9-10

II. Listening and Note Taking Skills

A. Listening Suggestions

The most neglected college study skill is that of actively listening. In a college classroom students should be listening 70% of the time and recording information 30% of the time. Actively listening means you are questioning what is being said, thinking about it and deciding the main ideas and their related details. Listen, question, think decide, record!

B. Example, THE LISTENING RULES = L I S A N

L = Lead, don’t follow. Anticipate what’s going to be said. It keeps you alert and expecting to hear something, gives you a purpose.

LEADING INVOLVES 2 STEPS:

1. Read your outside assignments before you come to class. Use reading as a preparation for listening. Get to class a few minutes before lecture and quickly review your lecture notes.

2. Set up questions to keep yourself in the lead. Turn your reading and your instructor’s lecture titles into questions or opening sentences. Make up your own questions, then listen for the answer.

I = Ideas, find them. A two or three hour lecture contains no more than 8 or 9 main ideas with their relating details. “Psyche” your instructor out. What is his or her pattern of organization? What are the biases? How does he or she think about the discipline? What areas of the discipline are favored?

S = Signal words. Instructors do not use rockets, however, there will be signals.

1. he or she may introduce an example simply by saying, “for example” or “there are three reasons why” or “first, second, third”

2. a main idea or point may be introduced by, “and most important” or “a major development” or “the main idea is”

3. he or she may signal the sending of support material with: “further” or “on the other hand” or “on the contrary” or “as an example” or “for example” or “in contrast” or “similarly” or “also” or “furthermore” or “for instance”

4. he or she may signal a conclusion or summary with: “therefore” or “in conclusion” or “as a result” or “finally” or “in summary” or “from this we see”

5. he or she may signal with a voice change, “now this is important” or “remember that” or “the basic concept here is” or “the important idea is that”.

A = an Active listener, not passive. You must work at it, not wait for it to work on you.

1. Use the class situation for active listening.

2. Ask questions for active listening. Listen attentively to the answer.

N = Notes, take them. Use logical organization. It is very difficult to listen to and remember disorganized, unrelated bits of information.

*Organization is the key to effective listening, recording and remembering. Note taking is the way you find the organization discovering the skeleton of ideas on which the instructor has built his or her lecture.

1. A Recap: Note-Taking Hints For Students

1. Prepare a minimum of 2 hours outside of class for each lecture hour. (focused concentration without TV).

2. Reread previous notes just before class.

3. Leave plenty of space on the notebook page OR

4. Make 2 columns with notes in the right column and questions or comments in the left column. (Write a question on the left that is answered by your notes on the right. Try to predict questions your teacher might ask.)

5. Write on one side of the paper only.

6. Skip lines.

7. Date notes and put in titles.

8. Use a tape recorder with permission of the instructor.

9. Find out your teacher’s way of letting you know something is important.

10. Develop your own style of abbreviations.

11. Review each day’s notes the same day you take them.

12. Underline or use color to highlight important terms.

13. Put question marks in margins to ask teacher next class.

14. Retype if it helps you remember.

15. Put terms on flashcards if it helps you remember.

16. Say the vocabulary words out loud especially if they are new to you.

17. Take 5! (5 minutes before class to check over notes from previous class, looking for questions to ask and 5 minutes at the end of class to check over notes from today’s class, looking for questions to ask before you leave.)

18. Your emphasis should be on understanding the notes not just memorizing them.

19. Use outlining, writing questions on notes, reorganizing notes, and identifying key concepts to help you understand your notes. MAKE THE NOTES YOUR OWN!

2. Shorthand Devices:

USE	w	=	with
	wo	=	without
	th	=	the, these, those, them
	·	=	ing after the word
	s	=	is
	f	=	for, of
	a	=	are, our
	d	=	would, could, should
	v	=	very, have
	y	=	why
	z	=	was, as
	c	=	can
	cn	=	can not
	i	=	it, to
	n	=	in, not
	l	=	will, well
	imp	=	important
	+	=	and, in addition
	=	=	equals
	¹	=	does not equal
	gd	=	good
	®	=	leads to, produces
	div	=	division, divided
	1st	=	first
	fav	=	favorite
	dev	=	develop
	Eur	=	Europe
	WWI	=	World War I
	WWII	=	World War II
	soc	=	sociology
	subj	=	subject
	NYC	=	New York City
	eg or ex	=	example
	f	=	compare to
	vs	=	versus, against
	\	=	therefore
	Q	=	because
	>	=	greater than
	<	=	less than
	2	=	to, too, two
	etc.	=	and so on
	$	=	dollars, money

C. How To Take Good Lecture Notes - A good set of lecture notes is one of your most important assets in getting ready for a test. If you have the facts, in readable form you are well equipped to do the necessary reviewing.

Many students take notes in a very haphazard style, claiming that they will copy them later. This is a poor policy for two reasons:

1. Usually the notes don’t get copied and they are not much use after a few days or weeks have gone by.

2. If the notes are copied over, it is a waste of time, for they can just as well be done right in the first place.

Good lecture notes must:

1. Present a neat, attractive appearance.

2. Indicate the date of the lecture.

3. Indicate the main points of the lecture.

4. Show the relationship of the details to the main points.

5. Include enough illustrative detail to enrich notes and content.

Suggestions for taking notes:

1. Use ink: Notes in pencil will smear and are hard to read.

2. Use a spiral notebook that is clearly labeled.

3. Make big indentations--an inch each time.

4. Skip lines every time you write.

5. Leave wide margins and don’t crowd lines together. Notebook paper is cheap--never mind if you use a whole line for just one word. Plenty of white space is important in order to show the relationship of ideas to each other

6. Abbreviate and use short forms as much as possible. Don’t bother to write complete sentences. Use your own words.

7. Don’t take too many notes. Do more listening than writing. Listen, think, decide, record.

8. Don’t try to take down everything the lecturer says. All lecturers have to repeat a great deal, but you only have to put it down once.

9. Don’t take down the first thing he says on any topic--it’s probably introductory material.

10. Listen for signals. The lecturer is almost sure to say something about, ‘The first point, I want to discuss today....”

11. Don’t try to make a formal outline. You’ll only get bogged down in your letters and numbers and won’t be able to concentrate on listening and trying to understand.

12. Underline the first main topic. Then write down, in list form and indented, and under the main topic, but without numbers, the most important things he talks about. Don’t try to make sub-topics. Keep on doing this until you find that the lecturer is talking about something else. Then you will know it’s time for another topic.

13. Don’t bother to make sub-topics unless the lecturer says, “There are three reasons....”, or mentions a specific number of facts. Then number them so you will be sure to learn the many facts when you study for your test. In other words, don’t number for the sake of numbering--make the numbers mean something.

14. A notetaking page should look like this:

an open spiral notebookð

7/10/99

-------------------------

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

----------------

ðwrite only on one side of the page.

Professor N.L. Dowling

D. Marking Text Books - Textbooks are usually marked by underlining, highlighting, or a combination of both techniques. Many students come from high schools where they were not allowed to mark in their books. At first, it maybe difficult to start underlining, or highlighting their college texts. However, experienced students do mark their books and find their marking extremely helpful when they study. In a marked textbook it is easy to find at a glance the points to be learned.

1. The three major rules for underlining terminology:

a) Circle terminology.

b) Underline definitions.

c) Draw a line alongside examples.

2. Example: Transfer of Learning - An important issue in optimizing learning is the extent to which the learning of one thing facilitates the learning of something else. If everything we learned was specific to the situation in which it was learned, the amount of learning that would have to be crammed into a lifetime would be phenomenal. Fortunately, most learning is readily transferable with some modification, to a number of different situations.

The influence that learning one task may have on the subsequent learning of another is called transfer of learning. The term positive transfer is used when learning one task does facilitate learning another.

positive transfer ð

If one is a good tennis player. It is easier to learn to play squash; this is positive transfer..

But transfer is not always positive; when interference occurs, we have negative transfer

negative transfer ð

There are numerous examples of negative transfer in everyday life. When driving a car with automatic transmission after having been accustomed to one with a stick shift, we may find ourselves depressing a nonexistent clutch pedal. When changing from a pedal-brake to a hand-brake bicycle, we may still try to press back on the pedal when we have to stop quickly. And the transition from driving on the right-hand side of the street to the British procedure of diving on the left is difficult for many American visitors to Great Britain. The original habit is so overlearned that even after driving successfully on the left for some time, an individual may revert to right-side driving when required to act quickly in an emergency.

Doctrine of Formal Discipline

Importance of transfer of learningð

The problem of transfer of learning has been historically of great concern to educators. For them it constitutes the very important practical question of how the school curricula should be to ensure maximum positive transfer. Does learning algebra help in the learning of geometry? Which of the sciences should be taught first to ensure maximum transfer to other science courses?

One of the earliest notions of transfer of learning, prevalent among educators around the turn of the century, maintained that the mind was composed of faculties that could be strengthened through exercise, much as individual muscles can be strengthened. This notion, known as the doctrine of formal discipline, was advance in support of keeping such studies as Latin and Greek in the high school curriculum. It was argued that the study of Latin, for example, trains a student’s powers of self-discipline, reasoning, and observation.

Doctrine is not trueð

The doctrine of formal discipline has been largely discredited by experiments. Some transfer does take place, but it depends much less on formal mental training than on learning for a specific purpose,. For example, the study of Latin does indeed improve the understanding of English words, but only those with Latin roots. It does not improve the understanding of words of Anglo-Saxon origin. And the extent to which improvement occurs depends upon the way the Latin is taught: the gain in English vocabulary is much greater when the course is taught with emphasis on word derivation than when taught by more conventional methods.

Terminology refers to words that are used in a particular discipline of study. A definition is a statement of the meaning of a word or term. And an example is something selected to show the general characteristics of persons, places, or things indicated by a word or term.

3. The three major rules for highlighting:

a. Mark terminology in pink (instead of circling it)

b. Mark definitions in yellow (instead of underlining them)

c. Draw a yellow line alongside examples (instead of a pen or pencil line).

4. Example: General Psychology

Reinforcement refers to the thing that strengthens the possibility that a particular behavior will occur again. For example, one psychologist encouraged the behavior of lever pushing in rats by using the reinforcement of food--every time the rats pushed a lever they received a food pellet. If you are pleasant to a friend every time she calls you on the telephone, you are using reinforcement to strengthen her behavior of calling you.

Socialization refers to the process by which one selects from all the possible behaviors those behaviors that are appropriate to the people in one’s surroundings. You probably dress the way you do because it is the way people around you dress. There are over a hundred sounds made in human speech around the world, but through socialization you selected the behavior of using only the forty or so sounds in your language and not the other speech sounds.

Validity and reliability are both important to tests. Validity refers to the extent to which a test measures whatever it is supposed to measure. For example, if your history professor gave you a test of terms and concepts which you studied in the course, the test would be valid if it measured how much history you learned. Reliability, on the other hand, refers to the extent to which a test consistently measures whatever it is supposed to measure. If third-graders scored third-grade on a reading test on May 1, they would score third-grade on the same test on June 2, if the tests were reliable.

5. Helpful Hints

· Underline only important ideas and facts

· Underline the right amount of information.....not too much....not too little

· Underlining must be practiced

· Underlining must be regular and consistent

· Underlining must be accurate

· Underlining must clearly reflect the content of the passage

· Write summary words or phrases in the margin

· Circle words you don’t know the meaning of--complete the passage and then go back to them.

III. Test Taking Techniques

A. Introduction:

Know all your general test-taking techniques

Review your test-taking skills before each study session and test

Apply all your systematic procedures for more effective study and test taking

Your skill review will increase confidence

B. Types of Tests:

Objective

ðMultiple-Choice

ðTrue and False

ðCompletions/Fill ins

ðMatching

Subjective

ðEssay

ðIn Class/Open Book

ðTake Home

Case Studies

C. Coping with Test Anxiety:

1. Know you are normal to have anxiety! A little anxiety is a motivator. Make your anxiety work for you. Control negative thinking. Send yourself positive rather than negative messages. “I know I can do it,” “I know and understand the material.”

2. Make a weekly study/review schedule. Stick with it. Plan ‚ hour study sessions at a time. Plan study group sessions.

3. Find out as much about the test as you can. Talk to your instructor. Talk to others who have taken the test. Know how it will be corrected.

4. Take care of your mental and physical health.

a) Get a full night's sleep before the exam.

b) Don't skip breakfast before the exam.

c) Take short, brisk walks in between study sessions and one just before the exam.

5. Manage your anxiety!

a) Set time schedules.

b) Set goals.

c) List, on paper, all tasks to be accomplished.

d) Check task off as each one is completed.

6. Preview, review and study your test-taking techniques as well as your content material.

7. Review and use all your memory techniques.

a) Flash cards

b) Flow charts

c) Tape recorders, tapes

d) Write and condense your notes

e) Recite your notes

8. Arrive on time to the test!

9. Control the pace of your life!

a) Schedule all activities for every day for two weeks before the exam.

b) Control your friends.

c) Control the telephone

d) Schedule your ‚ hour study sessions at times when you are most alert, morning, afternoon, night.

e) Study in the same place all the time. Conditioning Works! Never study on the bed.

f) Schedule your study group sessions weeks in advance of the test, . . . you are less likely to break scheduled dates.

10. Control your TV time!

D. What to Study:

1. Identify what to learn.

2. Put all key term, definitions and their examples on flash cards, make flow charts.

3. List all points emphasized in your notes and underlined in your text book and in your handout materials.

4. Preview your course outlines and their objectives.

5. Preview any previous exams and quizzes.

6. Read questions at the end of text book chapters and attempt answering them mentally.

7. Do not get lost in detail. . . . . concentrate on major concepts . . . . look for relationships.

8. Try to get the meaning of what you are studying. If you do, you are more likely to remember it.

9. If you wish to remember anything . . . . review it frequently. Recite, recite, recite.

10. Put forth real, honest - to - goodness effort in each subject you are studying. Try to find convincing reasons for mastering the material.

* Take Notes

E. Keys to Memory Improvement:

1. Be Organized =

2. Be Physical =

3. Be Clear =

4. Be Smart =

5. Be Selective =

6. See Visual Relationships =

7. Recite and Repeat =

8. Overlearn =

9. Be Aware of Attitudes =

10. Distribute Learning =

* Combine all the above memory techniques while studying. Information is stored in your memory when you:

· have the intent to remember,

· know how meaningful the information is,

· are well organized and categorize the information at the time of storage,

· know how the information is associated with previous knowledge

and

· schedule learning sessions.

* Additional Notes:

F. Taking Essay Tests

If it Says:	It Means	* You can write from a list: This is How to Start:
1. To Review 2. Summarize 3. Trace	® To go over the contributing elements ® To describe the main contributing factors ® To describe the main causes in a line of development ®	® List all factors in order . . . ® List the main factors in order . . . ® List the important events leading to the concluding event . . .
4. Describe	® To define a main topic area and the details that make up the item (what happens)®	® Define the topic and list all the important factors that make it up. . .
5. Define	® To explain what the item is in terms of its characteristics, actions, component parts, or effects®	® List the characteristics, actions, parts or effects. . . . . . .
6. Classify	® To show where a specific element fits into a general scheme®	® List all factors from most specific to most general . . . . .
7. Illustrate	® To describe specific facts which explain a general trend ®	® List specific events, facts, factors that contribute to the general idea .
8. Explain ® Discuss ®	To develop an argument and back it up with examples ®	® List examples for each aspect of the argument you are making . . .
9. Relate or compare/ contrast	®To find the similarities and differences	® List similarities (with examples) and differences (with examples) for two topics . . . . . .
10. Analyze	® To break the topic into pieces or . . . find the main ideas and show how they are related and why they are important ®	® List the pieces of the subject and examine each piece . . . . .
11. Interpret	® To analyze a topic and draw conclusions from each piece ®	® List the pieces and discuss the importance of each piece . . . .
12. Criticism	® To analyze a topic and form an opinion on each piece (good or bad) ®	® List the pieces, evaluate each piece and evaluate the whole thing . . .
13. Justify} Evaluate}® Assess}	® To analyze and develop an opinion on the impact of all the pieces together ®	® Develop a point of view and discuss each piece in relation to that point of view . . .

If it Says:	It Means	* You can write from a list: This is How to Start:
14. Discuss	® Means to write a description giving the details and explaining the pros and cons of it.
15. Diagram	® Means to make a graph, chart, or drawing. Be sure you label it and add a brief explanation if it is needed.
16. Contrast	® Means to compare by showing the differences ®	® List the differences and an example of each one . . . .
17. Compare	® Means to show both the similarities and differences ®	® List what is alike with examples and what is different . . . . .
18. Comment on ®	® Means to discuss, criticize or explain its meaning as completely as possible
19. Enumerate	® Means to list. Name and list.
20. State	® Means to describe the main points in precise terms. Be formal. ®	® Use brief, clear sentences. Omit details or examples . . .
21. Prove	® Means to show by argument or logic that it is true. The word, "Prove" has a very special meaning in mathematics and physics.
22. Outline	® Means to give a general summary. Show the organization of all the main ideas and related details. ®	® List a series of main ideas. Support them with their related details. Omit minor details.
23. List	® Means to produce a numbered list of words, sentences or comments. (Same as enumerate.)

G. Taking Objective Tests: When taking your objective test follow these general tips:

Ö 1. GO , . . . . if you decide not to take the test . . . . you have decided to fail.

Ö 2. GO early , pick a comfortable area for yourself.

Ö 3. Bring enough materials, number 2 pencils, erasers, and hard candy.

Ö 4. Do NOT chew gum, makes you hungry - - - distracting.

Ö 5. Go to bed at a reasonable time the night before the test.

Ö 6. Follow the word SCORER while proceeding through the test:

S = preview the entire test before Starting, schedule your time wisely, estimate how much time you will spend on each section, pace yourself.

C = Clue words, find them. Words, such as, . . . some, usually, always and never are used to make the question-statement clearly true or false.

· In multiple-choice questions, words, such as, . . . . always, never, all, none, --- tend to be in the wrong statements.

· In True-False questions, words, such as . . . all, always, everybody, none, never, nobody, only, invariable, every, no, best, . . . tend to appear in false statements.

· Statements that include words, such as, . . . . few, many, often, sometimes, most, many, seldom, usually, . . . . tend to be in true statements.

O = Omit difficult questions. Omit or postpone the difficult questions on the first pass through the test. Do the easy ones first and mark the others with a Ö in the margin so you may return to them later.

R = Read the directions carefully. Do what the directions tell you to do. Be on the lookout for questions which may answer other questions.

E = Estimate!! If there is no penalty for incorrect answers, then answer all the questions. Guess at those you do not know. When guessing, your first answer is normally best.

R = Review. Reread and reexamine the difficult questions that than the Ö mark in the margin. Don't change an answer unless you are confident that your original answer was wrong.

H. Recap Tips Before an Exam:

1. Study right up until you go to sleep.

2. Have all materials needed for exam.

3. Be on time for the exam.

Ö 4. Sit in a quiet, comfortable spot.

Ö 5. Read all the directions carefully.

Ö 6. Budget your time and use it wisely.

Ö 7. Control negative thinking.

Ö 8. Compose yourself before the test begins:

a) Take several deep breaths

b) Close your eyes and visualize yourself working through the test

c) Remember the carrot you will enjoy when its all over

Recap Tips while Taking Objective Exams:

1. Read the directions and questions carefully.

2. Do not spend excessive time on any one question.

3. Answer all easier questions first.

4. Do difficult questions in time remaining.

5. Answer all questions depending on correcting key.

6. Think of the test designers point of view.

7. Circle or underline the Key Words in difficult questions.

8. Remember, you may not always be given a perfect answer to every question. You must choose the best answer.

9. Cross out answers you know are incorrect. If you think all the answers are incorrect, the answer would be, "none of the above."

10. The answer is always the most complete and inclusive answer. Note, the most complete and inclusive is also the longest.

11. Look for and use clues:

Hints for true and false questions:

1. Assume most statements are true.

2. Assume absolute statements are false.

3. Your job is to hunt for the False statements.

4. In order for a statement to be true, the entire statement must be true.

Hints for matching questions:

1. Don't start matching items until you have read both columns and gotten a sense of alternatives.

2. Start as always, with the easiest items. One by one, focus on each item in one column and look for its match in the other column. Cross out items as you use them.

Hints for multiple-choice questions:

1. View the task as viewing the statements as true or false ones.

2. Eliminate the distracters (the incorrect answers), example . . . answers that contain unfamiliar or technical language.

3. Eliminate answers that contain insults, jokes or absolute statements.

4. Generally, "none of the above" should be eliminated.

5. "All of the above" tends to be the correct answer.

6. Usually your best answer tends to be in the middle.

7. The highest and lowest numbers tend to be incorrect.

8. Words such as, . . . always, never, all, and none tend to be in the wrong statements.

* When all fails . . . . the longest, most complete statement, one using the most words. . tends to be the correct answer!!

* Remember, grades are not a measure of intelligence or creativity. Try, prepare, go and do your best.

Test-Taking Skills For Students:

1. Write any information you may forget (formulas, etc.) on back of test.

2. Read the directions carefully.

3. Glance over the entire exam before starting.

4. RELAX (Take a deep breath and jot any more notes on test.)

5. Answer the easy questions first.

6. Focus on the more difficult questions.

7. Guess at the remaining questions; do not leave any blank.

8. Review the entire test; look for mis-read directions and careless errors.

9. Make changes only if you are absolutely sure it’s wrong.

10. Use all of your test time; to stop early can mean lost points.

Multiple-Choice Tests:

1. Look for grammar clues.

2. Eliminate obviously wrong answers.

3. Answer questions in your mind before looking at choice.

4. Answer the question that is asked.

5. Beware of words like “always” or “never”.

6. Answer the question based on what happened or was said in class, not your experiences.

7. Pick the BEST ANSWER or LEAST TERRIBLE ANSWER.

Essay Tests:

1. Outline your answer before answering the question.

2. Leave space at the end of each one.

3. Back up your statements with specific examples, details, or references.

4. Write your essay as if to someone who knows nothing about it.

5. Write a short conclusion to sum up your essay.

UNIT FOUR - THE LEARNING PYRAMID

I. Class Planning Suggestions

Now that you have viewed the Reading Skills Component and the College Skills Component, you are aware of the complexities that students face while learning. You are also aware of the skills they must master and apply in order for them to achieve success in your discipline. It is possible for instructors to integrate the Reading and College Skills along with the information being taught. It is clear that these skills have everything to do with students being successful in your classes. The pairing of classes is a step in the right direction:

· Reading II with Psychology

· Reading II with Sociology or History, etc.

· Reading II with Intro to Business

· Reading II and Comp. I

II. Example, Pyramid of Learning

Instructors are asked to view the Pyramid prior to planning their syllabus. It is meant to assist instructors when planning their various teaching strategies. Getting to know your students as quickly as possible, their strengths and weaknesses, will help you in selecting the skills needed to be integrated with your discipline, as well as the best methods for teaching the concepts you want students to understand and remember.

LEARNING PYRAMID

AVERAGE

RETENTION RATE

III. Integrating Reading - In conclusion, the ability to read and understand that which is read is necessary for survival in our society. The more successful our students become in developing skills needed to accomplish this the better chance they have in moving up the ladder of success. They may never reach complete perfection in reading skills; however, continuous study and practice will help them improve and make their reading more meaningful and enjoyable.

Reading is also the key to your students mastering the content of your various disciplines. Reading is not just decoding and comprehending the printed word. It is much more than reading words; its reading the author, and other people and human experience and knowledge. Its reading between the lines, between words in print, for it is then that we pause to think about all the symbols, feelings, and intentions clumsily carried by words.

Reading is life, experience, and feelings:

· in history, it is the bloody and painful story of man’s follies and accomplishments

· in literature, it is the song of man’s greatness, his agony and his love....his humanity;

· in science, it is the measured beat of the metronome measuring the world for better control of it.

Encourage your students to read, to love words, to love language and to know that reading is the way to broaden their horizons, and to increase their knowledge. With the many reading skills provided in this book, you can integrate them right along with your content materials or you can pair your courses with Reading I or Reading II. The Reading Specialist on campus will be more than willing to help and be available to assist you at any time; with plans, with activities, with coming to your classes to introduce any or all the skills

Reading Strategies

Pre Reading	During Reading	Post Reading
Discuss purpose of reading assignment	Take notes	Discussion
Preview	Answer focus questions	Complete and review notes
Activate prior knowledge	Annotate	Summarize
Generate or review focus questions	Work on focus questions	Complete focus questions
Discuss text patterns	Work on Outline	Complete outline
Review study guide	Work on study guide	Complete study guide
Review difficult vocabulary	Work on vocabulary log	Review new vocabulary
Group discussions/ build background	Work on Venn diagrams	Complete Venn diagrams
Brainstorming	Work on semantic feature analysis	Complete semantic feature analysis
Group mapping	Work on mapping	Complete mapping
Anticipation/reaction guide	Work on anticipation/reaction guide	Complete anticipation/ reaction guide
SQ3R	SQ3R	SQ3R
	Compare and contrast	Compare and contrast
	Work on concept circles	Complete concept circles
	Work on timeline	Complete timeline
	Mark text	Review new information or concepts

1. Anticipation/Reaction Guide: These guides test prior and post knowledge. Students mark a series of questions “true” or “false” prior to reading the assignment and repeat the exercise after reading the assignment.

2. Compare and Contrast: This strategy organizes and assimilates knowledge by forcing students to make judgments about concepts in text and the application of those concepts.

3. Concept Circles: This strategy promotes brainstorming. Students fill in a circle labeled with a specific topic with pertinent ideas and information relative to that topic.

4. Define Purpose for Reading: Readers need to be able to explicitly state the purpose for reading. Students are more likely to pick out and retain important information if they are clear about the purpose for the assignment.

5. Graphic Organizers: These are effective tools for understanding the relationships between events or ideas (e.g. anticipation/reaction guides. concept circles, Venn diagrams).

6. Marking Text: Marking text is an interactive reading activity useful when dealing with texts. It requires students to analyze while they read and make some immediate decisions about he importance of what they are reading. This technique is most effective when students return to the marked section and study it.

7. Identifying Text Pattern: Knowing the format of a text can help students to analyze it. There are five predominant text patterns: description, sequence, comparison-contrast, cause-effect, and problem-solution.

8. Modeling particular strategies by thinking aloud allows students to see the thought process necessary for particular skills. There are five basic steps to modeling: (1) make predictions; (2) visualize those predictions; (2) link new information to prior knowledge by using analogies; (4) monitor comprehension by verbalizing a confusing point; and (5) regulate comprehension by demonstrating fix-up strategies.

9. Note Taking: Students should take enough notes so that they can formulate a useful summary for review purposes. Too many notes will hide important information and too few notes may not be enough to make sense of or trigger information previously read. It is also important to recognize when details are important enough to include in the summary or when they are inconsequential to the overall message.

10. Outlining: This strategy generally consists of using Roman numerals for main concepts, letters for subordinate concepts and numbers for details. Outlining requires students to be able to analyze the structure of the text. Outlining usually requires initial teacher direction.

11. Semantic Feature Analysis: SFA establishes a meaningful link between students’ prior knowledge and words that are conceptually related to one another. The strategy requires students to develop a chart or grid to help analyze similarities and differences among the related concepts. Words related to the category are listed in a column down on the left side of the grid. Features or properties shared by some of the words in the column are spaced across the top of the grid.

12. Mapping: This strategy can be used by a group as an interactive way of obtaining and reviewing information related (indirectly and directly to the text. Semantic maps are created by brainstorming, writing ideas, details down, then connecting them as they relate by drawing lines between them.

13. SQ3R or variant: here are a variety of reading strategies represented by acronyms. One of the most popular is SQ3R. It includes five different steps: (1) survey the text heading quickly to acquire an overview material to be read; (2) ask questions about the text by turning each heading into a question; (3) read the text with purpose to answer the question; (4) recite by making brief notes about the text or using self-recitation or both; and (5) review by re-reading notes and by generating and asking questions.

14. Study Guides: Study guides keep students on track. Students are able to look more closely at the material while focusing on specific items of importance, i.e. genre, style, author’s assumptions, foreshadowing clues etc. Study guides establish a reading plan for students to focus on while reading -- it gives them a clear purpose for reading.

15. Summary: summarizing involves reducing a text to its main points. To become adept at summary writing, students must be able to discern and analyze text structure. Some basic rules of summarization are do not include minor details, collapse lists, use topic sentences, and integrate information.

16. Story Mapping: This is one way of bringing key elements to the surface. Story mapping is a process of separating parts of a story to organize and understand how they interrelate. Students break the story down into setting, theme, plot and resolution.

17. Timeline: Students can write down sequences of events in an effort to visualize material and distinguish between important and inconsequential facts. A timeline should be one of the first steps in organizing materials, but it is not enough for students to know the sequence of events by they must also be able to recognize the relationships between events.

18. Venn Diagrams: These diagrams are constructed using two overlapping circles to compare and contrast two items. Each circle is labeled with a character or topic. The student lists details, facts or characteristics specific to the topic in the non-overlapping portion of the circles. Information that is pertinent to both topics is listed in the overlapping section. This is especially useful when you are dealing with a lot of complicated interrelated material.

19. Vocabulary Exercises: Pre-reading vocabulary exercises can help alleviate comprehension difficulties due to a lack of vocabulary knowledge. The teacher or student (via skimming the reading assignment) can construct flash cards of key vocabulary words. These words should be discussed immediately prior to reading so they are fresh in the minds of the reader and the reader can visualize these words in context. There are a variety of ways to enhance vocabulary.

Author	Title	Reading Level
XXXX	A Taste of Salt
XXXX	The Night of Wishes
Abbott, Jennie	Good-bye and Hello
Achebe, Chinua	Things Fall Apart
Alireza, Marianne	At the Drop of a Veil
Armstrong, William	Sounder	5
Ba, Mariama	So Long a Letter
Babbitt, Natalie	Tuck Everlasting	5.7
Baker, Elizabeth	This Stranger, My Son	4.7
Ballard, Robert	The Lost Wreck of the Isis	6
Beattie, Owen and John Geiger	Buried in Ice	4.7
Betancourt, Jeanne	My Name is Brian	5
Bosley, Judith	Don’t Sell Me Short	2.5
Bradbury, Ray	Fahrenheit 451
Byers, Betsy	The Summer of the Swans	5.4
Canfield, Jack	Chickensoup for the Baseball Fan’s Soul
Cather, Willa	My Antonia	8
Connolly, Miles	Mr. Blue	7
Cole, Sheila	The Dragon in the Cliff	6.9
Cooper, J.	Family	7
Cooper, Susan	Dawn of Fear	5.8
Coret, Harriete	Love Letters	3.5
Cormier, Robert	The Chocoloate War
Couch, Dick	The Warrier Elite
Cowan, Philip	Family, Self and Society
Cisneros, Sandra	The House on Mango Street
Craven, Margaret	I Heard the Owl Call My Name	8
Crutcher, Chris	Ironman
Cushman, Karen	The Midwife’s Apprentice	5.9
Dailey, Janet	The Healing Touch	4.4
Danticat, Edwidge	Krik! Krik!
Danticat, Edwidge	Breath, Eyes, Memory
Dickens, Charles	David Copperfield
Dickens, Charles	Oliver Twist
Donahure, John	An Islang Far from Home	4
Donahure, John	Till Tomorrow	4
Donnelly, Judy	Who Shot the President: The Death of JFK	4.9
Durant, Michael	In the Company of Heroes
Ende, Michael	The Night of the Wished
Evans, Nicholas	The Horse Whisperer
Frank, Anne	Diary of Anne Frank
George, Jean Craighead	My Side of the Mountain	5
Gibbons, Kaye	A Virtuous Woman	7
Gibson, William	Miracle Worker
Glancy, Diane	Flutie	6
Greene, Graham	Our Man in Havana
Grisham, John	The Runaway Jury
Hagen, Agnes	Justice on Horseback	3.5
Hersey, John	A Single Pebble
Holm, Jennifer	Our Only May Amelia	5.6
Hurston, Zora Neale	Their Eyes Were Watching God	7
Jacobs, Harriet	Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Writeen by Herself	6.7
Juster, Norton	The Phanton Tollbooth
Knight, Michael	In Chains to Louisiana: Solomon Northrup’s Story	5
Lardner, Ring	You Know Me Al: Bush’s Letters	7
Lee, Harper	To Kill a Mockingbird
LeGuin, Ursula	Tombs of Atuan	8
Lessing, Doris	The Grass is Singing
London, Jack	The Call of the Wild	8
Lowry, Lois	Gathering Blue	5
Lowry, Lois	The Giver
MacDonald, Michael Patrick	All Souls
Markandaya, Kamala	Nector in a Sieve
Marsden, John	Letters from Inside	4.7
Martin, Ann	The Babysitter’s Club
Menchu, Rogoberta	I. Rigobera Menchu, an Indian Woman in Guatemala
Merriwether, Louise	Daddy was a Number Runner	7
Morrison, Toni	Sula	8
Murphy, Jim	My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price	4
Myers, Walter Dean	The Journal of Biddy Owen: The Negro Leagues	5.9
Narayan, R.K.	A Tiger for Malgudi
O’Dell, Scott	Island of the Blue Dolphins	9.8
Orwell, George	Animal Farm
Paulsen, Gary	Night John
Pelzer, Dave	A Child Called It
Pelzer, Dave	A Man Named Dave
Pelzer, Dave	The Lost Boy
Potok, Chaim	The Chosen
Preston, Richard	The Hot Zone
Rawls, Wilson	Where the Red Fern Grows
Rodman, Dennis	Bad As I Wanna Be
Rosemary, Harris	Zed
Salinger, J.D.	Catcher in the Rye
Santiago, Esmeralda	When I was Puerto Rican
Shafton, Anthony	Dream-Singers
Shakespeare, William	A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare, William	Hamlet
Shakespeare, William	Othello
Silvia, Matilda	Once Upon an Island
Souljah, Sister	The Coldest Winter Ever
Steele, Danielle	Five Days in Paris
Steele, Danielle	The Ring
Steinbeck, John	Of Mice and Men
Steinbeck, John	The Pearl
Steinbeck, John	The Short Reigh of Pippin IV: A Fabrication
Strasser, Todd	The Wave
Tolkein, J.R.	The Hobbit
Wartski, Maureen	A Boat to Nowhere
Waters, Frank	The Man Who Killed the Deer
Weisel, Elie	Night
Wibberly, Leonard	The Mouse that Roared
Wilde, Stuart	Miracles
Wilder, Thorton	The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Wisler, G. Clifton	Red Cap	5.5
Woods, Teri	True to the Game
Yep, Laurence	The Serpent’s Children
Zane	Sham On It All
Zane	True to the Game
Zemser, Amy Bronwen	Beyond the Mango Tree	5.6
Zindel, Paul	Pig-Man
Zongren, Liu	Ten Years in the Melting Pot
Zumwalt, Elmo	My Father, My Son

Key: R= Reading; CT= Critical Thinking; O= Oral Communication; W= Writing; TS= Technology Skills;

Outcome #1

Outside Reading Journal

Outside Reading Journal

Annotated Bibliography

HEADLINE IN THE NEWSPAPER

Schools

CRITIAL READING

THE EDITORIALS

EDITORIAL CARTOONING WORK SHEET

Find an example of a story in your newspaper that informs readers. Write the headline

Find an advertisement that informs readers. What is the product or service advertised?

“A Motive for Arson in the South: Boredom”

“There’s Not Much Activity In These

“A Motive For Arson In South: Boredom”

Getting Meaning From Context

Sample Context Clues Test:

Previewing Your Textbook

Outcome #7

Criteria

ROOTS

SUFFIXES