MAT.060
Textbook Reading Strategies
Overview
Get familiear with your textbook
Read it! You're expected to (and you should)
Not a doorstop and not just the place to find the homework
Before Reading
(pre-reading)
Activate your prior knowledge
Have you studied it before?
Have you studied something similar before?
Are you comfortable with the prerequisite knowledge?
Brush up on prior learning if necessary
Consider your purpose
Reading with no purpose is like a scavenger hunt with no list
Purpose will likely be a combination of what your instructor wants and what you need
The first time you read something your purpose shouldn't be to completely understand it
Preview
It's like scanning a magazine at the checkout
Pick a During Reading strategy
Don't read
Read, get frustrated, quit
Scan thoroughly
Read, summarize, take some notes, re-read
After Reading
Use notes to help understand new info
Take notes in class on top of or beside your notes from the reading
Merge your reading notes and your class notes
Keep trying to put your reading notes in your own words
Connect new information to old information
Remember math is sequential
This goes with activating prior knowedge
This helps reinforce memory
Ask: Did I fulfill my purpose?
How do I know?
What's missing and how do I get help?
Re-read
What can I do next?
Get help with things that are still unclear
During Reading
Monitor comprehension
Your purpose is important here
Don't give up -- adjust your strategies or get help
Identify major concepts
Visualize
Charts, tables, and graphs help
Create your own graphic organizer
Draw your own pictures
Create your own tables
Identify (and define) vocabulary
Try to use your own words
Look for bold-face type, italics, boxes, etc.
Don't forget the glossary (and the index)
Read and work examples
Pay attention to explanatory notes and general strategies
Take notes on good ideas and techniques
Analyze symbols, formulas, charts, tables, etc.
Why are they here?
Why are they important?
Take notes
Highlight, outline, annotate
Create a graphic organizer
Summarize (small) parts in your own words