Chapter 1: Strategies for Learning From Textbooks From this chapter, you’ll learn 1. about SQ3R, a tested and flexible system for reading textbooks. 2

Chapter 1: Strategies for Learning From Textbooks

From this chapter, you’ll learn1. about SQ3R, a tested and flexible system

for reading textbooks. 2. the importance of “reading flexibility.”3. how reading rate should be adjusted to text

and purpose.4. how the Web can be used to improve

comprehension.

© Laraine Flemming. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.

Using SQ3R: A System for StudyingUsing SQ3R: A System for Studying

SQ3R stands for

1. Survey the chapter to get an overview.2. Question to focus concentration.3. Read to answer the questions.4. Recall to test your understanding.5. Review to see how all the pieces fit

together.


Survey to Get an OverviewSurvey to Get an Overview

To survey, read the following:

1.Title and introductory material

2.Headings and opening sentences of chaptersections

3.Visual aids such as pictures, charts, graphs, tables, and highlighted words

4.End-of-chapter summaries and questions


Survey Goals Survey Goals

The Four Goals of a Survey Are 1. to get a general overview of the material.

2. to get a sense of the writer’s style and the text’s level of difficulty.

3. to get a sense of what’s important. 4. to identify breaks in the chapter and get a sense of

how each part contributes to the larger whole, e.g., Does each part focus on a particular group or move forward in time?


Step 2: Ask Questions for FocusStep 2: Ask Questions for Focus

Using questions to guide your reading can help you

•remain mentally active while reading.•maintain your level of concentration.•keep you alert to key passages in the chapter.


How to Form QuestionsHow to Form Questions

Your questions can be based on

• headings, key words, pictures, or graphics in the chapter.

• comparisons to other writers on the same subject.

• your own personal experience.


Step 3: Read in ChunksStep 3: Read in Chunks

When you read a textbook, remember to• read it in chunks of no more than 10 or 15

pages.• write while you read.• periodically paraphrase, or sum up in your

own words, what you have just read.• vary your assignments whenever you are

studying for more than two hours.


A Word to the WiseA Word to the Wise

If you are studying material that is really difficult, it’s perfectly fine to work on it for only fifteen minutes at a stretch, with regular breaks to walk around and let your brain process what you’ve read. Sometimes, tough texts can be daunting. Breaking up your study sessions and making them shorter than usual can help. The trick is to keep coming back to the article or chapter section you are reading until, bit by bit, you finish it.


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Write while ReadingWrite while Reading

Writing while reading is critical because it helps you

1. remember what you read.2. check your comprehension.3. maintain concentration.


Write while ReadingWrite while Reading

Use any or all of these writing strategies:• Underline key words in sentences.• Use boxes, stars, and circles to highlight key

names and dates.• Take marginal notes, jotting down central points.• Mark important passages with double bars, stars,

or asterisks.• Identify, perhaps with a “P,” ideas for papers.


Step 4: Recall after Completing a Chapter Section


Recalling right after reading can be done in a number of ways. You can

1. mentally recite the general point and a few details.2. write out answers to questions you posed during your survey.3. cover up and try to recall parts of your outline.




You can also 1. make rough diagrams or drawings.

2. ask a classmate to quiz you on the material.

3. write a brief summary.

4. use any other method you can think of to see how much you remember.


A Word to the Wise

The rate of forgetting is fastest right after you finish reading. Recalling by repeating what you just read in your own words slows down the rate of forgetting so you forget less.


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More Words to the WiseMore Words to the Wise

• As soon as you start a study session,identify how many pages you plan to read.

• This is particularly important if you are reading a long chapter.

• Chopping the chapter into several ten- or fifteen-page assignments will make it seem more manageable, and you won’t give up on it.


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Step 5: Review Right After Completingthe Chapter

Step 5: Review Right After Completingthe Chapter

The review step of SQ3R• takes place right after you finish the entire

assignment.• focuses on how parts of a text fit together to

develop a general point.• should either confirm or force you to revise

some of your initial predictions about a chapter or article.


The Goals of the First ReviewThe Goals of the First Review

Reviewing right after you complete the assignment

• helps anchor new information in your memory.

• gives you a sense of what passages might need a second reading.

• lets you focus more on the overall objective, or point, of the material.


Methods for Chapter Review

1. Look at all the major headings and try to recall the general point introduced.

2. Work with a friend who asks you questions about the headings.

3. Use the headings to make an outline and write down what you remember about each one.


Create Diagrams that Highlight Relationships Among Parts of the Chapter

Three central factors aroused American fury against British rule and contributed to the Revolutionary War


A Word to the Wise

Few strategies for reading—and for that matter forlife—apply to every single situation. Adapt yourreading strategies to the material. For instance, ifYou’re reading a passage that has strong visualimagery, take notes with diagrams or drawings. However, switch to an outline if you think the material doesn’t easily lend itself to pictures. In other words, BE A FLEXIBLE READER, changing strategies to suit the material.


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And Most ImportantlyAnd Most Importantly

Get into the habit of paraphrasing key points.


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Paraphrasing and ReadingParaphrasing and Reading

Definition of Paraphrasing: Using your own words to express the author’s ideas.

Unbreakable Rule of Paraphrasing:Change the language, but don’t change the meaning.


Which Paraphrase is More Accurate?Which Paraphrase is More Accurate?

Original Statement: According to a 2007 study, adult men seem to enjoy spending time with their parents; adult women, however, seem more inclined to equate time spent with parents as a chore or a duty performed out of family devotion rather than pleasure.

Paraphrase 1: One 2007 study suggests a difference in how men and women view being with their parents: Men apparently enjoy it, while women seem to think of it as a family responsibility.

Paraphrase 2: According to research, men really enjoy being with their parents, but women do not. They prefer spending time with their husband and children.


Which paraphrase is more accurate and why?Which paraphrase is more accurate and why?

Paraphrase 1 is accurate because

• it changes the language but not the meaning.

• it doesn’t eliminate anything said in the original.

• it doesn’t add any information not included in the original.


What’s wrong with paraphrase 2?What’s wrong with paraphrase 2?

Paraphrase 2 is inaccurate because it

• leaves out key information: The conclusion about men and women is the result of a single study performed in 2007.

• alters the meaning along with the language.

– It suggests that the conclusion applies to all women.

– It invents a detail about women preferring to spend time with their own families rather than with their parents.


In SummaryIn Summary

A good paraphrase should

• retain the original meaning while changing the language.

• include all the information in the original.

• not add any new information to the original.


A Word on Multi-Tasking


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Don’t Do It While Studying!


Staying Focused is Essential Staying Focused is Essential

None of the techniques for mastering your textbooks will be effective if, while studying, you are texting or sending photos. Here’s what one of perhaps twenty studies has to say on the subject of multi-tasking. And for the record, they all say pretty much the same thing:


Multi-Tasking and Studying Don’t Mix

According to a group of Stanford University researchers, multi-taskers are “suckers for irrelevancy. Everything distracts them.” The Stanford researchers say that the more people multi-task, the more they lose the ability to separate the significant from the insignificant.


Reading Rate and Reading FlexibilityReading Rate and Reading Flexibility

Make it a point to vary your reading rate depending on

1. the difficulty of the material.2. your level of familiarity with the

author’s ideas.3. your purpose in reading.


Reading Rate and Reading FlexibilityReading Rate and Reading Flexibility

• For a survey, feel free to skim at high rates of speed like 600-800 words per minute.

• For understanding easy-to-read and moderately familiar material, slow down to 300-400 words per minute.

• For pages of moderate difficulty, maintain a speed of 200-250. • For hard-to-read and unfamiliar material, slow

down to around 150-200 words per minute.


There’s an old Woody Allen joke that goes like this: “I took a speed reading course and read War and Peace. It involves Russia.” War and Peace is set in Russia. It is around 900 pages long. What point did Allen want to make about speed reading?

What’s the moral of this story?


A Word to the Wise

It might surprise you to hear that reading too slowly can be as ineffective as reading too quickly, in part because reading the assignment can take so long, it becomes agonizing. Slow your rate way down only when you feel completely lost. Otherwise push yourself to keep going at around 200-250 words per minute. If a passage doesn’t seem completely clear, mark it for re-reading (RR). And make sure you really do re-read.


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Using the World Wide Web for Background Knowledge

Using the World Wide Web for Background Knowledge

The more you know about a subject, the easier it is to comprehend whatyou read. When you are starting a chapter dealing with an unfamiliar topic, use the Web to get some basic background knowledge.


Using the Right Search Term

A good search term should

1. take into account the chapter purpose and headings.

2. be focused and specific rather than broad and general.

3. usually be a phrase rather than a single word or name.


What’s the Right Search Term?What’s the Right Search Term?

Your search term should1. be influenced by the headings in

the text.2. be specific enough to exclude topics

you don’t care about.3. be a phrase rather than a single

word. © Laraine Flemming. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.

Picking the Right Search Term

Imagine that you are surveying a chapter about the history of the Supreme Court, and you run across the heading “The Origins of Judicial Review.” If you want some background knowledge about that topic, which of these search terms would be more useful to you?


Picking the Right Search TermPicking the Right Search Term

1. History of the Supreme Court2. Judicial Review3. Supreme Court and Judicial Review


Focusing Your Search TermFocusing Your Search Term

Although you could probably get back-ground knowledge for the chapter withall three choices, the fastest would be the“Supreme Court and Judicial Review.”


Focusing Your Search TermFocusing Your Search Term1. The “History of the Supreme Court” would take you in

too many irrelevant directions. You want to know about judicial review in relation to the Supreme Court, not all about the Supreme Court past and present. This search term would give you too many sites you couldn’t use.

2. “Judicial Review” would get you right to a definition of the term. However, given that you are reading a chapter on how the Supreme Court evolved, or developed, you want to know how judicial review came into being as part of the Supreme Court’s history.


Just So You Know

Judicial Review is the right of the Supreme Court to review and, if need be, challenge existing legislation created at the state or federal level. It also means that the Supreme Court has the right to review decisions made by the president. The Supreme Court’s right to judicial review came into being as a consequence of the caseMarbury v. Madison (1803), which set a powerfullegal precedent, or pattern, for future decisions.


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Not all Websites are EqualRemember to evaluate websites. Particularly when you are in pursuit of background knowledge, you want a website that • has an informative rather than a persuasive purpose.• is not heavily biased in favor of one point of view.•provides information about the person or group in charge of the website. • provides links to the sources or studies cited.•doesn’t use photos that reflect a bias, or particular preference for one point of view of another.


Finishing Up: Strategies for Learning From Textbooks


You’ve previewed the major concepts and skills introduced in Chapter 1. Take this quick quiz to test your mastery of those skills and concepts, and you are ready to read the chapter.


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See how well you can describe each of the stepsin SQ3R.

1. S2. Q3. R4. R5. R



6. What factors should decide the rate at which you read?

7. What is reading flexibility?8. What’s the core rule of paraphrasing?

9. What are the three characteristics of a useful search term?



10. Imagine that you were getting ready to read a chapter titled “The Growing Problem of Consumer Debt,” and it was forty pages

long. What’s the first thing you should do and why?


Brain Teaser Challenge


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Brain Teaser Challenge: There’s no right or wrong answer to this question, only answers that do or do not make a connection: How does what you have just learned from these slides relate to this line from a poem by Emily Dickinson?

“I’ve known her—from an ample nation—choose one—Then—close the valves of

her attention—like stone.”


Documents

Chapter 1: Strategies for Learning From Textbooks From this chapter, you’ll learn 1. about SQ3R, a tested and flexible system for reading textbooks. 2