READ 110 ONLINE MOD 1.2 RATE, FLEXIBILITY, AND CONCENTRATION

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Module 1.2 - Taking Control of Your Reading

Learning Objectives: When you finish Mod 1.2 you should be able to answer the following questions:

What are the factors that affect reading rate, flexibility, and concentration?
What are the six modes of reading I will practice in this course?
What is the importance of background knowledge?
Why is it important to read widely and read a lot?
What activities should I be practicing during the three stages of reading?

How can I put the concepts I am learning in Read 110 to work for me?

What are the factors that affect reading rate, flexibility, and concentration?

The four main factors are:

Purpose for Reading

Familiarity and Interest in the Material

Training

Practice

In this module you will explore techniques to help you determine your purpose for reading and efficiently fulfill that purpose. In addition you will begin to understand the important role that familiarity and interest in the material play in your success as a fluent reader. Read 110 is designed to give you the training and practice you need to reach your goals.

What are the six modes of reading flexibility I will practice in this course?

MODE	DESCRIPTION	TYPICAL PURPOSES	APPROPRIATE RATE
SCANNING	Locational; highly selective	Finding answers to specific questions not requiring thorough reading; locating dates, numbers, names, and other facts	Fastest rate; rate (WPM) not really pertinent; chapters, articles, sections of books can be scanned in minutes
SKIMMING	Combined locational and rapid reading; sample selected parts of content; use summaries, topic sentences, and headings	Gaining an overview of a selection; identifying certain key ideas to answer specific questions; determining the organizational structure of selection, chapter or book	Second fastest; Second most selective; speed varies with task, e.g., 4 pages per minute to identify key ideas; 5-15 minutes to identify the general idea structure of a 30 page textbook chapter
RAPID READING	Speeded, thorough reading of longer content	Gaining a broad, fairly solid understanding of content in as little time as possible; generally more concerned with understanding key ideas then with remembering specifics	Varies: 600 WPM (2 pages per minute) on thorough reading of unfamiliar content to 1000 WPM on thorough reading of relatively easy content
PLEASURE READING	Typical unpressured reading for information and enjoyment; moderately thorough	Wide variety of personal reasons; reading to learn and/or for pleasure, enjoyment, escape	Neither pressure nor studious; 300-400 WPM (with adequate comprehension) is a good normal rate
CRITICAL/ANALYTIC READING	Careful, thorough reading and rereading; in depth assessment of ideas, organization, reasoning, and writer's purpose	Appropriate for a wide variety of higher-level mental tasks that center on non literal content, e.g., determining cause and effect, identifying inference and conclusion, propaganda techniques, etc.	Slow, selective reading; rate is not an issue; rate will vary with type of analytic task
STUDY READING	Multiple planned and varied reading; very thorough; combined use of other modes	Thorough understanding; learning; overlearning (retention in memory); solving problems; passing exams	Involves multiple readings; study-reading efficiency can be improved

How fast and how carefully you read mainly depends on your purpose as noted above. You should have not a single rate, but several different rates. Reading everything fast (or, on the contrary, reading everything slowly) is a sign of a poor reader. The fluent reader develops flexibility instead of constant speed.

Remember, your approach (mode/rate of reading) depends upon:

Your purpose for reading (Why am I reading this material?)
The level of difficulty of the material (How difficult do I find the subject matter and vocabulary?)
Personal familiarity with the material (How well-developed is my schema, prior knowledge of this topic?)

You, the reader, make a deliberate choice of the unique approach best suited to you.

Now take a few minutes to complete Activity 1.2 and email your responses to me.

What is the importance of background knowledge?

As you learned in Mod. 1.1 your schemata is your uniquely personal storage structure contain all the knowledge you have gained through a lifetime of experiences and learning. Obviously, if you have highly developed schema (an organized chunk of knowledge or experience on a particular topic) on, for example, DNA, you will be able to read and understand your textbook chapter on that topic much more easily than someone who has very little prior experience or existing background knowledge.

Prior knowledge of relevant vocabulary is also an imperative. If you encounter more than 3 unknown words per page, your ability to read quickly and with comprehension will be seriously impaired. If you must interrupt your reading to search the dictionary or glossary for unknown words, you will break your train of thought, interrupt your learning, and disrupt your concentration.

Why is it important to read widely and read a lot?

This is the best way to build background knowledge in a wide variety of subjects. It is also one of the best (and easiest) ways to build vocabulary. Reading research has shown that if students read 1,000,000 words in a year's time, they will encounter and learn at least 1,000 new words. Isn't that exciting?!

In addition, consider this from Bill Gates, founder of computer giant Microsoft, on the virtues of reading:

People cannot become truly knowledgeable without being excellent readers. While multi-media systems can use video and sound to deliver information in compelling ways, text is still one of the best ways to convey details.

I try to make time for reading each night. In addition to the usual newspapers and magazines, I make it a priority to read at least one newsweekly from cover to cover. If I were to read only what intrigues me - say, the science and business sections - then I would finish the magazine the same person I was when I started. So I read it all. (emphasis added)

What activities should I be practicing during the three stages of reading?

In order to achieve your goals regarding flexible and fluent reading, you must learn certain reading behaviors and then practice them until they become automatic. We call this practicing to the point of automaticity. In this way you will learn to increase your reading rate, maintain your focus and concentration, and enhance your comprehension.

To review, active reading is a complex cognitive process by which the reader constructs meaning from text; an interactive process that depends on what the reader brings to the material. To accomplish this the reader uses 1) the information provided by the author, 2) information from his schema, and 3) inferencing skills as necessary. As information is received the reader forms hypotheses. As more information becomes available the reader will revise his hypotheses when necessary. For each of the three stages in the reading process (pre-reading, active reading, and post-reading), it is important to go through all the steps of the process as you read. For each stage, you should complete the activity described to get the most out of the selection.

STAGE	ACTIVITIES
Pre-reading	Activate schema on topic of reading Preview the reading: Get the big picture - overview skimming Identify the main idea/thesis Read headings and sub-headings Read captions accompanying pictures/graphics Set your purpose for reading Choose an appropriate mode of reading Question: What do I already know about this topic? What do I need to learn about this topic? Make predictions Check unknown vocabulary
Active Reading	Think as you read; read for ideas and concepts, not word by word Visualize patterns of organization Actively construct meaning Anticipate upcoming information Verify the main idea and identify significant details Look for answers to your pre-reading questions and predictions Consciously add to or modify schema integrating old and new knowledge Self-monitor; assess your understanding: Evaluate comprehension Employ fix-up strategies as appropriate Am I understanding? If not, what should I do about it? Am I finding out what I wanted to know? Practice metacognitive behaviors of good readers. Read Background Information on Reading Comprehension and Metacognitive Behaviors of Good and Poor Readers
Post-Reading	Review and reinforce learning Write a summary, make notes Construct a graphic organizer Reread difficult or important parts Check unusual or unfamiliar vocabulary Reflect Evaluate understanding/ comprehension What have I learned? Did I answer all my relevant questions? Evaluate your reading processing Did I choose an appropriate mode? What changes do I need to make in my reading? What did I do well that I want to repeat in future reading?

How can I put the concepts I am learning in Read 110 to work for me?

Practice, practice, practice. Training yourself to read at a rapid rate with good concentration and comprehension takes practice. Your R110 lab assignments are designed to give you practice on rate and comprehension building programs such as Speed Reader and Reading Power Modules. In addition, the tips and techniques that will be introduced in subsequent modules can be practiced as you complete your DRV assignments, your independent reading, and assignments in textbooks for other college courses.

Some tips for practicing:

Begin with short sessions and relatively easy material.
Push yourself to read at a rate that is slightly uncomfortable. Pull yourself out of that passive comfort zone.
Practice everyday at a time when you are mentally alert
Don't try to incorporate changes to reading techniques when you are tired, hungry or can't get rid of distractions.

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