Opening Doors: Chapter 2 Approaching College Reading and Developing a College-Level Vocabulary

Reading is a form of thinking The reading process includes 3 stages: 1) Preparing yourself to read 2) Processing information 3) Reacting to what you read

Interacting with the material Ask yourself questions about the reading to monitor your comprehension “Am I understanding what I’m reading?”

Comprehension Problems I do not understand because… Keep reading, see if it becomes clearer Ask someone knowledgeable Read supplemental material to gain background knowledge The subject is completely new to me There are too many words I do not know I am too distracted Try to use context clues Look up unfamiliar terms Ask for help Identify the type of distraction Physical? (Room is too noisy etc.) Psychological (Worried / Daydreaming)

Reading Rates Proficient readers have a range of reading rates. Reading rate adjustment depends on two things: Purpose Level of difficulty

Type of Reading: Information Gathering This should be your highest reading rate Used for scanning and skimming to find a particular piece of information 800-1500 wpm (words per minute)

Type of Reading: Rapid Reading Used for easy material and leisure reading 300-500 wpm Type of Reading: Average Reading Used for textbook reading, journals and literature 200-300 wpm

Type of Reading: Study Reading Used when you are learning new information, new vocabulary, and covering complex material to be memorized 50-200 wpm

When to slow down You know little or nothing about the topic You are reading complicated material that you need to memorize There is new vocabulary to learn There are precise directions to follow

When to speed up The passage is easy to read The passage summarizes info you’ve already learned You only want to get main ideas

Building Vocabulary When you come across words you don’t know, there are several strategies you can use 1) Context clues (book lists several kinds) 2) Word structure clues (root words, suffix, prefix) 3) Use a dictionary

Denotations and Connotation Every word has an explicit, literal definition known as its denotation But words usually have additional, nonliteral meanings called connotations Example: Distinctive, Weird

Figurative Language Words that create unusual comparisons or vivid pictures in the reader’s mind Metaphor – Comparison between two essentially dissimilar things Simile – Comparison using like or as Hyperbole – Exaggerated speech Personification – Giving nonliving or nonhuman things human characteristics