1. Reading to Synthesize Information
Strategies and techniques

2. What to do when you are reading
Newspaper stories put most of the facts and ideas into the first few paragraphs.  Read beyond these for interesting, relevant details.
What to do when you are reading
Highlight what is important and meaningful to you such as ideas, facts, and concepts.
Only highlight what you could explain to someone else. Do not highlight something that sounds important but that you do not understand.
Make notes on the page to help you find the information later.
If you do not understand parts of the article, read it all the way through one time without highlighting. Then go back and look for the important information.
After reading all of the articles, go back and read them all again. You might notice new information and links because you can see the bigger picture.
TIP – All important information in a newspaper article can be found in the first few paragraphs. In the following paragraphs, you will find interesting details.

3. Identifying Ideas Create a code that works for you: MI – Main idea
D – Detail
ID – Important detail
S – Summary
??? – Don’t understand
Q – Questioning or wondering

4. What to do when you finish reading
Do not take out your cell phone!
It is now time to organize your ideas and synthesize what you have read.
Fill out the Five Key Elements chart. If you come up with more than five, add rows to the chart.

5. (with page #s or article name) Put the Concept in Your Own Words
Five Key Concepts
(with page #s or article name)
Put the Concept in Your Own Words
Explain Why the Concept is Important & Make Connections to Other Concepts 1. 2.