The Steps of Reading

Reading is a very complicated procedure. Your mind is processing information, looking at pictures, reading headings, analyzing periods, making inferences, bridging examples, studying main topics, discovering details, and thousands of other things.
What we have to learn in order to read better is “How I Read.” Yes, I know you start left and go right and start top and read down, but there is more to it. Please read the excerpt below and think about how you are reading it. After each sentence describe how you read it. Were there any words you did not know? Did you think about something you know about the topic? Tell me about the assumptions you are making along the way, tell me about your prior knowledge.
This is a very difficult task to do and your effort on the assignment will be easily seen in the amount that you tell me. Again, this is a graded assignment and counts as a homework grade.
I have done an example to show you what I am looking for. If you have any further questions please email me.

Reading Excerpt
“Leading investors (who?) have joined (the secret league of leading investors) the growing (increasing) chorus (there are many people worried) of concern (they are worried about something) about governments and companies rushing (hurrying research? Not thinking of all the possibilities) into producing biofuels (yumm, soybeans. I remember doing a project with a student and his subject was biofuels) as (biofuels cars) a solution (I thought this was a reoccurring thing that has happened over millions of year. What says we can fix it now?) for global warming (heating of the earth), saying that many involved in the sector could be jeopardizing (hurting) future profits (cash money) if they do not consider the long-term impact (down the road impact) of what they are doing carefully. (Are the companies and government truly researching the topic or are they rushing into it without proper knowledge?) (Business Journal)

As you can see above, you are not just reading words, but as you continue to read you are gathering more and more information until you have all the information and can piece the story back together. Think of it like raking leaves. Your parents will not let you come in the house until you have picked up all the leaves. So, you slowly start gathering them and putting them into piles. Then you grab a wheel barrow and put them in one big pile. That large pile of leaves is your large pile of knowledge/facts gained from the reading. Now normally, when reading, this happens in seconds/milliseconds. But in this exercise it took me 12 minutes to read the short paragraph because I was stopping after each sentence to ask a question or summarize.

Below is the excerpt I would like you to read. Please paste the reading into your comment box and follow my lead. Please use the same amount of detail (or more) in your response. Please put your thoughts in parenthesis, so that I know it was your thought.

Reading excerpt
“Dusk was falling last Tuesday when news of the attack on America first reached this war-ruined city, Kabul. In the dusty twilight, Afghans held radios to their ears, listening to static-filled accounts on the Voice of America and the BBC Pashto- and Persian-language services. Because the country's Taliban rulers forbid television, Afghans could see no pictures of the destruction that had people everywhere else glued to their sets. The immensity of the World Trade Center had to be described. When Afghans asked me about the Twin Towers, I compared them to Afghanistan's giant Bamiyan Buddha statues, a symbol of national heritage that the Taliban blasted to dust six months ago.” (Hannah Bloch)

Online Textbooks

Now that we have looked at Youtube as a great source for learning (not just watching an Animated Metal Band clips, Jonestown videos, Tiger Woods sinking a 50 foot putt, and other exciting and interesting things) let us take a look at other online sources; for example, your Social Studies textbook. Take a look at the links below.

Here is an interactive Economics book that you can watch videos explain the concepts.
http://www.classzone.com/cz/books/econ_cnc/book_home.htm

Here is the World History textbook. It will allow you access everything with the code located on your book. Click on the drop down bar on the right and pick the unit you are studying. Try out their tests, quizzes, reviews, maps, flash cards, and much more!
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078799813/student_view0/study-to-go.html

Located below is the link for the U.S. History textbook. Click on the drop down bar on the right and pick the unit you are studying. Try out their tests, quizzes, reviews, maps, flash cards, and much more!
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078799848/student_view0/

For homework, you are to see if any of your other textbooks, books, or sources are available on the web.

Mr. Moore

The Power of Youtube!

Students,

Youtube is amazing! Where else can you watch someone fail at Wii, diet coke+mentos=extreme fun experiments, and a baby getting bitten by his brother Charlie? The answer: no where but Youtube.

Most importantly, and most overlooked, it is a great learning tool. It provides online tutorials for Math equations, grammar instruction, reading strategies, history lessons, science experiments, and many other things. This week I would like you to search one Youtube tutorial for each of your core classes. Think about what book you are reading in English, about your current History chapter, etc. The possibilities are almost endless.

Note: There is an education tab under "categories" on Youtube. Try it out to start.

Mr.Moore

Introduction

Students,

This blog will allow me to post interesting articles, study strategies, reading skills strategies, note card information, and helpful websites for you to visit and comment on.

You are to log on once a week (over the weekend) and read the accompanied article and respond in the comment box. I will be checking on Monday to see who has respond. This will count as a homework grade for my class.

Also, if you find and interesting articles and would like me to post it on the blog, please let me know.

Most importantly, remember this blog is part of my class, so any rude or inappropriate postings will lead to a disciplinary action through the school.

Mr. Moore