The Reading Process
Skills/Process/Strategies- Lecture #1
Text Based Academic
Discourse

On-going “conversation” or discussion on a particular
theme, topic that scholars, artists and writers will address
through a variety of texts.

Texts “speak” to each other- they respond to ideas
presented in other texts

College students are asked to engage in this discourse by
doing their own research and writing.

Example:
 Both Hernandez-Avila and Alexie are, in some way,
responding to the larger conversation about education
and the way that stereotypes and/or negative
expectations can influence students’ sense of self or
they’re confidence in school.
 Hernandez Avila does it with a poem, Alexie with a
personal narrative essay.
Texts

Anything that communicates a message

Visual or audio texts communicate messages just as
clearly, sometimes more clearly, than a written text
Reading Critically

Requires you to have a process, or a “plan of attack” when
reading

Reading critically means you construct your own meaning
from a text using your prior knowledge (schema),
connections to other texts, and questions to help you better
comprehend the author’s ideas
Effective Readers

Approach reading in a series of steps and strategies to be
taken Before, During and After reading.

Using these steps work especially well with the type of
texts you’ll come across most often as a college student:
expository writing
BEFORE: Know your
GENRE

Genre: type or classification
 Fiction: texts that are made up, “not true”
 Stories (novels, short stories, narratives)
 Plays
 Film
 Non-fiction: texts based on true, factual events and ideas
 Essays
 Articles (magazine, newspapers, literary journals, scholarly
journals)
 Reports
Expository Writing (Texts)

One of the most common types of NON-FICTION texts
in the “academic” community

Writing that makes an argument or informs
 Essays
 Articles
 Opinion/Editorial pieces (in newspapers, magazines)
 Reports and presentations
BEFORE: Purpose

Determine your purpose:
 Know why you are reading a text:
 To find important details?
 To answer specific questions?
 To evaluate or judge the value of an idea?
 To be entertained?
 To apply a concept or skill to a reading?
 To find a central theme?
BEFORE: Purpose

Know your purpose:
 WHAT you are reading will determine HOW you read
a particular text
 Example: If you’re reading for entertainment, then
you can probably do so with other distractions
around- music, the TV.
 Example: If you’re reading to understand a
particular concept and answer questions, you’ll
likely need to read in a quiet environment with as
little distractions as possible
BEFORE: Purpose
Know your “genre”:
 What type of text you’re reading will determine HOW
you read as well
 Poetry: read more than once and pay close attention
to the lines, the word choice, the connotation and
denotation of words, the images presented
 Music: the rhythms or beats communicate just as
much as the lyrics
 Expository: pay attention to general to specific
organization
BEFORE: Preview

Look at the length of the text

Skim the text: (depending on genre)
 Look for subtitles
 Look for unfamiliar terms and phrases (look them up
first)
 Look at format
 Look for visuals or “call out” boxes
Before: Pre-read

IF READING AN EXPOSITORY TEXT:
 Read the introduction (first 1-3 paragraphs of the text,
depending on the length and format)
 Read the first 1-2 sentences of each body paragraph
 Read the CONCLUSION (last 1-3 paragraphs of the
text, depending on length and format)

Question: Why do you think this approach can help you
better understand a an expository text?
BEFORE: Prior
Knowledge (SCHEMA)

Based upon your preview and pre-read, consider and take
note of any knowledge, experiences or assumptions you
may already have about this particular topic/theme.
BEFORE: Turn title into a
question

The title OFTEN reflects the author’s thesis

Use the words in the title to frame a question that you
think the author will answer in his/her essay or article
 Start with “How” or “Why” or “What is” questions
 At the end of the process, come back and try to answer
the question posed by the title
BEFORE: Turn title into a
question
 What
questions did you ask after
previewing and pre-reading Sherman
Alexie’s essay, “Superman and Me”?
Before: Turn title into a
question

Some possible questions:

How is Sherman Alexie (the author) like Superman?

Why does Sherman Alexie compare himself to
Superman?

What is the significance or importance of Superman to
Sherman Alexie?

How does Superman relate to literacy or reading?

What is the relationship between Sherman Alexie and
Superman?
BEFORE: Make
predictions

Based upon your pre-read and preview, guess what you think the
author’s central argument will be

Check your prediction as you read- was it right? Was it wrong?
What new ideas does the author provide? How would you
change the question you posed with the title to help you make a
better prediction?

If you predicted the author’s thesis correctly, how would you
predict HOW the author will PROVE or SUPPORT this thesis?
BEFORE: Make
Predictions

What prediction did you make about how
Sherman Alexie would answer the question you
posed?
BEFORE: Use your prior
knowledge

What personal connections can you make?

If you know when this text was written, what connections
can you make about the time period or circumstances
under which the author wrote this text?

How, if at all, can you relate to the general topic of this
text?
During Reading

Find a good environment: depending on the purpose of
your reading, make sure you find the proper environment
to help you concentrate on that particular reading

Annotate:
 Hold a pen or pencil to mark important ideas and/or
note unfamiliar vocabulary
 Code text: Mark you text by taking note of topics, main
ideas and key vocab.
AFTER: Check
comprehension

Check comprehension:
 Look up and clarify any unknown confusion
 Ask questions
 Re-read unclear areas
 Write questions about the areas where you were
confused
 Identify main ideas and major supporting details
 Organize information: outline, use a graphic oganizer
 Write a summary
AFTER: Check
comprehension

Were you able to answer the question you posed at the beginning of
the reading process? If so, what is the answer you found? Where did
you find this answer?

If you were unable to answer the question you posed, why weren’t
you able to do so? Do you have to revise your question?

On the back of your reading journal, copy and finish this statement
in 1-2 sentences. By finishing this statement, you are trying to
summarize Alexie’s central point, or thesis in his essay:

In his essay, Superman and Me, author Sherman Alexie
explains/argues/declares/demonstrates
______________________________.
AFTER: Respond/reflect
and Analyze Ideas

Respond/Reflect:
 Relate to the author’s ideas with your own experience
 Ask questions to the author, to yourself
 Discuss the ideas with others
AFTER: Respond/reflect
and Analyze Ideas

Share your response to the strong line you highlighted:
Example: STRONG LINE
“They were monosyllabic in front of their non-Indian teachers but could tell
complicated stories and jokes at the dinner table. They submissively ducked
their heads when confronted by a non-Indian adult but would slug it out
with the Indian bully who was 10 years older.”
AFTER: Respond/reflect
and Analyze Ideas
This line stood out to me because Alexie is talking about how sometimes
students will live up to certain negative expectations that teachers or
administrators or society in general will have about certain types of
students. Specifically, Alexie talks about how Indian students were not
supposed to be smart or people will fear him or make fun of him. But in
this line he shows how even though these students will sometimes act
“not smart,” they secretly have intelligence, courage and strength that
comes out in other ways, in different contexts. This line makes me
wonder why some students live up to these negative expectations and
why some students, like Sherman Alexie refuses to be defined by these
expectations. It also makes me wonder how much potential is lost when
students are made to feel inferior. It is this idea about how some students
see themselves inferior that also connects to the poem, “Para Teresa,”
where Inez, the poet declares that she is not inferior to those who expect
the worst from her.