Dear Swisher’s Scholarly Student,
The following pages of this notebook are various
techniques, strategies, and study systems that I hope you will use to facilitate your
learning not only this school year, but also all the other school years to come. Feel free to
keep a copy of this information at home as well as in your Language Arts/ Reading
notebook.
Remember, you can access this information from home using the following website:
http://beltline.tx.chi.schoolinsites.com/?PageName='TeacherPage'&StaffID='54313'
Mrs. Anitra L. Swisher
1
What did I just read?
Researching and even studying leads to quite a bit of reading. Often times the selections
we read aren’t always those that are particularly interesting to us. Due to the lack of
genuine interest in the text, our attention spans tend to shorten resulting in a large lack of
retained information. The following are strategies you can use to help facilitate your
reading, analyzing, and interpretation of written text.
PLORE
P-Predict what the passage or selection will be about
L- Locate any italicized, highlighted, or bold words. Highlight the sentence
before and the sentence after the word(s).
O- Organize- Count or highlight the numbers of the paragraphs.
R- Read, Reread, and Remember- After you’ve read each paragraph, create a
sentence summary containing the main idea of the paragraph you read.
E- Evaluate and Eliminate- If there are questions that follow the reading, look at
each answer choice and deduce whether it is a logical or illogical choice. Beside
each answer choice, write a brief description telling either why you chose the
answer or eliminated it.
SQ3R
Survey- Read questions and summary at end of the chapter. Skim-read divisions
of material, which usually are in boldface type. Read captions under pictures and
graphs.
Question- Turn each heading into a question. Write questions in outline form.
Read- Read each section of the material to answer questions from headings.
Recite- After reading the entire section, close book and write the answer to your
question plus any significant cues; use your own words; write key examples;
make notes brief.
Review- Study the topical outline and notes; try to see relationships; check
memory by trying to recall main points; cover sub-points and try to recall them
from seeing main points.
2
What did I just read? Continued
PQR2ST+
Preview- Skim the material before you begin reading. Look for the following in
the preview:
 Title
 Introduction
 Subtitles
 Pictures
 Charts, maps, graphs
 Bold print and italicized words
 Summary
 Review questions
Question- In the left column of a page write the question or objective to be
achieved.
Read-Students read the sub-sections silently, thinking about how to express the
information in personal terms.
Remember- In the right column, with the book closed, write down the details of
what you read.
Scan- Rapidly scan the same sub-section to see whether you missed any details
that were important.
Touch Up- Add any important details to your notes.
+ (Plus)-Return to study from the notes by folding the page so only the questions
show.
3
What does that word mean?
Reading is always difficult when there are words you don’t understand. There are a
variety of different strategies you can use to help you define unknown words.
WEBSITES:
http://www.rong-chang.com/namesdict/dictionary.htm- pronounces states, capitals,
presidents, fruits, vegetables, countries and their capitals.
http://www.howjsay.com/- pronounces any word you type in the blank.
http://www.pdictionary.com/- picture dictionary of different words.
STRATEGIES:
Context clues: Whenever you read a word that you are uncertain of the definition, look
for other words in the sentences before and after the sentence that has the word in it.
These words that surround your mystery word are known as context clues. Using the
words you do understand, try to figure out what the sentence is talking about.
Associations: Once you have figured out the meaning of an unknown word, choose an
image to associate the word with. For instance, the word toothbrush can be associated
with a mental image of a tooth brushing itself.
4
How am I supposed to remember all that?
When studying is very important that you retain the information you read. Sometimes
there are lists of words, concepts, or terms. Below are a few Mnemonic strategies you
can use to help you remember lists. Mnemonics are devices and techniques use to
improve memory
MNEMONIC STRATEGIES:
Acronyms: An acronym is a word or phrase made up of letters that cue you to the words
you need to remember.
EXAMPLE: The letters HOMES represent each of the Great Lakes- Huron, Ontario,
Michigan, Erie, and Superior
Acrostics: An acrostic is a phrase or sentence in which the first letter of each word is a
cue.
EXAMPLE: Never Eat Sour Watermelons= the cardinal directions- North, South, East,
and West
5
How do I transfer this information?
Research can be a very tedious process especially when there is tons of information. For
this reason, it is essential that you summarize the information you’ve researched so that
you don’t end up rewriting each word from the resource of your choice.
SUMMARIZING STRATEGY:
Gimme’ a hand with summary (5ws and How): Trace the outline of your hand on a sheet
of paper. Label each finger on the hand as follows:
1- Who?
2- What?
3- When?
4- Where?
5- Why?
Label the palm of the hand with the title how.
Using the information you recently read, fill in each section of the handprint. Once
you’ve done so, use this information to create your very own summary of the text.
PARAPHRASING STRATEGY:
Using your handprint summary as a guide, rewrite the information you read in a more
specific manner. Be sure to use your own words, as copying the author’s words is
plagiarism. Plagiarism is using someone else’s words as though they were your own.
6
How do I organize it all?
Whether researching or simply studying, you must be able to take notes about what
you’ve read. Taking notes assists you in have readily access to the information. At times
there is too much content to remember it all, your notes will allow you to be able to recall
information you might have forgotten.
NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES:
1) Have sheets of loose-leaf notebook paper in a two or three-ring binder. This way
you can arrange your notes according to concept, alphabetical order, etc. This
gives you the opportunity to arrange your notes in the way that best fits your
learning needs.
2) Skip a line when you write notes. In the event that you have a “light-bulb”
moment you can go back and put your new thoughts on the lines you previously
skipped.
3) Create your own note-taking language. Just like in text messaging, we often
shorten words to expedite the process of texting. When taking notes you will
have to develop your own abbreviations for words, symbols, etc. Doing so will
help you to take notes quicker and as an end result, process and analyze more
information.
OUTLINING STRATEGY:
An outline is a ladder-like written organizational tool. It allows you to organize the
information in a hierarchal type method.
1)
2)
3)
4)
Begin with the main topic; this is the heading of the entire outline.
Next, list the first component of the topic
List any sub-components under your first component
Repeat the process until you’ve covered every component you wish to include in
your outline.
7
NOTE: Following this page is an example of an outline.
Example Outline
Student Resource Guide Outline
I.
What Did I Just Read?
a. PLORE
b. SQ3R
c. PQR2ST+
II.
What Does That Word Mean?
III.
a.
Websites
b.
Context Clues
c.
Associations
How Am I Supposed to Remember All That?
a.
IV.
V.
Mnemonic strategies
How do I Transfer All This Information?
a.
Gimme a hand with summary
b.
Paraphrasing strategy
How Do I Organize All This Info?
a.
Note-taking strategies
b.
Outlining strategies
8