Mastering the Art of
Active Reading
Brooklyn Technical High School
Freshman Composition
Mr. Williams
Learning Objective:
To learn how to strategically read for understanding and analysis
Common Core Standards:
RL.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is
shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the
text.
Motivational Activity:
In your own words, write a summary of the passage from
“Child and Adolescent Violence at the NIMH”.
Many students indicate that a single factor or a
single defining situation does not cause child and
adolescent antisocial behavior. Rather, multiple
factors contribute to and shape antisocial
behavior over the course of development. Some
factors relate characteristics within the child, but
many others relate to factors within the social
environment (e.g., family, peers, school,
neighborhood, and community contexts) that
enable, shape, and maintain aggression, antisocial
behavior, and related behavioral problems.
Motivational Activity:
A summary of the passage from “Child and
Adolescent Violence at the NIMH”.
A study conducted by the
National Institute of Mental Health
indicates that many factors--some within the child and some
in his or her own environment--can work together to create
antisocial behavior.
New Words
Spelling Words
Guidance
Hindrance
Vocabulary
Words
 Amenable
 If you want to see a
change in our school, then
write a letter to our
congresswoman. She is
amenable to the demands
of her public.
 Amoral
 Prefix a- means “without”
Beyond the Summary:
In a summary, one just presents only the source’s ideas, not one’s own idea or
opinion about the source.
•Active Reading means Analyzing what you read.
•Active Reading means reading for Content & Style
•Primarily, we are taught to read for ideas, not for
craftmanship.
•Craftmanship refers to how a writer writes, why the
writer uses the style, and the effects of that style
•Active Reading means Committing Time, Effort, and Interest
•Read a summary
•Read about the author
•Find out where and when the work was published
•Identify the intended audience
•Collect your thoughts on the subject in the selection
-Focus on Writing
Annotation is a Skill:
•Read the selection
•Circle difficult words
•Place question marks next to passages that are not clear
•Re-read the selection
•Don’t just highlight or underline
•Write down important points and your responses or questions
-Models for Writers
Annotation is a Skill:
Ask the Right Questions
What does the writer want to say?
What is the main point or thesis?
Why does the writer want to make this point?
How does the writer develop the points?
How does the writer’s pattern of development suit the subject and
purpose?
How effective is the selection?
Does the writer make his points clearly?
-Models for Writers
Exercises in Annotation
Isaac Asimov’s “What is
Intelligence Anyway?
Rachel Carson’s “A Fable for
Tomorrow”
Active Reading Exercise: SAS Curriculum
Pathways
Isaac Asimov’s “What is
Intelligence Anyway?
Asks a
question
central to
the essay
and
relates
his army
experience
What is intelligence, anyway?
When I was in the army, I
received the kind of aptitude test
that all soldiers took and, against
a normal of 100, scored 160. No
one at the base had ever seen a
figure like that, and for two hours
they made a big fuss over me.
(It didn’t mean anything. The
next day I was still a buck
private with KP – kitchen police
– as my highest duty.)
Isaac Asimov’s “What is
Intelligence Anyway?
Question
s the
meaning
of high
test
scores.
What do
I think
they
mean?
All my life I’ve been registering scores
like that, so that I have the complacent
feeling that I’m highly intelligent, and I
expect other people to think so too.
Actually, though, don’t such scores
simply mean that I am very good at
answering the type of academic
questions that are considered worthy of
answers by people who make up the
intelligence tests – people with
intellectual bents similar to mine?
Isaac Asimov’s “What is
Intelligence Anyway?
Auto
repair
example.
Any
relationshi
p between
test scores
and
ability to
fix cars
For instance, I had an auto-repair man
once, who, on these intelligence tests,
could not possibly have scored more
than 80, by my estimate. I always took
it for granted that I was far more
intelligent than he was. Yet, when
anything went wrong with my car I
hastened to him with it, watched him
anxiously as he explored its vitals, and
listened to his pronouncements as
though they were divine oracles – and
he always fixed my car.
Isaac Asimov’s “What is
Intelligence Anyway?
Sees
intelligence
as
functions
of roles in
society.
Good
point!
Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man
devised questions for an intelligence test. Or
suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or,
indeed, almost anyone but an academician.
By every one of those tests, I’d prove myself a
moron, and I’d be a moron, too. In a world
where I could not use my academic training
and my verbal talents but had to do something
intricate or hard, working with my hands, I
would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not
absolute but is a function of the society I live in
and of the fact that a small subsection of that
society has managed to foist itself on the rest
as an arbiter of such matters.
Isaac Asimov’s “What is
Intelligence Anyway?
Mechanic’s
joke about
“deafand-dumb
carpenter.”
Consider my auto-repair man, again. He
had a habit of telling me jokes whenever
he saw me. One time he raised his head
from under the automobile hood to say:
“Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a
hardware store to ask for some nails. He
put two fingers together on the counter
and made hammering motions with the
other hand. “The clerk brought him a
hammer. He shook his head and pointed
to the two fingers he was hammering. The
clerk brought him nails. He picked out the
sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the
next guy who came in was a blind man. He
wanted scissors. How do you suppose he
asked for them?”
Isaac Asimov’s “What is
Intelligence Anyway?
Traps writer
with question
about blind
customer.
What point
did mechanic
have?
Brings up
question,
“Are all
educated
people
smart?” Not
in my
experience
Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made
scissoring motions with my first two
fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man
laughed raucously and said, “Why, you
dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked
for them.” Then he said smugly, “I’ve been
trying that on all my customers today.” “Did
you catch many?” I asked. “Quite a few,”
he said, “but I knew for sure I’d catch you.”
“Why is that?” I asked. “Because you’re so
god damned educated, doc, I knew you
couldn’t be very smart.”
And I have an uneasy feeling he had
something there.
Exercises in Annotation
Active Reading Exercise:
SAS Curriculum Pathways
Read
Review information about the active reading
process.
Research
Read an article and practice the active reading
process.
Respond
Complete an active reading chart to respond to
the article. Then write a paragraph on how the
process affects your reading comprehension.
Mastering the Art of Active Reading
Active reading will help you think critically. Formulating questions about
what you have read leads to analyzing purposes and assumptions. What is the
intent or agenda of the author and his or her point of view? Ultimately, this
process helps you to understand and retain what you read and assists you in
mastering academic reading. This mastery leads to a successful college
experience. These skills will also serve you well in your future profession.
Any time you seek information through active reading, you are applying
critical thinking skills to collect data and process the information for retention. In
essence, the process used in active reading is similar to conducting an interview.
The difference is that you will be conducting an interview with yourself as you
interact with the textual materials. Properly applied, active reading skills will
enable you to recall and apply information you read. As you begin to apply active
reading skills, even when just reading for entertainment, you may find your
experience is richer.
-iStudy for Success (Penn State University)