Critical Reading Strategies

Summary

The video introduces essential strategies for critical reading to help readers better understand and complete tasks based on texts. It covers pre-reading steps such as identifying the task, scanning the text, and making predictions. During reading, it discusses techniques like marking key words, inserting symbols, and annotating. After reading, it emphasizes reflecting on personal insights, understanding the author's main points, and revisiting notes to complete tasks. The methods aim to enhance comprehension and engagement with both fiction and non-fiction texts.

Takeaways

• 📖 Understand the task before reading, which could be writing a summary, comparing texts, or preparing for a discussion.
• 🔍 Pre-read by scanning the text: check the title, images, and subheadings to make predictions about the content.
• 📝 Number the paragraphs to easily refer back to key information during discussion or writing.
• 📚 Read the first and last paragraphs before diving into the entire text to adjust or confirm your predictions.
• 🔄 During reading, read the text once for general understanding and again while marking the text using various strategies.
• ✏️ Use different methods to annotate: circle keywords, underline claims, use symbols like check marks or question marks, and write in the margins.
• 💡 Highlight standout information, but be cautious not to over-highlight; focus on what's important or personally significant.
• 🤔 After reading, reflect on your own ideas: Was your prediction correct? Did you learn something new?
• 🧠 Reflect on the text: Can you identify the author's main point or argument? What do you need to clarify?
• 📑 Revisit your annotated text to complete any tasks, ensuring that your notes guide you in understanding and completing your assignment.

Q & A

What is the essential question addressed in the introduction to critical reading strategies?

The essential question is 'How do I approach a text so that I can read for understanding and to complete a task?'

What are the three aspects of approaching a text mentioned in the script?

The three aspects of approaching a text are: pre-reading (before reading), during reading, and after reading.

What is the first thing to do before reading a text?

Before reading, the first step is to read the task and understand what you will need to do after reading the text, such as writing a summary, comparing texts, or preparing for a debate.

Why is making predictions about the text important during pre-reading?

Making predictions is important because it gives your brain something to watch for while reading and helps prepare you to understand the information that follows.

What should you do during the initial reading of a text?

During the initial reading, you should read the text once through for a general understanding without marking or annotating the text.

What is the purpose of marking a text, and what are some methods mentioned?

Marking a text helps in identifying key information and understanding it better. Methods include circling keywords, underlining claims, inserting symbols, writing in the margins, and highlighting standout information.

How can you mark a text if you're using a textbook that you cannot write in?

If you cannot write in the textbook, you can use sticky notes, flags, or caps to mark and annotate the text.

What symbols can be used when inserting symbols while reading?

Common symbols include a check mark for known or agreed information, an addition sign for new information, a subtraction sign for contrasting information, an exclamation mark for surprising content, and a question mark for areas that require further clarification or connection.

What should you reflect on after reading the text?

After reading, you should reflect on your own ideas, the accuracy of your predictions, your opinion on the text, and personal connections. Also, reflect on whether you understand the author's main argument or if any information needs clarification.

How can reviewing a marked-up text help with completing the task?

Reviewing a marked-up text helps you quickly refer back to important information, ensuring that you understand the task and are ready to complete it effectively.

Outlines

00:00

📖 Pre-Reading Strategies for Effective Understanding

This paragraph introduces critical reading strategies and addresses the essential question of how to approach a text to understand it and complete a task. The three stages of reading—pre-reading, during reading, and after reading—are discussed. Before reading, one should identify the task, scan the text, and make predictions based on titles and images. These predictions help engage the brain and prepare for understanding. Additionally, numbering paragraphs and reading the first and last ones provide structure and refine initial predictions. These steps are more suitable for nonfiction.

05:01

✏️ Active Reading Techniques for Better Comprehension

During reading, after pre-reading preparations, the reader should first go through the text for general understanding without marking it. On a second read, they can use various methods to annotate: circling keywords, underlining claims, inserting symbols, writing in margins, and highlighting standouts. Circling keywords involves marking important or repeated words, while underlining claims focuses on arguable statements. Inserting symbols like checkmarks, plus/minus signs, exclamation points, and question marks helps organize thoughts. Writing in the margins allows for adding notes, arrows, or summaries for better comprehension, particularly for summarizing arguments or information.

🖍️ Effective Highlighting and Post-Reading Reflection

Highlighting standout points can be tricky since there's a temptation to highlight too much. It's important to focus on personal connections and essential information. After reading, reflecting on both personal reactions and the text itself is crucial. Readers should assess whether their predictions were accurate, how their opinions changed, and whether they understood the author's main points. Reassessing the marked text helps prepare for completing the task, whether it's writing a summary, comparing it with another text, or preparing for a discussion. Having a marked-up text makes it easier to revisit important information and complete the reading-related tasks.

Keywords

💡Pre-reading

Pre-reading refers to the steps taken before reading a text to prepare for comprehension. In the video, it includes tasks like reading the task requirements, scanning the text for titles, images, or subheadings, and making predictions about the content. This process primes the reader's brain to better understand the information that follows.

💡Prediction

Prediction is the act of guessing what a text might be about before fully reading it, based on clues such as the title, images, or prior knowledge of the topic. The video emphasizes the importance of this step because it helps the brain anticipate and process information more effectively during reading.

💡Marking the text

Marking the text involves actively engaging with the text by highlighting, underlining, or making notes. In the video, this method includes circling keywords, underlining claims, inserting symbols, or writing in the margins. These strategies help readers focus on key concepts and organize information for better understanding and recall.

💡Keywords

Keywords are important terms or concepts within a text that are often repeated or essential for understanding the topic. In the video, readers are instructed to circle such words while reading, as they hold significance in grasping the text’s main ideas. For example, repeated vocabulary related to the task at hand would be considered keywords.

💡Claims

Claims are arguable statements in a text that express an opinion or stance, often backed by evidence like statistics, anecdotes, or expert testimony. The video advises readers to underline these claims to better understand the arguments being made. This is crucial for tasks like preparing for debates or discussions.

💡Symbols

Symbols are shorthand marks that readers can insert in a text to indicate specific thoughts or reactions, such as agreement, new information, or confusion. The video introduces common symbols like check marks for known information or question marks for areas requiring further understanding, helping to track one’s reading process.

💡Summarizing

Summarizing is the process of condensing the main ideas of a text into a brief overview. In the video, this is presented as an after-reading task where the reader revisits the marked-up text to create summaries, which helps in tasks like writing essays or preparing for discussions. Summarizing ensures that key points are clearly understood.

💡Reflecting

Reflecting involves thinking about one's own understanding and reactions to the text after reading. The video encourages reflection on the accuracy of predictions, personal connections to the text, and the reader’s overall grasp of the author's arguments. This step solidifies comprehension and personal engagement with the material.

💡Task completion

Task completion refers to the final step of reading, where the reader uses their marked-up text and reflections to complete the assigned task, such as writing a summary or preparing for a debate. The video stresses that the strategies discussed prepare the reader to successfully accomplish these tasks by building a deeper understanding of the text.

💡General understanding

General understanding is the basic comprehension of a text after the first read-through. The video advises readers to read a text once without marking it to get a general sense of the content before diving into deeper analysis. This first reading helps form a foundational grasp of the material before more detailed work begins.

Highlights

Introduction to critical reading strategies

Essential question: How to approach a text for understanding and task completion

Three aspects of approaching a text: pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading

Pre-reading involves understanding the task and scanning the text

Importance of reading the task before engaging with the text

Scanning the text includes looking at the title, images, and subheadings

Making predictions based on the title and prior knowledge

Numbering paragraphs for easy reference and information retrieval

Reading the first and last paragraphs to refine predictions

During reading, read the text for general understanding before marking

Marking text can include circling keywords, underlining claims, and using symbols

Circling keywords and underlining claims to understand arguments

Using symbols to mark understanding, agreement, new information, surprises, and questions

Writing in the margins for summarizing and making personal notes

Highlighting standouts that are important or make a personal connection

Post-reading involves reflecting on personal ideas and understanding of the text

Revisiting marked text to complete the task at hand

Strategies are particularly useful for nonfiction texts but can also apply to fiction

Using sticky notes and flags as alternatives to marking in textbooks

Thank you for listening to critical reading strategies

Transcripts

this is an introduction to critical

reading strategies our essential

question is how do I approach a text so

that I can read for understanding and to

complete a task there are three aspects

to approaching a text what do we do

before reading or pre reading what do we

do during reading and what do we do

after reading before reading the first

thing you're going to do is read the

task what is it that you're going to

have to do after you read the text now

this might be something as simple as

just understand the text but it can also

involve some of the following write a

summary compare or contrast with another

text or prepare for a debate or

discussion next you're going to scan the

text have a look at the title images any

subheadings and make a prediction when

you're making your prediction consider

both what you think the text will be

about after looking at the title on the

images and also what you already know

about this topic predictions are

important because it gives our brain

something to watch for as we read and it

gets us ready to understand the

information that's coming our way next

you're going to number the paragraphs

this is an easy step but a really

important one it helps you refer back if

you're writing a paragraph or an essay

or if you're in a discussion it also

helps you find key information and help

other people find what you're talking

about

next you're going to read the first and

last paragraphs once you've read these

important paragraphs add to or change

your prediction most of these strategies

are good for nonfiction texts and you

can use them for fiction but I would not

do this step with a story you don't want

to read the end before you read the

whole story now we come to what we do

during reading once we've done some pre

reading and some thinking we're going to

read the

for some of us this is tough put your

pencils down read it once through for a

general understanding then you're going

to read the text again now you pick up

your pencil and you're going to mark the

text this can be done in lots of

different ways so methods that we're

going to look at are the following for

one of them is to circle keywords and

underline claims another method is

called insert symbols and it is what it

sounds like another one that has a good

name is writing in the margins and

finally something that most of us are

familiar with is highlighting anything

that stands out now some of these

methods don't work very well if you're

working with a textbook and you're not

allowed to write in it however you can

get around this by using sticky notes

and flags and caps let's have a look at

method number one circling keywords and

underlining claims key words are words

that are repeated related to the topic

perhaps something that you don't know or

words that seem important somehow

obviously you don't count repeated words

like the but other key vocabulary words

that are repeated might be important to

your understanding claims are arguable

statements statements that someone could

argue one way or another and they might

be backed up by statistical evidence

anecdotes or expert testimony this

method is really good if you're trying

to understand an argument method number

two is inserting symbols as you read you

can choose your own symbols that have

meaning to you or you can start off with

these ones you can use a check mark if

you know this already or if you agree

with something that you've read an

addition sign is for something new to

you because it adds to your knowledge a

subtraction sign is when you encounter

something that's different from what you

thought you can use an exclamation for

something that surprises you and a

question mark isn't so much if you're

confused about something though you can

certainly use it for that but more about

something that makes you wonder

about more information or connections to

something else method number three is

writing in the margins now this one can

be used in lots of different ways and it

is what it sounds like you write all

over the text mostly in the margins

where there's space it can look a little

something like this

where you draw arrows and add questions

make notes to yourself and possibly

along the side add short summaries of

what each section is about this one is

good if you have to summarize an article

and just for general understanding

highlighting standouts is a familiar

strategy but one that can be actually

kind of hard to do because we're often

tempted to highlight way too much or not

enough but the key idea is that you are

highlighting anything that either stands

out to you because it may you make a

personal connection or perhaps something

that you think is important now we come

to what happens after reading you're

going to first reflect on your own ideas

look back and consider how was your

prediction did your opinion change what

did you learn or enjoy or dislike about

what you read and can you make any

personal connections next reflect on

your understanding of the text itself

consider do I understand the information

can I identify the author's main point

or argument and what do I need to

clarify about my understanding last

you're going to revisit your marked up

text in order to complete the task you

can consider do I understand the task

now that I've read the text and am I

ready to complete the task task and the

best part is you have this text that you

marked up and you made notes and you can

look back for all of the information you

need to complete your task whatever it

might have looked like

thank you for listening to critical

reading strategies