Active Reading // 3 Easy Methods

Summary

In this video, the speaker introduces the concept of active reading, emphasizing the importance of engaging with material to better understand and remember it. They outline three methods: the Read/Summary (RS) method, where each paragraph is summarized to enhance retention; the Memory Boost (MB) method, which focuses on writing key terms messily to improve memory through tactile engagement; and the Think Like a Teacher (TLT) method, which uses color-coding and visualization to highlight key points. These techniques are designed to keep readers focused and awake, making learning more effective and enjoyable.

Takeaways

• 📖 Active reading involves engaging with material to better understand and remember it.
• 📝 The first method, Read/Summary (RS), focuses on summarizing each paragraph as you read to stay focused.
• 🧠 The Memory Boost (MB) method is used to help remember keywords and lists by writing and rewriting material.
• 👩‍🏫 The third method, Think Like a Teacher (TLT), involves highlighting, color coding, and pretending you're a teacher reviewing the content.
• ✍️ Engaging your hands and senses, like writing and highlighting, helps reinforce memory and understanding.
• 🔖 Summarizing as you read doesn't need to be neat; the goal is to engage and retain information, not make polished notes.
• 🖋️ The Memory Boost method emphasizes quick, messy writing to improve memory retention, particularly for lists.
• 🎨 Using color or even drawings (if possible) can enhance focus and recall, especially when remembering multiple items.
• 💡 Think like a teacher by anticipating what terms or concepts might be important to test or highlight during a lesson.
• 💬 Engaging multiple senses, like speaking aloud while reading or drawing symbols, can further improve memory and focus.

Q & A

What is active reading as defined in the video?

Active reading involves engaging with the material to better understand, remember, and focus on it. This applies to PowerPoint slides, textbooks, books, and magazines.

What are the three methods of active reading discussed in the video?

The three methods discussed are: 1) Read/Summary (RS) method, 2) Memory Boost (MB) method, and 3) Think Like a Teacher (TLT) method.

How does the Read/Summary (RS) method work?

In the RS method, you read a paragraph and summarize it in the margin or on a separate sheet of paper. This helps you engage with the material by writing quick, informal summaries.

Why does the creator suggest using the RS method, even though it can be messy?

The RS method helps you stay engaged with the text, ensuring that you process and remember the material, rather than passively reading and forgetting it. It encourages better retention by making you actively think about each paragraph.

What is the Memory Boost (MB) method, and why is it the creator’s favorite?

The MB method involves rewriting lists or key points messily and repeatedly to engage memory through touch and repetition. It's useful for remembering keywords and lists, and the creator enjoys this method for its effectiveness.

Can you describe how the creator uses the MB method with an example?

The creator uses an old notebook and rewrites key terms, such as the labors of Heracles, in a quick and messy manner. This repetitive writing process aids memory recall by engaging both hand and mind.

What is the Think Like a Teacher (TLT) method?

In the TLT method, you imagine yourself as a teacher and highlight key terms or important concepts in your reading material. The goal is to predict what might be tested or taught, which helps you focus on crucial information.

How does color-coding and drawing help in the TLT method?

By color-coding and drawing, you visually engage with the material, which helps you remember it more effectively. It also adds a creative element, making the content stand out and easier to recall.

Why is engaging multiple senses important in active reading, according to the video?

Engaging multiple senses—such as visual, auditory, and tactile—enhances memory and focus. Writing, saying terms out loud, and even drawing can help you process and retain information more effectively.

What is the primary goal of active reading as described in the video?

The primary goal of active reading is to stay engaged with the material, prevent boredom, and improve comprehension and memory retention. It helps you avoid passive reading, where you might forget most of the content.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Active Reading

The speaker introduces the concept of active reading, which involves engaging with the material to understand, remember, and focus on it. This technique applies to various materials like textbooks, slides, and magazines. The speaker emphasizes the importance of staying focused while reading and introduces three methods: Read/Summary (RS), Memory Boost (MB), and Think Like a Teacher (TLT). The first method, RS, involves summarizing each paragraph to retain information more effectively.

05:00

📝 The Read/Summary (RS) Method

The speaker explains the first method, Read/Summary, which involves summarizing each paragraph in the margins of a textbook or on a separate sheet of paper. This method helps engage the reader with the material by quickly jotting down a summary after reading. It doesn’t need to be neat, as the primary goal is to remember and engage with the content. By summarizing and engaging the material physically through writing, the reader improves focus and retention.

10:03

✍️ Enhancing Memory with the RS Method

The speaker demonstrates how the RS method can be applied using an example of Freud’s oral stage from a textbook. They summarize the paragraph quickly, highlighting key points like the focus on the mouth for pleasure in infants. The speaker explains that physically writing down information engages the brain, improving memory through sensory association. By involving the hands in the process, memory is enhanced, allowing the reader to recall terms more effectively.

💡 The Memory Boost (MB) Method

The speaker introduces the second method, Memory Boost, which involves engaging the reader’s senses and feelings to improve memory retention, particularly for keywords and lists. Using slides from a Greek mythology class, the speaker demonstrates this method by quickly and messily writing down a list of the labors of Heracles. The physical act of writing, even in a disorganized manner, helps the reader remember the terms and concepts better.

🎯 Applying the MB Method to Lists

Continuing with the MB method, the speaker provides an example of how they recall the labors of Heracles by actively writing them down. They show that by repeatedly engaging with the material through writing, even if it's messy, the reader can remember lists and keywords more effectively. This method proves useful for exams and tasks that require memorization, demonstrating how engaging multiple senses improves retention.

🎨 The Think Like a Teacher (TLT) Method

The third method, Think Like a Teacher, encourages readers to approach material as if they were teaching it. This method involves color-coding important terms and concepts to highlight key points. If color isn’t an option, the speaker suggests using pencil marks to emphasize critical information. By pretending to teach the material and actively engaging the senses through visual and physical cues, the reader can better retain information. Drawing illustrations and repeating terms aloud further enhances memory.

🎬 Conclusion and Invitation to Engage

The speaker wraps up by encouraging viewers to engage with the video content by commenting if they want more details on any of the methods discussed. They emphasize the importance of staying awake and actively engaging with the material while reading. The speaker also invites viewers to like the video and subscribe to the channel, signaling the end of the session with thanks and a friendly goodbye.

Keywords

💡Active reading

Active reading refers to a method of engaging with the material in a focused and interactive way to improve understanding, retention, and focus. In the video, active reading is emphasized as a way to avoid passive reading habits like falling asleep and to ensure that the reader remembers what they have read.

💡RS Method (Read/Summary Method)

The Read/Summary method involves reading a passage and then summarizing it, either in the margins of the text or on a separate piece of paper. This helps the reader engage with the material by reinforcing key concepts through summarization. The video highlights this method as the first step in staying engaged and improving comprehension while reading.

💡MB Method (Memory Boost)

The Memory Boost method, also known as the 'right in the feels' method in the video, emphasizes writing and rewriting key terms to boost memory retention. By engaging the tactile sense (through writing), readers are more likely to remember lists and important keywords. This method is particularly useful for memorizing lists or terms, like the labors of Heracles discussed in the video.

💡TLT Method (Think Like a Teacher)

The Think Like a Teacher method involves color-coding or highlighting key terms, similar to how a teacher would emphasize important concepts for students. By thinking in terms of what a teacher would highlight, readers can prioritize important information, making it easier to remember and engage with. This technique also adds visual stimuli, which enhances memory and focus.

💡Engage the material

Engaging the material means interacting actively with the text to better understand and retain the information. Throughout the video, the speaker stresses the importance of engagement by summarizing, annotating, or otherwise interacting with the text rather than reading passively. This term is central to the concept of active reading.

💡Tactile engagement

Tactile engagement refers to physically interacting with the material by writing, drawing, or making notes while reading. In the video, tactile engagement is highlighted in the Memory Boost method, where the act of writing is said to help the reader remember keywords or concepts because the hand movement reinforces memory.

💡Summarization

Summarization involves condensing the material into shorter, more digestible pieces of information. The video introduces summarization as a key component of the RS method, where readers are encouraged to summarize each paragraph or section of the text in their own words to improve focus and retention.

💡Memory retention

Memory retention is the ability to recall or remember information after reading or studying it. The video presents methods like the MB method and the use of tactile engagement to enhance memory retention by actively involving multiple senses during the reading process.

💡Key terms and lists

Key terms and lists are specific words or series of items that are important to remember for understanding a topic. In the video, the speaker discusses how methods like the MB method help to memorize lists, such as the labors of Heracles, by repeatedly writing them down and engaging with them through different senses.

💡Sensory stimulation

Sensory stimulation in active reading refers to using multiple senses—sight, touch, and even sound—to engage with the material. The video encourages the use of sensory stimulation, such as writing, highlighting, and even reading aloud, to enhance focus and memory retention. This multi-sensory approach is described as making the reading process more engaging and effective.

Highlights

Introduction to the concept of active reading and its importance for focus, memory, and engagement.

The first method is called the 'Read/Summary' (RS) method, where readers summarize each paragraph to stay engaged.

The RS method encourages using a blank sheet of paper or the textbook's margins for quick summaries, emphasizing that these summaries don't need to be perfect.

Active reading is about processing material in a way that improves focus and retention, rather than making perfect notes.

The 'Memory Boost' (MB) method involves actively engaging with material using tactile senses, writing keywords and lists multiple times to enhance memory.

MB method works well for remembering lists and keywords, especially for exams and class material.

The speaker uses an old notebook and messy handwriting for the MB method, highlighting the importance of repeated writing to trigger memory.

The 'Think Like a Teacher' (TLT) method involves imagining yourself as a teacher and highlighting key points in material as if preparing to teach it.

TLT method suggests using color-coding or highlighting terms in books or slides to engage visual and tactile senses.

Using visual cues like drawings or simple sketches can help in remembering terms or key concepts during reading.

Engaging multiple senses—touch, sight, and auditory—during reading boosts focus and retention.

The TLT method is quick and effective for focusing on what teachers or exam questions might emphasize.

The goal of active reading is to prevent losing focus or falling asleep while reading complex or lengthy material.

Active reading techniques can save time by reducing the need to reread material multiple times.

Summary: Active reading incorporates sensory engagement, summarization, repetition, and teaching techniques to improve memory, focus, and retention.

Transcripts

[Music]

hi everyone in today's video I'm going

to be talking to you about the art of

active reading and I'm going to be

showing you my three most used methods

to do so now before I begin I just want

to make sure that everyone is on the

same page with me when I say active

reading it means engaging the material

you are trying to understand remember

and focus on so this can be PowerPoint

slides textbooks or actual books or

magazine uh basically these methods will

help you better understand what you're

reading not fall asleep while you're

reading and actually focus and remember

what you have read and what you are

trying to read so hopefully this will

help you out I'm just going to begin by

enumerating the three methods I

personally use to active read and to be

engaged with the material I am reading

the first method is called read/ summary

method so we can call it the RS method

the second method is the memory boost or

MB method and the third one is Think

Like a teacher method so TLT method I

called it now with that being said let

us start off with the first method so

what I have here is a textbook on intro

tosy this is my favorite textbook to use

as examples because it's very clear and

I find it's the standard textbook

looking text you can ever have so let's

just start with this one in the method

called read summary that is exactly what

we are going to do we are going to read

and each paragraph we see we are going

to summarize in the margin if you cannot

do so in the book I suggest just getting

like a blank sheet of paper right here

and just doing so there remember

this method is not textbook notes you do

not have to make them pretty they do not

have to be coherent if that makes any

sense you will see what I'm talking

about this is just a way you can Engage

The material and you can erase your

notes after or like just make a more

beautiful and more perfected version of

it to study later but this is not the

point of active reading the point of

active reading is while you go through

the material you need to remember as as

much as you can of it you need to engage

and focus on as much as you can from it

so basically think of this video kind of

like how not to fall asleep while

reading type of video think about it

what's better you take a bit more time

when reading it just once and

understanding it or you read it don't

remember anything of it and have to

reread it at least five times to

actually remember something or not just

like drool and your head on the textbook

falling asleep sleep type of thing ehh

where your do a tea account here you

know it's better it's better so in the

first stage of development called the

oral stage the baby's mouth is the focal

point of pleasure during the first 12 to

18 months of life children suck mouth

and bite anything that will fit into

their mouths to Freud this Behavior

suggested that the mouth is the primary

sight of a kind of sexual pleasure

infants who are either overly indulged

perhaps by being fed every time they

cried or frustrated in their search for

oral gratification might become fixated

at this stage so if you want if this is

already too much for you and you're

losing your train of thought and you're

like falling asleep summarize this just

Engage The material so you know what

let's just not go further let's

summarize this so what you can do is if

you can write on the textbook and you

don't mind writing on the textbook you

can write it in the margin but I'm just

going to say show you how I do it so

basically I just got a blank piece of

paper right here got to put it a bit

higher right there and this is the first

paragraph and if you would write in the

book you would just do a

little I don't know how you call this

aad I think anyway and you're just going

to write a really quick summary of what

you understood so what I understood here

is that first

stage

oral so

[Music]

mouth focal point

and that's it that's all I'm going to

write for that paragraph but what I'm

doing here is I'm engaging the material

it's ugly it's quick but I engaged my

hand and when you engage your senses

while you read not only does it make you

focus on the material think critically

and remember what you you read it's

because your mind doesn't only remember

what your eyes tell you it remembers

what your hand gesture tells you so by

the SM spelling by the smelling by the

spelling

of

oral

stage your hand is going to remember

those movements and it's going to help

you remember the term oral stage so that

is basically what we are doing

throughout the book throughout reading

the material just make little side notes

on every paragraph or every time you

think you know what I'm getting kind of

sidetracked I'm getting kind of bored

it's not going in anymore engage the

part that's not going in attack it be

like yo you know what I'm going to

understand you to to lack of time I'm

just going to provide you with a brief

overview of all of these techniques and

if you want me to go into detail on any

of them just let me know in the comments

down below but with that being said I am

going to move right on to the second

method which is called the memory boost

MB method and I also like to name this

right in the fields and you will see why

because we are once again engaging our

feeling our touch and getting ourselves

into what we're reading this is I have

to admit my most used method out of the

three I absolutely love this and you're

going to laugh because it looks just

like it looks it makes no sense it's a

mess but oh my god it works so much we

are going to use different material this

time we're going to be using slides for

this example and this one is from one of

my Greek mythology classes hey I told

you I'm passionate about a lot of things

Greek mythology is one of them what I'm

going to do is I'm going to take this

list the local labors of Heracles or

Hercules however you like to call him

and just show you what I do to better

remember them as opposed to just reading

them quickly and 2 seconds later you ask

me so what are they I'm going I have no

clue but if you do this you will so I'm

going to show you a real life legit

example of active reading and what I

personally mean by active reading when I

say active

reading this is it folks this disgusting

pile of random stuff is what happens

when I actively read so basically what I

do is I get a really old notebook that's

a bit destroyed dis shoveled with Pages

missing you need something you can use

the back of papers or anything so

basically how I do this second method is

in my bed I'm ult Trax and I have in

front of me the slides or whatever

material I'm trying to read and remember

and then an old like like I mentioned um

unused notebook or blank piece of paper

or anything I can write on and either a

pencil a pen it doesn't matter this is

going to be quick and messy and I'm just

going to show you my thought process

throughout the whole experience before

we get into this I just want to mention

that this specific method is insanely

useful when you're trying to remember

keywords and lists it's big big big on

memory for keywords and list because

you're writing them and rewriting them

and engaging your feels as in your

touchy Fey hands as in your touchy

Philly this is sounding weird so I'm

just going to stop and show you what I

do so the local the local labors number

1 2 3 4 5 6 oh my God that's a lot to

remember can I yes you can the first one

is the thean

lion second one oh my God I'm going to

mass her names is the laran

Hydra third one seran deer

four I don't know if you can see

this her

Manan

bore

five oh my God I don't know how to

pronounce that

Alan stables and

six

steem

fan

birds see that see how fast and random

and disgusting it was this

is honestly I love this method I always

do it because not only will you remember

how to write these so on an exam you

write them correctly you will remember

this trust me if you do active reading a

bunch of times and if you are trying to

remember a list and for the life of you

you can't even with active reading keep

doing it keep doing it oh man I can't

remember this go through the slides come

back to it local labors I remember now

just cuz I wrote it I remember there

were six so 1 2 3 four five six and it

depending on your class how detailed you

need to remember I remember there was a

lion uh I'm not looking legit I know

there was the

Hydra I know number six was

birds and then there was a boar

somewhere and then something that I

don't remember and then some something

with the

Barn Barn I don't know what that is

let's see how good I did oh I remember

the lion remember the Hydra then

remember the

deer write it down boar remembered it

Stables Barn same thing I was close and

birds that's take two see how much I

remembered just by doing active reading

and if you keep doing this you'd be

honestly surprised at how much you can

remember and how much it improves your

memory on lists and keywords finally the

last method I am going to be talking to

you about is called think like a teacher

method so TLT or mind reader Pro however

you want to call it this method is very

quick very much like my color coding

video because that is exactly what

you're going to do you're going to

highlight and color and code terms or

things that are going to be important

think like a teacher be the teacher and

vision you are the teacher and how you

are going to torture your students sorry

teachers you know I love you but

basically we are going to be doing some

legit 101 color coding again it engages

your hands your touch your feels if you

want to say these terms out loud that

adds another sensory stimulus that

engages you like your auditory hearing

ears if you want to say this out loud

highly encourage it even if people look

at you weird in the library give it a

shot but basically key here is to engage

as many senses as you can when you're

reading think about it like a game have

fun with it so what we're going to do is

we're going to tackle those legal labors

again so basically use any colors any

highlighters you want if you cannot lose

color or highlighters on your book or

whatnot I know this was a very popular

question what I like to do is use a

pencil to highlight and you know what

for the sake of this video Let's just

use a pencil for people that cannot use

colors on their Sid or on their books

I'm rooting for you this is how you can

do it and at the end you can always

erase it so no one knows you were there

basically local labors what you can do

is put it like that Nan lion you can

color it shade it like that oh my God

guys please don't make me pronounce

these names again Hydra color it the

deer color ing it the

boar

staes the birds this is engaging the

material it stands out even like this at

least you know what to look for it's

kind of like a pinpointing thing and

again my goal here is to keep you awake

so that's what we're doing we're

engaging it another fun way to do this

if you have time and energy and if

you're more talented than me cuz I'm

pretty poopy at this you can give

yourself little

drawings of the Lion oh guys please

don't judge the Hydra little monster

Hydra the deer though a deer a female

deer well this is a male cuz it has

antlers but you get my point the boar

can I really draw a

boar that's the nose that's the little

oh man I am sorry to all bores of the

world Stables you can write I don't know

like a little house little Barn

and

birds there you go tell me you won't

remember that I remember them right now

just by drawing them and engaging my

senses so that's it for today's video

guys I really hope you enjoyed it if you

want to see or if you want me to talk in

any of these methods in details please

leave it in the comments down below and

I shall do so please don't forget to

give this video a thumbs up because it

let me know what you are interested in

seeing from me and on my channel and

also subscribe to me if you like what

you see I will definitely L see you next

time and thank you for watching bye