Lesson 8: Reading as a process (Part 1 of 3)

Lesson aims:

• Understand that reading is a skill

• Recognise that reading is a complex three-part process
• Apply pre-reading strategies using an authentic text

Task 1

Take this quiz to self-asses your current reading habits. Tally up your totals in the end.
0 = Never; 1 = Sometimes; 3 = Frequently; and 4 = Always

1. Do you analyse your essay topics before answering the question?

Never Sometimes Frequently Always
2. Do you take effective notes from your readings?
Never Sometimes Frequently
Always
3. Do you review your notes / summaries before tests or exams?
Never Sometimes Frequently
Always
4. Do you make a note of important concept vocabulary in your reading?
Never Sometimes Frequently
Always
5. Do you make a glossary of the important key words for each chapter?
Never Sometimes Frequently
Always
6. Do you understand what you are studying instead of memorising information?
Never Sometimes Frequently
Always
7. Do you make use of different graphic organisers when you study?
Never Sometimes Frequently
Always
8. Do you ask questions about the text while you are reading?

Never Sometimes Frequently Always

9. Do you take note of text structure / organisation while you are reading?
Never Sometimes Frequently
Always

Total score: ________________ / 36

What do your scores mean?

You scored between 1 and 9 You need to focus on improving and developing your

You scored between 10 and 18
You scored between 19 and 27
You scored between 28 and 36
reading habits or reading skills.
Your reading habits or reading skills are somewhat
satisfactory but also need some more development.
Your reading habits or reading skills are good, but you
can fine-tune your skills to improve your reading abilities.
You are an avid and skillful reader with good reading
speed and fluency. You employ a range of skills to aid
comprehension and processing of text.

In class

Task 2

Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow.

Reading is likely to take up a vast proportion of the time you devote to your university work.
Reading will be a crucial element of your study in higher education. In school, your reading may
well have been directed and supported by teachers and tutors, and this may continue to be the
case for you now, initially at least. But, there is a much greater expectation and requirement, if
you are to be successful, to read more independently and more widely than you may have
previously. Some say that there is an art to reading effectively at tertiary level. Isaac Disraeli
(Disraeli, cited in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 1981), pointed out that reading
effectively is a skill to be developed much as learning to think and to write effectively. He wrote,
‘There is an art of reading, as well as an art of thinking, and an art of writing’ (ibid).

Decoding is one element of the reading process (for you this will now be totally automatic and
unconscious), but understanding what you have decoded, and being able to do this in a highly
effective manner, is a crucial element of the complete skill of reading, especially in advanced
educational settings. While your reading techniques may have been adequate in the past,
tertiary level study often requires a new and better approach if you are to cope efficiently with
the quantity of reading material with which you will be presented. Many students mistakenly
believe that reading faster will improve their ability to study and achieve their deadlines. Speed
reading by itself will not be sufficient for effective study. What is required is effective reading.
You will be more likely to achieve this if you take an active approach to reading and do more
than simply acknowledge the words on the page. In order to handle the academic reading loads
 you will need plenty of tools or strategies to help you process and understand all the texts you
have to read.

Academic reading is not a passive activity but requires purposeful and active engagement with
the text. Specifically, reading actively is necessary for thinking critically about a text and fully
comprehending and recalling the material. In order to fully absorb and understand the written
material, you must read actively by taking steps to understand a text before, during, and after
your full reading of it. Throughout the coming lessons we are going to look at each reading
phase in detail and practise some reading strategies.

Adapted from: Pritchard, A. 2008. Studying and learning at university: vital skills for success in
your degree. UK: SAGE Publications Ltd

• What reading behaviours distinguish strong readers from weak readers?

• What is different about the reading you did at school compared to the reading you do at
university?

• What type of texts do you think you will read at university? Why would you read these texts?

• Which reading strategies have you adopted to help you cope with the reading demands at
university? Tick all those that apply.
 Re-reading the text Making predictions about the text
Inferring meaning Translating
(making an informed guess)
Summarising the text Activating background knowledge
Visualising what you read Locating key words
Underlining or highlighting Using context clues
Asking questions about the text Using a dictionary (online / paper-based)
Checking for understanding Using graphic organisers
Discussing the text Taking notes

Task 3
Let’s look at the first stage of the reading process in more detail. Read the text box below and
answer the questions that follow.

What should you do before you read a text?

 Establish a purpose for reading

 Create expectations about the topic or theme of the reading
 Activate prior knowledge about the text or topic
 Practise pre-reading strategies: skim, scan, preview, predict
 Explore text organisation and structure

We read for different purposes. Academic reading differs from reading for pleasure. When reading
academic texts, your general purpose is likely to be one the following:
− to find details (facts, data, etc.) to support an argument or answer questions;
− to understand ideas or theories;
− to apply the reading material (use it in new situations);
− to understand the author’s viewpoint;
− to gain background information about the topic; or
− to support your own views (using citations).
Consider the below essay brief and the reading provided after.

Discuss the relevance of culture to contemporary society.

You are provided with the academic reading entitled AFRICAN CULTURE AND VALUES (you
can find it under resources – study guide – semester 1: readings on Blackboard). In what manner
do you think it will relate to the given brief? In your online class, discuss which purpose (s) (listed
above) will inform your reading. Provide a reason for each purpose.

Now look at the text and answer the questions that follow.

• Skim the text: Look at the title, subheadings, words in bold, diagrams, number of paragraphs,
and the first sentence of every paragraph. You do not have to read every word.

• Predict what you think the text will be about. Predicting helps the reader to engage with the
text and anticipate possible content. Write down two or three predictions either in the form of
questions or short phrases. Share your ideas with the person sitting next to you.

• Make use of the mind-map template below to visualise your predictions. Your notes do not
have to be full sentences; they can be key phrases, ideas, key words, etc. For example, the
big bubble can contain the main theme or topic; the middle bubbles can contain the main
ideas of the text; and next to these the key ideas, concept words or short phrases.
Discuss your work with peers in your online class. Do they have the same information? Add
information to your mind-map based on your peers’ work.
 Why do we skim texts before reading?

You need the ‘big picture’ or main points when you are reading. Even if you are going to do a
more detailed reading of the text, skimming as a form of previewing can help you better
comprehend what you read. Knowing when and how to skim will help you become a more
efficient, strategic reader.

Sometimes you do not have time to do everything. With skimming, you will be able to cover
vast amounts of material more quickly and save time for everything else that you have on your
plate. Maybe you do not have time to finish your reading before class, but skimming will help
you get the main points and attend class much more prepared to maximise in-class learning.

Task 4

Reflect on your learning

Please answer the following questions.

1. What was the most useful aspect you learned in this lesson?

2. What aspects of the lesson did you struggle with?

3. Name an aspect of this lesson that can be applied to your other content areas or subjects.
Paragraph 1: Final submission: 29 April 2022

End of Lesson Eight.