I know how to read!
Who does she think she is!?
That’s probably what you’re thinking.
Okay, calm down, my Socratica Friends.
This video is to help you read your TEXTBOOK.
It’s a totally different kind of reading than Harry Potter.
You’re going to spend hours and hours WRINGING information out of your required reading.
Understanding the best way to read your textbook is an important part of being a GREAT student.
Reading a textbook is not the same as pleasure reading.
If you’re lucky, it WILL be a pleasure to read your textbook.
But my point is, you shouldn’t open the cover and read the book straight through.
You should think of your textbook as more than just a book.
It’s a resource to help you learn.
And all the information is already organized for you - in bite size chunks, laid out in
a logical order.
Have a look at the Table of Contents of your textbook:
Here’s where you’ll find what’s essentially an outline of the subject you are studying.
There may even be two tables of contents, one more detailed than the other.
This is incredibly useful.
Your brain LOVES organized material.
Imagine how difficult it would be to learn history, or biology, or math if you just took
all the information and threw it in a sack and shuffled the facts around.
You wouldn’t be able to make sense of it.
That’s why you should become very familiar with the Table of Contents in your textbook.
Don’t just glance at it once and then forget about it.
Keep checking back and re-reading it each time you start a new chapter or you start
a new unit in your class.
It will help you get a sense of perspective - where does this topic fit in to the whole
subject.
Again, that’s really helpful for your brain to make sense of it all.
Now let’s talk about how to tackle your reading homework.
Let’s say you’ve been assigned Chapter 4, and you have to read it by your next class.
Are you going to read Chapter 4 straight through?
No.
I’m not saying DON’T do your reading.
I’m just saying there are better ways to get what you need out of your textbook, and
reading straight through is NOT the best way.
Instead, we’re going to follow these steps:
1 PREREAD
2 Read the chapter summary material
3 Take notes as you read in sections
and 4 Review your notes.
Step 1:PREREAD this chapter.
First, see how long the chapter is.
Read the title, the section headings, and the subheadings.
This will help you know what is coming.
It helps to prepare your brain.
This is also a good time to look at the pictures and other illustrations.
Look for any special features, like equations in boxes.
The more you can preview the better, so your brain thinks “I recognize that!”, rather
than “this is literally the very first time I have ever seen this what does it mean!”
Think of this preview as giving yourself a road map.
You won’t be wandering aimlessly through your reading.
You’ll recognize each heading and illustration as you come to it, and you’ll have a good
idea about what is coming up next.
I know you’re tempted to skip this step, especially if you’re pressed for time.
Don’t do it!
The few minutes it takes to survey the chapter is time well-spent.
Your actual reading will be far more effective and efficient if you’ve given yourself a
preview of the chapter first.
Step 2: Read the chapter summary materials.
Sometimes there’s an intro at the beginning of the chapter, sometimes there’s a summary
at the end of the chapter, sometimes both.
These are the most dense accounts of the chapters’ contents.
They may not make complete sense to you, because you don’t know the details yet, but again
- this is to PREPARE your brain for what is to come.
Don’t get too bogged down in this - you want to quickly, quickly read the summaries
so you’re prepared for what’s in the chapter.
Step 3: This is when you actually READ the chapter.
Again, don’t read it straight through without stopping.
Read it section by section - or if that’s still too much information, read it paragraph
by paragraph.
You may be tempted to underline or highlight what you think are important points, and that’s
okay, if you really like highlighting, but keep in mind that readers tend to OVER highlight,
and that’s just useless.
If EVERYTHING is highlighted, you can no longer tell what’s really important.
The other reason not to highlight is that it means you’re still tied to your textbook
when you study.
It’s so much better to start with that 40 page-long chapter, read through it once, taking
notes, and now you’ve whittled down the essential information to say, 5 pages of notes.
Rereading 5 pages of notes is a LOT faster than going back over 40 pages of highlighted
textbook.
So instead, I recommend you read with a pen in your hand and take notes on each section.
Start with the section heading - and turn it into a question.
Then your notes on that section should answer that question.
Look for the key ideas, and put them in your own words.
Use abbreviations wherever you can.
Pay special attention to terms and definitions - maybe box those in your notes.
If you are highlighting or underlining in your book, make sure to circle those special
words.
Anything that’s in boldface is a sign the author thinks it’s very important, so you
should too.
If there are any terms that are brand-new to you, or you don’t understand, now’s
a good time to make use of the glossary at the end your textbook, if it has one.
Write out the definition in your notes - but make sure to put it in your own words.
You’ll remember it a lot better that way.
If there’s something in your reading you really don’t understand, mark it with a
big question mark in your notes.
That way you’ll know to come back to it after you’ve finished your reading.
You may find, by the time you’ve finished the chapter, that point is now clear.
But if it still doesn’t make sense, you should ask a friend or your teacher about
it in class or during office hours.
When I reach the end of the chapter, I also like to re-read that chapter summary.
Hopefully it should make a lot more sense now that you’ve finished your reading, and
it should help cement what are the essential points and conclusions of the chapter.
You’ve made it through the whole chapter!
Give yourself a pat on the back.
But you’re not finished yet!
There’s one more step.
Step 4 is to REVIEW your notes.
This might not happen the same day you did the reading.
I like to do a review of my notes along with a review of my class notes.
Use this time to check your understanding.
All those headings you wrote as questions - can you answer the questions now?
Recite, as best as you can, the relevant material from your notes.
See how well your notes match what was covered in your class notes.
This brings up another point - when do you do your reading?
Before or after the subject is covered in class?
This may not be up to you, honestly.
Your teacher may have designed your class one way or the other, so make sure you follow
their instructions.
Some teachers introduce the subjects in class before you tackle the reading, so their lectures
tend to be more introductory to give you more context to understand the denser textbook
reading.
Other teachers prefer their students come to class prepared by the reading, so class
time can be better used to discuss the advanced material and not spend so much time on the
basics.
It really depends on the class, and how your instructor is using the textbook.
This may seem like a huge amount of work to do, just to read a chapter in your textbook.
Never feel bad about how much work goes in to your reading and studying at home.
The more advanced your studies get, the more you’ll see that the real learning happens
when you are working all by yourself.
It’s an essential part of being a GREAT student.
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