Textbook Reading Aids
6 October 2007
Table of Contents
This part will give you an overview of topics of the book. It is located at the beginning of the book. Included are Chapters, Titles and subtopics and the number of pages of the book.
Preface or Introduction
This part states the author’s purpose and writing the book. Most of the time the author states information about the book that gives the reader grasp what are the gist to be extracted upon reading.
Index
This part is located at the back of the book where you can easily find information due to all is listed alphabetically including the pages where you will find such information.
Appendix
This page serves as a reference. Located at the back of the book where list, charts, documents and other materials related to the subject of the book.
Bibliography
This is the part where the author extracted some of the ideas stated in the book. This page contains list of other books, articles and other sources the author basis in writing the book. This is also useful in making further reading about the book.
Using the SQ4R Method
Survey
You need to preview the reading material you are going to read. In the preview, you should include the following: chapter title, topics and subtopics, introduction and the questions or exercises to be done afterwards.
Question
Under this, you should use the following: who, what, where, when, why and how. Turn the heading and subheadings into questions. You will get the information you are trying to extract by using this question.
Read
Read comprehensively to locate all the possible answers to all the questions posted above.
Recite
One thing for you to familiarize the questions and the possible answers is by reciting it orally or mentally.
Record
Jot down all the information to further reinforce your thesis. List down the main idea and supporting detail for future references.
Review
You need to review the material to permanently inculcate it into your mind. Use all the steps above.
Context Clues
4 July 2007
One of the obstacles learners/readers encounter in reading are the vocabulary words stated in the reading materials, Magazines and news papers and other periodicals contain general information that could help boost the awareness of a reader.
Learners of English as the Second Language get bored on reading because they do have the tools and guides to unravel these vocabulary words. These learners are having a hard time in comprehending these reading materials. Thought the dictionary is always at hand, it is far better if the reader/learner has the ability to unravel the meaning of a vocabulary words encounter while in the process of reading.
Contextual clueing techniques should be imparted to readers/learners before instructing them to read. I would like reiterate that contextual clueing is used and can be taught only to higher grades or to high school students in particular.
Context clues is used to determine the meaning of the unfamiliar words while reading.
Let us analyze the sentences below:
1. Feeling nervous, she is reluctant to become pregnant. a) nervous, b) interested, c) unwilling
In this sentence, reluctant is the unfamiliar word. Based on the words surrounding reluctant, without looking in the dictionary, you can see and feel that “she is unwilling to become pregnant” because of nervous. There are thing to be considered why “she is nervous.” The contestant is not prepared to compete because if she really is prepared to compete, the feeling of being nervous will be replaced by excitement.
Let have another sentence:
2. Only ashes remain after the conflagration. a) fire, b) smoke, c) burned
In this sentence, conflagration is the vocabulary word. The words that surround the vocabulary word give emphasis on the exact meaning. “Only ashes remain,” this phrase indicates that there is a big fire occurred. Therefore, conflagration means fire or a big fire that made the things into ashes.
Though the dictionary is the best source to learn the meaning of the unfamiliar words, when reading, most of the times you don’t have your dictionary at hand. Context clues, therefore, will be of great help for you to understand and comprehend any reading materials.
Phrases and Clauses
11 May 2007
Phrases and Clauses
The first thing to know to determine a phrase and a clause is to know first what is meant by subject and predicate.
What or who we are speaking about in a sentence is called the subject.
What is said about the subject is called the predicate.
1. He cleans. (HE is the subject and CLEANS is the predicate)
2. John cleans the room. (JOHN is the subject and CLEANS THE ROOM is the predicate.)
3. The mother monkey takes care of her baby monkey. (THE MOTHER MONKEY is the subject and TAKES CARE OF HER BABY MONKEY is the predicate.)
4. In the classroom, the janitor sweeps. (THE JANITOR is the subject and SWEEPS IN THE CLASSROOM is the predicate.
Just like the subject and predicate, PHRASE and CLAUSE have also distinguishing marks that differ from each other. A Phrase is a group of words or a sequence of related words forming as a part of the whole sentence, but it does not have a subject and a predicate. A Clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a predicate.
Though there are several types of phrases, the important thing is to determine which pat of the sentence is phrase and clause.
Prepositional Phrase is of course signaled by a preposition. Let see the example below:
The scissors is mine.
This is a simple sentence which indicates THE SCISSORS as the subject and IS MINE is the predicate. By adding a prepositional phrase IN THE DRAWER the sentence becomes:
The scissors in the drawer is mine. (Prepositional phrase)
Infinitive can also be expanded to infinitive phrase. Read the sentence below:
Los Angeles is my dream. A simple sentence with subject and predicate.
To go back to Los Angeles is my dream. (to go back - is the Infinitive phrase).
When a verb is used in its ing form it is called GERUND.
Gerundial phrase on the other hand, starts the phrase forming the verb into the ing form.
Sailing the oceans aboard a ship is his job. (Sailing the oceans - is the gerundial phrase)
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