Activities on Reading Comprehension

Reading and its importance

Reading develops your language abilities, which is essential for communication. One cannot consider oneself fluent in a language unless one is able to read effectively in that language. The best way to learn how to use any language- to understand the grammar of the language and to expand one’s vocabulary – is not through text books but through extensive reading. Textbooks are limited in scope but well written books provide multiple models of how to correctly use words in a variety of contexts. Naturally it follows from this that, reading is a crucial component of learning to write well also.

• Reading develops your imagination and inspires creativity. Creativity and imagination not just for artists for everyone, because these are problem-solving tools and are applicable to life.

• Expanding your language abilities, knowledge and imagination improves your reasoning and analytical abilities. It develops critical thinking.

• Reading for pleasure reduces stress and anxiety by temporarily shifting your attention from a stress-inducing situation.

• The sustained reading of longer texts (essays, novels) helps develop focus and the ability to concentrate.

• Reading is a skill that is fundamental to functioning in today’s society. Many work places require you to understand and respond to written texts of various lengths and complexity (From reports to e-mails and memos). Better reading comprehension will reduce the time it takes to understand what is required of you, and help you to communicate effectively and work efficiently.

• Finally reading stimulates the brain and therefore helps fight dementia and neurodegenerative diseases. It also improves memory, which tends to fail as one grows older.

Strategies for effective reading

Before you begin, ask yourself why you are reading the text.
Other useful questions that you can ask yourself before you begin reading are:

• What will this text most likely be about?

• What do I know about this topic?

• How is this text likely to develop the topics?

• Get an overview of the structure of written matter.

• Look at the headings and sub headings.

• Skim through the first and last paragraphs

• Look at the highlighted words or points.

• When reading pay special attention to how the central idea or main theme is developed through the course of the text. How does the author begin? How does the author end the text? Do the parts that come in between connect the two in a natural, logical manner?

• Identify (and mark with a pencil) the areas that require detailed reading, or the parts which you didn’t understand. You can revisit these sections of the text later.

• Think about author’s point of view and bias.

• Re-read the difficult or important lines and paragraphs.

What are the benefits of reading

1. Reading helps your vocabulary
   According to researchers, children who regularly read books at an early age develop large vocabularies in the long run. When the child has the benefit of vocabulary, they affect their academic success by passing the different set tests, eventually getting college admissions, and having vast job opportunities.
   Many employers are looking for people with soft skills, such as communicating clearly. The benefits of reading books include exposing the reader to new words directly from the read context and increasing your soft skills.
   Vocabulary growth is an inevitable consequence of reading. The more you read, the more you expose yourself to new words that slowly become a part of your usual repertoire. This is probably one of the most relevant pros of reading books and one you should definitely learn to take full advantage of.

2. Reading improves communication and conversation skills
   Reading gives you a lot to think about; hence you will continually have your mind wander and explore different issues and stories. This means that reading can help you become a better speaker.
   Having a good imagination and quality vocabulary gives you an upper hand when constructing simple and complex sentences suited for different occasions like interviews and simple conversations.
   Most readers find it easy to express themselves, and talking about their emotions and feelings or having simple conversations is an effortless thing.

3. Reading reduces stress
   Whether it’s a novel or an article, a great story will distract you from daily tasks and issues. When you have your hands on a well-written novel, it will transport you to another realm, while an engaging article will keep you focused on the present; the tension you have is automatically drained away, allowing your entire body to relax.
   In 2009, the University of Sussex carried out a study and found that there was a 68% reduction in stress levels by reading for only six minutes. How cool is that? A great book will have you venture into places where your stress levels can’t.
   Stress management is an important part of our lives. We all have a lot on our minds at all times, we often feel overwhelmed by daily events, or reach a stage of complete burnout in our careers. Reading’s ability to reduce stress can be a great solution, a cheap and versatile alternative to other traditional stress relief tools.

4. Reading fiction makes it easier to empathize
   Empathy describes the ability to understand or feel other people’s experiences and relate them to oneself. It is a skill that can be learned and practiced daily.
   When reading the character’s thoughts and feelings, it becomes clear what it’s like to be a part of their story and learn to live like another person with a whole different view of life than yours.
   The reactions you have to certain events in a story mostly vary from those of the character’s. This is great for the reader as it lets them experience the emotions of the other person.
   Reading a book helps develop empathy as your brain directly learns how it feels to be in someone else’s shoes. When you can apply the earned knowledge in real life, you will have earned a new superpower.

5. Fiction helps improve memory
   Reading fiction helps improve memory. Fictional stories are full of details that can help people remember long-term goals and actions. As you read each chapter of the fictional story, you have to remember the characters, conversations, plot, and more.
   Your brain can improve your memory function by training it to convert information into long term memory. It is scientifically proven that reading books will slow down memory decline in your senior years.
   Your brain functions like any muscle. It needs regular exercise to improve. The advantages of reading novels and other publications improve your memory by stimulating different parts of your brain and enabling it to create new and better connections.
   Visualizing information helps improve memory.
   Another study involved analyzing the brain scans of subjects from participants who were reading a novel. When the storyline became more intense, the brain scans indicated more activity in various parts of the brain.
   They continued to monitor the participants’ brain activity for several days after they finished the novel and the results showed improved memory and brain activity.

6. Non-fiction teaches you facts
   Reading non-fiction teaches you concrete facts, instead of letting your imagination wander in imaginative universes. Whether it’s a history book or a book exploring a certain topic you’re interested in, non-fiction provides you with accurate information or allows you to develop practical skills, things you can use later in life.

7. Reading can expand your thought process
   One of the advantages of reading non-fiction is the fact that it activates the part of your brain responsible for analytical thinking. This helps you improve your thought process, allowing you to better understand real-life concepts and making it easier for you to form your own opinions about things.
   Better thinking skills are, without a shred of a doubt, important. You can benefit from them with better work performance, the ability to learn quicker or to simply remember things more easily. Add your improved communication skills to the equation and there’s no denying the fact that you’ll be a lot better at debating your own beliefs.

Reading – common obstacles

• Lack of grammatical and linguistic competence:
  Many people cannot read effectively because they fail to decrypt grammatical and lexical units of language in the text. They lack the ability to differentiate and recognize the words, sentences, expressions, used in the text. It hampers the process of reading. The reader may stop reading further if he fails to understand the text grammatically.

• Lack of motivation:
  Reading for information and knowledge requires motivation and discipline. Many people think reading as boring and time consuming task. Lack of proper motivation and goal may create barrier to reading.

• Lack of concentration:
  If the reader lacks concentration while reading, he just will turn pages after pages without much comprehension. Reading is psycholinguistic process. It requires careful attention of the reader.

• Proper light and ventilation:
  A reader has to struggle a lot to read in dim light or dark rooms. If proper ventilation is not there in the reading room, reader may feel suffocated or tired.

• Size of the book:
  Normally, people prefer reading small size articles and texts. If the book contains volumes of pages, it decreases the interest of the reader.

• Articulating the words and sentences loudly:
  Many readers have habit to articulate loudly or murmur the words in the text. They buzz each word which creates a barrier to speed reading.

• Putting finger, pen or any object on the words and sentences while reading:
  Many people put their finger or pen on the text while reading. They move the finger or object from word to word which lowers down the process of reading.

• Narrow eye span:
  Many readers read the text into independent eye shift between each and every word. They have narrow eye span. It not only decreases the speed of reading but also affects the comprehension. Shorter the eye span, slower the speed and comprehension. Readers require proper training and techniques to expand their eye.

Discourse markers

Discourse markers are ‘word (or phrase) tags’ that are used at the beginning of sentences (few times they can even be used in the middle) to help them seem clearer and more understandable. They help join ideas and act as a connection or link between sentences and paragraphs.

SQ3R is a five-step reading comprehension method that trains your mind to focus on what you are reading in order to better understand and retain information from written material. The abbreviation SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review, the steps that constitute the process. SQ3R was specifically developed as a technique for reading study materials (like textbooks), but is also useful for all kinds of expository, argumentative, or information-dense texts. The sequence of steps in SQ3R is designed to make you read actively, with intention, rather than passively. The purpose of SQ3R is to make effective use of the time and effort spent reading information that needs to be understood, absorbed and recalled.

The SQ3R method is outlined below. The steps in the process should be followed in the given order.

Survey

Do not dive in and begin reading immediately-instead, skim through the material first to get a general idea of what it is about.
Look at (a) the title, (b) headings and sub-headings, (c) tables, graphs, charts, images, and (d) text that is highlighted or set apart (abstracts, objectives, summaries, points to remember, etc.). Don’t spend too much time on this step: five minutes or less is sufficient.

Question

Based on the information you have picked up through your quick survey (as well as your pre knowledge of the subject), ask yourself questions about what you are about to read.
Examples of questions to ask yourself are: What is this book, chapter, etc. going to do I already know about this subject! What is the author’s purpose in writing this! Why am i reading this (or, what is my goal)? How will this benefit me?
Tip: You can convert the heading of each sub-section into a question. For example, after skimming through Unit 4 of this textbook, some questions you could ask yourself about the current section are: Have I across the term ‘SQ3R’ before? What is the SQ3R method? looks like an abbreviation what does it stand for? Why is this topic in the “Reading’ section of th chapter? What does it have to do with reading skills?
The purpose of this step is to warm up your mind, to prepare and engage your mind, so that it is ready to read in an active (rather than a passive) manner, One is usually more alert than us when one is looking for something in this case, answers to the questions you have formulated You are tricking your mind into activating itself.

Read

After you have completed the first two steps, you can finally begin actually reading the material.
Read the book, chapter, etc. section by section instead of all at once.
As you read each section, keep in mind the questions you had formulated during the previous step, and look for answers to those questions.
While reading, more questions may arise in your mind, keep looking for answers to those questions within the current section (and in later sections).
TIP: It would be even better if you could write down all your questions in a notebook.
Answering these questions as you read will help you engage with the text and identify critical Information contained within it.
The current section may not answer all the questions that spring to your mind: that’s okay. Just try and identify the answers that are present in the current part of the text.

Recite

When you reach the end of the current section, pause, and repeat (recite) to yourself what you remember from that section.
Recall the headings, the main points, and the answers to your questions.
If you can’t remember these points, look at the text again, and repeat your attempt to recollect the information.
TIPS: Try reciting the main points out aloud to yourself, or even to someone else (such as a study partner) as though you are explaining it to them (or to yourself). As much as possible, use your own words when doing so, instead of repeating the words of the text verbatim. You can paraphrase and summarise the information. You can create written (or picture or audio) notes.
All of these tips will boost your long-term memory of what you have just read.
Move on to the next section (of the book, chapter, etc.) only after you are successful at this step.

Review

After you finish reading the entire material (ie., after you complete the Read and Recite stages for each section of the material), it is time to review everything you have learnt.
Try to recall from memory (a) the main points of the material, and (b) answers to all the questions you had formulated.
Review (as well as correct, update and expand) your notes. Re read those parts of the material that you found difficult. Check to see if there are any gaps in your understanding of the material and make a note of those.
The SQ3R method may seem slow at first, but do not feel discouraged. It will save you time and effort in the long run, compared to reading passively and without focus, letting your eyes glaze over the lines. The extra effort involved in the SQ3Rmethod will supercharge your learning.

Types of Reading Skills

There are different styles of reading for different situations. The technique you choose will depend on the purpose for reading.
Web pages, novels, textbooks, manuals, magazines, newspapers, and mail are just a few of the things that people read every day. Effective and efficient readers learn to use many styles of reading for different purposes. Skimming, scanning, and critical reading are different styles of reading and information processing.

Skimming

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you’re probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you’re scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time.
Examples of Skimming:
The Newspaper( quickly to get the general news of the day)
Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in more detail)
Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed)

Scanning

Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone hook or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what you’re looking for. so you’re concentrating on finding a particular answer.
Examples of Scanning:
The “What’s on TV” section of your Newspaper
A train/airplane schedule
A Conference Guide

Extensive Reading

Extensive Reading is used to obtain a general understanding of a subject and includes reading longer texts for pleasure and for general knowledge.
Examples of Extensive Reading:
The latest marketing strategy book
A novel you read before going to bed
Magazine articles that interest you

Intensive Reading

Intensive Reading is used for shorter texts in order to extract specific information. It includes close reading for accurate detail.
Examples of Intensive Reading:
A book keeping report
An insurance claim

Critical Reading

Critical reading is the vital part of the writing process. The critical reading of a given text implies a critical examination of the concepts used as well as of the soundness of the arguments and the value and relevance of the assumptions on which the text is given.
Most successful critical readers use some of the following strategies:
Previewing
Annotating
Summarizing
Analyzing
Re-reading
Responding

Inferring Meaning

Inference in reading is the ability to understand the meaning of a passage or text without all the information being spelled out. Readers take the clues given to them and draw conclusions based on their own views and personal experiences.
Consider the following statement:
The Senator admitted owning the gun that killed his wife.
Unpacking the meaning, we can see that the Senator was married and his wife is now dead- although this is not actually stated as such. (In fact, the sentence is about an admission of gun ownership.) It is as though the single sentence contains a number of assertions:
There is a Senator.
He owns a gun.
He is married
His wife is dead.
That gun caused her death
The Senator admitted owning that gun.