Science Reading

1. Science Reading

2. Different Kinds of Reading • There is a significant difference between a science class and a literature class • Most students can recognize this • Many students still do not alter their approach to reading textbooks for different classes. • Remember that reading 10 pages in a chemistry textbook is not the same as reading 10 pages of a history or psychology textbook. Scientific text is very dense because it contains formulas, graphs, illustrations, and difficult concepts. Hence, you will need to allot more time to read and think about your assignments. For example, it may take you 50 minutes to master 5 pages in a chemistry textbook.

3. How to Read a Science Textbook • When a students reads a chapter in there Chemistry 120 textbook they should read: • Objectives for the Chapter • Headings/Subheadings • Vocabulary • Pictures/Charts/Graphs(along with captions). • Work through example problems • Do additional practice problems

4. How to Read a Science Textbook • Read the book with a pencil and paper in your hand and make lots and lots of notes - about things you don’t understand.  • Take notes while reading including vocabulary • Develop and answer questions • science textbooks are not supposed to be read from beginning to end

5. How to Read a Science Textbook • After doing the initial studying of the book described earlier, students should think of these texts as encyclopedias for the class. • If a student has difficulty with a certain topic discussed in class they look up the information in the textbook for illustrations, examples, and sometimes different explanations for the subject.

6. More In-Depth look • Objectives for the Chapter • You must have a “Purpose” for reading the material. • Headings/Subheadings • Look at the heading of each section and form as many questions as you can regarding what you think should be covered by the section • Write the questions down • By having a set of written questions, you’ll automatically search for the answers

7. More In-Depth look • Vocabulary • A science textbook may have more new words in it than a foreign language text book • It is difficult to understand a concept if you don’t understand the words being used. • Write down the word, paraphrasing the definition in your own words

8. More In-Depth look • Pictures/Charts/Graphs • Read the descriptions of pictures, charts and graphs before reading. • This will give you a visual representation of what you will be reading about.

9. More In-Depth look • Work through example problems • Students should use the example problems to understand basic procedures and concepts • Look for and learn patterns • put in new numbers and see how the answer is affected in the problem. • Try changing one small part of the problem or rearrange the problem with new numbers until you understand all perspectives and aspects of the problem.

10. More In-Depth look • Do additional practice problems • This is to evaluate if you understand the basic concepts and patterns involved. • By doing this additional practice and asking questions about the problem you will learn concepts well enough so that if I ask a similar question on a test in a different way, you can still get the answer. Don’t just memorize steps.