Reading Velocity # 8

1. Reading Velocity # 8 Skimming: The Corvette of Reading Rates

2. Why Understanding Reading Rates Helps You Struggling Reader Proficient Reader Like an expert driver, this reader can shift reading rates without even thinking about it to match the right rate for the task at hand to navigate smoothly through all kinds of text. • Has one rate—slow—for all reading tasks.

3. 5 Rates of Reading • Scanning • Skimming • Rapid Reading • Slow Reading • Careful Reading

4. Watch this video and learn at least 5 things about skimming

5. What did you learn? • Skimming speeds are also extremely fast: thousands of words per minute • But unlike scanning, you have a better idea of the text with 20% comprehension. • Your eyes skim the text like magnets, picking up the important words.

6. When should you skim? • Skimming is a very useful skill. Use it • To preview text • What is this about? • Do I want to read it? • Will it help me find what I am looking for? • When you are in a hurry • When you just need a sense of what the text is about

7. How to use skimming to get better grades • Before you read a chapter in a textbook, preview the text by skimming (this will help you remember what you read). Don’t mark anything yet. • First, read the title, subtitle, and any text before the chapter actually starts. Sometimes there is a paragraph or a few lines that summarize the text or list the important stuff. People usually skip those and that’s a big mistake.

8. How to use skimming to get better grades • Next, read the entire first paragraph to get an idea of what the chapter is about. • After that, read only the first sentence in each paragraph. • As your eyes move down the page, use them like magnets to pick up the important words (mostly nouns). • Read all the last two paragraphs. That’s usually where they sum up.

9. How to use skimming to get better grades • Now you have a pretty good idea of the things covered in the chapter. • If this a required chapter, go back now and read the text, taking notes in the style that best helps you learn. • If this was an optional chapter, consider if you need to go back and read it or if you need to go on to other readings. • Previewing the chapter helps you by giving you a roadmap of what to look for in the reading. You will remember more of what you read because of it.

10. Let’s practice. In this passage, what words would you “read” as you skim? After a restless night of sleep, filled with nightmares where velociraptors and chainsaw-wielding maniacs chase you down, you wake up and wonder what caused such vivid, frightful dreams. Could it have been that spicy Thai food you had before bed? Actually, there is some evidence that eating a spicy meal shortly before going to sleep can lead to some wacko dreams. In fact, eating anything too close to bedtime can trigger more dreams, because the late night snacks increase the body’s metabolism and temperature, explains Dr. Charles Bae, MD, a sleep medicine doctor at Sleep Disorders Center at the Cleveland Clinic. Heightened metabolism and temperature can lead to more brain activity, prompting more action during rapid eye movement sleep, or REM. About every 90 minutes people experience rapid eye movement sleep as they cycle through the stages of sleep. In REM, when people dream the most, the body’s muscle tone slackens. During REM the brain becomes active, like it does when awake, and the eyes flutter behind the lids. Nightmares only happen during REM and while nightmares are simply dreams with negative emotions, they stand apart because they rouse the sleeper. It’s one of the reasons why it’s easier to recall nightmares than run-of-the-mill dreams. While little is understood about nightmares, experts know that frequent nightmare sufferers often show dysfunction in the frontal lobe and it fails to control the amygdala, which regulates memory and emotions. Disturbances in these regions might impact people without problematic nightmares, contributing to vivid dreams. So can that extra spicy Pad Thai lead to velociraptors tearing through your dreams? Lisa Medalie, a clinical associate of psychiatry at University of Chicago Hospitals writes via email: “If our bodies are working hard to digest heavy or spicy foods, it interferes with sleep continuity. We typically advise patients to avoid heavy or spicy foods within [two to three] hours of their bedtime.”

11. Did you “read” the white words? After a restless night of sleep, filled with nightmares where velociraptors and chainsaw-wielding maniacs chase you down, you wake up and wonder what caused such vivid, frightful dreams. Could it have been that spicy Thai food you had before bed? Actually, there is some evidence that eating a spicy meal shortly before going to sleep can lead to some wacko dreams. In fact, eating anything too close to bedtime can trigger more dreams, because the late night snacks increase the body’s metabolism and temperature, explains Dr. Charles Bae, MD, a sleep medicine doctor at Sleep Disorders Center at the Cleveland Clinic. Heightened metabolism and temperature can lead to more brain activity, prompting more action during rapid eye movement sleep, or REM. About every 90 minutes people experience rapid eye movement sleep as they cycle through the stages of sleep. In REM, when people dream the most, the body’s muscle tone slackens. During REM the brain becomes active, like it does when awake, and the eyes flutter behind the lids. Nightmares only happen during REM and while nightmares are simply dreams with negative emotions, they stand apart because they rouse the sleeper. It’s one of the reasons why it’s easier to recall nightmares than run-of-the-mill dreams. While little is understood about nightmares, experts know that frequent nightmare sufferers often show dysfunction in the frontal lobe and it fails to control the amygdala, which regulates memory and emotions. Disturbances in these regions might impact people without problematic nightmares, contributing to vivid dreams. So can that extra spicy Pad Thai lead to velociraptors tearing through your dreams? Lisa Medalie, a clinical associate of psychiatry at University of Chicago Hospitals writes via email: “If our bodies are working hard to digest heavy or spicy foods, it interferes with sleep continuity. We typically advise patients to avoid heavy or spicy foods within [two to three] hours of their bedtime.”

12. Scanning vs. Skimming: Not the same thing Scanning Skimming Second fastest rate; it’s a little slower than scanning 20% comprehension (You know what the text is about and some general ideas about it, but you wouldn’t want to be tested on it!) Goal is to get ideas. You stop at the end of the text. • Fastest rate of reading, thousands of words per minute • 0-10% comprehension (You will know what the text is about, but not much more) • Goal is to find a specific word/phrase. You stop when you find it.

13. When can you use skimming? • Think about the reading you do? When will skimming help you? Share this information with your teacher, including why you think it will help. • People who have to read a lot for school or their jobs rely on skimming to keep up with the demands on their time. • Have you ever gone into class and been asked, “Are you ready for the quiz?” and you say, “What quiz?” and suddenly realize you have five minutes to prepare for a quiz you totally forgot? Skimming to the rescue. You won’t get an A, but it’s your best chance at not embarrassing yourself.

14. Next time . . .Rapid Reading • Make a conscious effort to practice skimming this week. • Keep up with your independent reading—and that’s not skimming! Skimming a chapter of a new book can help you choose books that are interesting to you, but your independent reading is an example of rapid reading, our next topic! • Reading Velocity is provided by LISD Dyslexia Services. Any questions or concerns can be sent to Dr. Ramona Lowe at lower@lisd.net