Reading Comprehension Tool - SQ3R

I think our students believe that reading and skimming are the same things. With skimming too much is left out and the real message is lost in the jumble of unread words. It would be like reading every third word in a poem and trying to figure out what it meant. Vocabulary often frustrates them and they give up in disgust or replace the words with mental blanks. I overheard one young lady inserting “sompm, sompm (something, something)” instead of trying to sound out the words. So, of course, they don’t read. They can’t understand it. Our kids don’t comprehend the written word.

We assume that these kids already know how to read. Or we might accept the statement, "I don’t read” as truth without attempting to teach the student the best practice for reading a text. We could argue that "It isn't our job." In defense, a statement must be made that we are held accountable for certain standards to be met for the school year. It might appear that focus is removed from the core content, but that is not the case. Instead a deeper understanding of the lessons will be exhibited due to longer exposure using the right tools.

We need to give them good tools to assist them in the practice of Reading to Learn.

This site will explain SQ3R - the comprehension tool
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_02.htm

SQ3R Comprehension Form for Reading
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=drqm7jt_12ffkb8ts9