READING POWER Reading Faster * Thinking Skills Reading for Pleasure » Comprehension Skills BEATRICE S. MIKULECKY Boston University LINDA JEFFRIES A vv ADDISON-WESLEY PUBLISHING COMPANY Reading, Massachusetts ¢ Menlo Park, California Don Mills, Ontario e Wokingham, England e Amsterdam e Sydney Singapore e Tokyo e Madrid e Bogota @ Santiago e San Juan Acknowledgments We would like to thank our friends and our families for their sup- port and encouragement during the past year. We would also like to acknowledge the many friends and colleagues who talked to us about our project. Without the inspiration and encouragement of Steve Molinsky, we may never have finished it.
Valuable feedback was also provided by Gloria Mason, Carol Anastasi, Rachel Good- man, Ellen Smith, Gary Cestaro, Howard Tinberg, and Sue Siegel. Thank you one and all! A Publication of the World Language Division Editorial: Kathleen Sands Boehmer Manufacturing/Production: James W. Gibbons Illustrations: Kathy Todd and Susan Avishai Design: Dixie Clark Production Cover Design: Marshall Henrichs Credits: p. 42, 43, 45, The New York Times; p.
45, The Boston Globe; p. 128, Adapted from Tactics in Reading II by O. Copyright © 1964, 65 by Scott, Foresman and Company. Reprinted by permission.
Copyright © 1986, by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means. electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other- wee without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States merica. ISBN 0-201-15865-5 17 18 19 20-CRS96-97 95 94 To the Teacher Introduction How to Become a Better Reader How to Read Faster How to Think in English PART I Reading for Pleasure PART II Reading Comprehension Skills Unit 1 Previewing and Predicting Unit 2 Scanning Unit 3. Guessing Word Meanings Unit 4 Topics Unit 5 Topics of Conversations Unit 6 Topics of Paragraphs Unit 7 Main Ideas of Paragraphs Unit 8 Finding the Pattern of Organization Listing Time order Cause-effect | Comparison Unit 9 Using Reference Words Unit 10 Skimming PART Ill Passages for Faster Reading 152 s PART IV E.xercises for Thinking Skills 241 APPENDIX Answer Keys Introduction 259 Reading Comprehension Skills 259 Faster Reading 271 Thinking Skills 273 Reading Rate Tables for Faster Reading Passages 274 Progress Charts Reading for Pleasure 275 Faster Reading 276 Thinking Skills 278 Teacher’s Supplement 279 Index of Skills 290 vi To the Teacher Reading Power is intended for students of English as a Second Language who have studied English for an average of 100 hours and have acquired a vocabulary of about 600 words. In appearance and in approach, this book is quite different from other reading skills books.
Most books are used in a linear fashion from beginning to end. However, in this book the four parts must be used concurrently, since each part focuses on a different aspect of reading instruction. This means that each class should include several dif- ferent kinds of activities and exercises from the different parts of the book. Using all the parts together in this way is crucial to a successful reading program.
READING FOR PLEASURE Recent research in both first and second language reading confirms that the key to reading improvement is extensive practice, as com- mon sense suggests. Reading for Pleasure is therefore an essential part of this book. Students must begin to develop the habit of exten- sive reading. This can only happen if they are given the opportunity to select their own materials.
Part I includes lists of appropriate fic- tion and nonfiction books available at bookstores and libraries. Though not intended for ESL readers, they are written at the fifth- grade level or below and are accessible to beginning-level students. Graded readers, some especially for ESL/EFL students, are listed in the Teacher’s Supplement at the back of the book. Also in the Sup- plement are guidelines for integrating Reading for Pleasure into the reading class and setting up a classroom library.
READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS Reading comprehension involves specific thinking processes. The units in Part II are designed to provide focused instruction in the reading skills based on these processes. Greater awareness of the rela- tion between cognitive process and reading skills will help students apply the skills when they are reading. Each unit is organized asa series of exercises, simple at first and then gradually more complex.
Every class hour should include some exercises from Part II, preferably with students working in pairs. READING FASTER Lack of comprehension is often a result of reading too slowly. The reason is simple: the short-term memory can only retain information for a few seconds. Students who read very slowly, word by word, often forget the beginning of a sentence by the time they reach the end.
Thus, instruction in reading faster will improve comprehension. THINKING SKILLS These exercises are intended to be used by the students at their own pace. As they work through this section of the book, students will gain proficiency in following the logical sequence of ideas in English. The exercises will also improve their ability to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context and to recognize synonyms, an- tonyms and referents.
Complete directions for using this book are found in the Teacher’s Supplement on page 279. Introduction HOW TO BECOME A BETTER READER Why is reading important when you are learning a new language? Here are some of the reasons: ¢ Reading helps you learn to think in the new language. e Reading helps you build a better vocabulary. ° e Reading makes you more comfortable with written English.
You can write better English if you feel comfortable with the language. e Reading may be the only way for you to use English if you live in a non-English-speaking country. e Reading can help if you plan to study in an English-speaking country. This book will help you learn to read better in English.
You will work on four things in this book. Reading For Pleasure Read as much as you can. Read books, magazines, newspapers, stories. Read anything you like.
The more you read, the better you will read. Choose a book from the list in Part I. Or find another book that is interesting to you. Your teacher can help you find one at the bookstore or the library.
Read your book every day. Time your reading. Keep a record of your reading rate on the chart on page 275. Be sure to talk about your book with your teacher, your classmates, and your friends.
Working On Your Reading Skills When you read, you use many different skills. You need to work on them one at a time. Here are six important skills you will work on: e Previewing. Before you start reading, find out something about what you will read.
Then you can start thinking about the subject. You will be able to read faster and with more understanding. e Asking questions as you read. This keeps your mind on what you read.
Asking questions helps you pay attention. It also helps you to remember what you read. e Guessing what new words mean. It takes too much time to look up every new word.
And if you stop, you may forget what you are reading. Use the whole sentence or paragraph to guess words. e Finding the topic and the main idea. The topic and the main idea let you know what is important.
To find the topic and the main idea. ask two questions: What is this about? What does the writer want to say about this? ¢ Understanding patterns in English. A pattern is a way of putting ideas together. If you find the pattern.
you can under- stand more. You will also remember more. e Using signal words. Some words are like signposts on a highway.
They tell you what direction the writer is going. And they help you to follow the writer's ideas. Signal words also help you guess what you will read about. Learning To Read Faster Reading faster is very important because of the way your brain works.
When you read slowly, your brain does not get enough information. You understand better when you read faster. Learning To Think In English You also need to work on understanding English sentences. Learn how to get the meaning of sentences.
Find out how ideas follow each other in English. HOW TO READ FASTER Why read faster? Reading faster helps you to understand more. This may be sur- prising. But, in fact, your brain works better when you read faster.
Try reading this: Many students are surprised when the teacher tells them to read faster. But they soon find out that they understand more that way. If you read slowly, you read one word at a time. You must remember many separate words.
Soon you can get tired or bored. But if you read faster, you can read groups of words together. Then you can think about ideas and not just single words. That is why you understand better and remember more.
Read the three short passages in this chapter. Time yourself for each one. After each passage, there are comprehension questions. You will have two chances to answer them.
The first time, do not look back at the passage. See how much you can remember. Then answer the questions again. This time you may look back if you need to.
Your teacher will tell you when to start the first passage. 2 Reading Power Read Passage A. Starting Time A | Rosebud is a small town in New Jersey. It looks like many other towns in the United States.
On Main Street there is a post office and a police station. The drugstore and the library are down the street. There is also a shopping center. It has a supermarket and a depart- ment store.
Rosebud is a quiet place, not very rich or poor. But the town is growing. There are new houses every year. It is a popular place to live because it is near New York City.
Many people live in Rosebud and work in New York. Stop! Write the time you finished reading: Turn the page and answer the questions. Do not look back. Introduction 3 Circle the best answer.
This passage is about a. New York City. like many other American towns. not like many other American towns.
Every year Rosebud U a. has fewer houses. is like other American towns. has noisy streets.
has more houses. Many people want to live in Rosebud because | a. it is growing. it is a quiet place.
it is near New York City. it is not rich or poor. Go back and answer the questions a second time. You may look back at the passage.
Write the answers in the boxes at the right. Check your answers in the Answer Key on page 299. Number correct: 4 Reading Power Now read Passage B. Starting Time B In the middle of Rosebud, N., near the post office, is the office of Dr.
Everybody in town knows Dr. He’s a very good dentist. He’s also a popular person. He likes to tell funny stories to his patients.
They forget about their teeth when they listen to him. On the weekends Dr. Diamond likes to go to basketball games. Sometimes he also watches sports on TV.
But his favorite activity is fishing. Every Saturday in the summer, he gets up early in the morn- ing. He and his friends spend the day fishing at Lake Massapog. Stop! Write the time you finished reading: Turn the page and answer the questions.
Don't look back. Introduction 5 Circle the best answer. This passage is about a. Diamond likes to do.
Diamond is popular because a. everyone in town knows him. he listens to his patients. a9he tells his patients funny stories.
he likes to go fishing. Fishing is Dr. Diamond likes to be a.