Plodding through dull, dry and dreary textbooks can be a chore. A chapter on minerals, or acids, or the Battle of Plassey may seem uninviting. While certain chapters may be unappealing to you, you can infuse life into them by reading for meaning. A “word caller” is someone who says the words aloud in a book perfectly, but an active reader is one who tries to understand the contents or engage with the text. Instead of simply listing and learning a series of facts, you may make a lesson more engaging by following a set of strategies recommended by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis.
First, make connections as you read. For example, if you have a chapter in your history textbook describing Gandhi's childhood, compare what you know of his early days with your own experiences. By making text-to-self connections, the material will grow more interesting. Making these links will also help you remember information more effectively. You may also make a text-to-text connection by linking what you read with something else you have read or learnt earlier. Thus, when learning about synaptic connections in a chapter on the nervous system, do the dendrites and axons remind you of the course of a river that you studied in middle school? When practising statistics problems, isn't it more fun to make text-to-world connections by analysing actual IPL scores?
In addition to making connections, you can also gain more from a book by asking questions. Simply answering questions at the end of a chapter will not promote deep learning. In fact, you will get more out of the learning process by trying to frame questions. Keep asking the author questions as you read. Also, when you have a doubt, your first instinct might be to turn to a teacher or parent. Try and refrain from doing this and answer the question yourself. If you cannot, you can always turn to someone who knows better, but you are more likely to remember what they tell you if you first try to answer the question yourself
When reading descriptive passages, it helps to visualise or actually draw what you picture in your mind's eye. This will help you remember details like parts of a cell better. You will also enjoy fiction more if you try and see what is happening in your mind's eye. Without getting up from your place, you should be able to see the characters, hear their voices, and feel their emotions. Books can take you places if you work the wings of your mind.
Very often, the message of a book is not stated explicitly in a text. You have to infer what the author is trying to say.
This involves looking for clues in the text and figuring out what the author is implying. As you read, you must keep asking yourself, “What is the author trying to tell me?”, “Why did the author write this piece?” and “Is the author trying to influence my opinion in any way?”
To commemorate World Book Day, which falls on April 23, you may try using these strategies. By being an active reader, you can breathe life into words. As Pulitzer prize-winner Anne Proulx writes, “The reader writes the story”.
The author is Director, PRAYATNA, Centre for Educational Assessment & Intervention. She may be reached at arunasankara@gmail.com.
