51 Chapter 7 Becoming an Active Reader Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. The reading strategy you decide to use is dependent on your learning style and which method works best for you. Use Prior Knowledge Your prior knowledge of a topic allows you to make sense of new information quickly. Recalling prior knowledge to aid reading works at all levels of the thought process. As you think about the content you are reading, attach new knowledge to prior knowledge, and act accordingly. A similar use of prior knowledge in reading takes place at the word or conceptual level. If you come across unfamiliar words or groups of words, you can often figure out meanings by recalling their usage in other contexts. Read Phrases, Not Words Active readers read groups of words rather than individual words. Reading word by word is slow, reduces concentration, and reduces the ability to connect concepts to form meaning. Words combine to make meaningful phrases. Many words have significant meaning only when combined with other words to form phrases. Some words acquire new meaning when attached to other words. Read the following sentence one word at a time: One of the companies that submitted a bid for this project is Dean & Brown Contracting. Now read the same sentence in meaningful phrases: One of the companies / that submitted a bid / for this project / is Dean & Brown Contracting. Reading in phrases requires concentration and steady practice. If you find that you do not already read in phrases, practice this technique. This change in the way you read will help you read faster and improve understanding at the same time. Mark Reading Materials Making annotations and highlighting reading material are effective reading techniques. An annotation is a note or comment added to a document to help explain its contents. Annotations will help you better understand and remem- ber what you have read. You will also be able to identify questions that come up as you read. Always have a pen ready to use when you read. Write annotations in the margins in the form of notes, questions, or comments. If you need to write notes but do not want to mark directly on the material, use self-stick notes instead. Use stick- on tabs to mark pages you will use repeatedly. Highlight or underline important text. Highlighting infor- mation involves marking text with a bright, easily seen color. It helps you focus while reading and remember what you read. When you need to refer back to the material in the future, you can scan for the highlighted information and find it easily. Improving Your Reading Skills The average student reads 250 words per minute. If you are a slow reader or wish to enhance your reading skills in gen- eral, now is the time to correct this. Reading more and using a dictionary are the best ways to improve your reading skills. When reading skillfully, meaning is derived from written words and symbols. Yakobchuk Viacheslav/Shutterstock.com