For a long time, reading specialists grappled with the problem of finding ways in

which the mind can effectively work 'in perceiving reading symbols. In general, they
perceived that the poor reader loafs along the print material, compared with the
excellent reader whose eyes race over the lines gathering meaningful ideas at each
glance on the printed page. In time, experts found out that the reader should cultivate
the habit of reading for ideas, and not read one word at a time. thinking of the
meaning of separate

words. This was described by experts as “seeing the wobds for the trees.”

“Let the eye movements take care of themselves,” the experts added to say. What
must be done, they suggested, is the adoption of the habit of picking up 01.16
complete thought after another. Let us therefore illustrate this learning idea ii‘om a
text

borrowed iiom the book “College thinking,” by Dr. Jack Meiland. Firstly, this is the
instance of a poor reader who takes in meaning word for word‘ “Active/ reading/ not/
only/ produces/ understanding/ but/ allows/ you/ to/ appm'

ciate/ the/ text/ as/ a/ world of/ art./” Note: The beginner reader iinds this pattern of
word-for-word reading comfoxtable

since he 1s still groping to learn individual words. But as the reader matures, he
would certainly find this method of reading tiresome and unnecessary.

Let’ 3 look at the second instance representing the average reader using the
succeeding portion of the text.

“Just as you admire/ the composition of a painting/, a sculpture/, a building/, or a

Note: The average and more mature reader has improved his reading habit by picking
up longer thought units in which he gets meaning from the text.

A third instance is the good reader who has taken in larger units at‘a time, taking in an
increased and longer unit of meaning. From the rest of the text:

“And so you can and should admire/ the composition of a text-the harmony and
shapeliness of the whole,/ the way in which the parts fit together, refer to one another,
and support each other,/ the avoidance of excess, the balance of elements.”/

let’s dispose ourselves to learn

Have you stopped to admire friends who are excellent readers? Have you sometimes
felt you are in a grind having to study for hours when others are having a good time
while reading learning materials? Do you think you are a slow reader?

What can be done about this?

The experts say that while reading involves varied skills, there are really only two
fimdamental skills, namely reading comprehension and reading speed. We covered
reading comprehension in the previous chapter, and so let’s now take a look at how
we

can acquire the skill for speed reading.

Beading speed measurement

The basic unit in measuring reading speed is the number of words read per minute.
The abbreviation W.P.M. is written after the number indicating your speed score. The
average reader covers 250 W.P.M; very good readers 500-600 W.P.M, and:
phenomenal readers as fast as 1000 W.P.M. Note, however, that ability to read printed
words

rapidly is useless if the reader does not gather meaning in reading.

Reading for Ideas

As the good reader races over the lines, he should be able to gather meaningful ideas.
But as we learned from the previous chapter on reading comprehension, reading

one word at a time is not enough for the mind to get a synthesis of the meaning from
the whole printed text. The reader must therefore pick up thought units, grasping
meaning in increasingly longer word groups.

Poor reading: “Reading/ is/ a/ Unique/ human/ activity/, also/ a/ skill/ we/ can/
impmve/ upo .” 3

Good reading: “Reading is a unique human activity/, also a skill/ we can improve
uponf’. Using reading signposts Printways are like roadways since both have
signposts. The motorist follows the signs (Stop, Go, No Left Turn, Danger at the
Curb, etc.), and he can safely reach his

destination by heeding these signs. The reader, too, can use signposts not only for
better comprehension, but also for speed. Among these are:

Good ahead signals with such words as: and, also, likewise, moreover, furthermore,
etc.

Turn-about signals turn the thought in a different direction in reading such words as:
but, yet, nevertheless, although, in spite. of, on the contrary, etc.

\ . Follow the reading signposts and you’ll reach your destination more quickly and

adequately. Shopping before reading

Take a preview before you select a book or an article. ;,

The subtitle (or “sub-head” in a newspaper) are door-openeis to more specific

The author’s name, the book cover, table of content, and photos will provide more
reasons-to whet your appetite on the printed material.

Sightseeing as you read

In a tour of a city, the tour guide tells tourists about the interesting facts about a
historc city district, at fhmous park, a towering building, etc. Similarly, while reading

pick up significant ideas by finding the key ideas in segments of the book or article.
At the same time, as you gather the larger basic ideas, “sift the sands for the gold
dust” or mine for details.

Riding alimg with the author

Identify yourself with the writer, and his purpose as this is revealed by various
patterns of his thoughts, such as his sharing-experience pattern, question-answer
pattem, imparting-infonnation pattern, opinion-reason pattern, or substantiated-facts
pattern.

Cleverly skimming

Much like a swallow skimming swiftly through the air and catching his prey on the
water, the skilled reader skims over the textual material even as he gathers ideas while
“on the wing.” This is the type of reading of those who rate 1,000 W.P.M. while still
able to give the gist of what they read.

Skimming lS diii‘erentiated from scanning which 1s the process of locating a

In the highly developed Skill of skimming, the process involves the passing over of
passages to rapidly grasp hifonnation on an entire selection. Through skimming you
can spwdily get main ideas, opinions, conclusions and answers to questions.
Recommended skimming techniques are (a) skim for the main idea only, ignoring
large sections of content (b) read only key words, omitting words of lesser importance
(0) read with the

fleeting eyes sweeping vertically (normally our eyes move with case from left to right
horizontally).

The phenomenal Skimmers can grasp 3,000-4,000 words per minute using their
Vertical field of vision.