Reading/Study Strategies For

Assigned Course Readings

SQ3R - A READING/STUDY SYSTEM

SURVEY - gather the information necessary to focus and formulate
goals.
1. Read the title - help your mind prepare to receive the subject at hand.
2. Read the introduction and/or summary - orient yourself to how this chapter
fits the author's purposes, and focus on the author's statement of most
important points.
3. Notice each boldface heading and subheading - organize your mind
before you begin to read - build a structure for the thoughts and details to
come.
4. Notice any graphics - charts, maps, diagrams, etc. are there to make a
point - don't miss them.
5. Notice reading aids - italics, bold face print, chapter objective, end-of
-chapter questions are all included to help you sort, comprehend, and
remember.
QUESTION - help your mind engage and concentrate.
One section at a time, turn the boldface heading into as many questions as you
think will be answered in that section. The better the questions, the better your
comprehension is likely to be. You may always add further questions as you
proceed. When your mind is actively searching for answers to questions it
becomes engaged in learning. Write your questions down.
READ - fill in the information around the mental structures you've
been building.
Read each section (one at a time) with your questions in mind. Look for the
answers, and notice if you need to make up some new questions.
RECITE - retrain your mind to concentrate and learn as it reads.
After each section - stop, recall your questions, and see if you can answer them
from memory. If not, look back again (as often as necessary) but don't go on to
the next section until you can recite. Take notes from the text, but write the
information in your own words.
REVIEW - refine your mental organization and begin building
memory.
Once you've finished the entire chapter using the preceding steps, go back over
all the questions from all the headings. See if you can still answer them. If not,
look back and refresh your memory.
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/sq3r.html
Topic – Details – Response (TDR)
Rational: ​Good readers are able to determine the hierarchical relationships between
information in a text.

Students use a chart similar to that described above with FQR only the columns are
for Topic, Details, and Response. Again, you should begin with only two columns. It
would be helpful to model this strategy with common topics for students such as
sports, television shows, etc. and then to move towards modeling it with texts. Only
after extensive modeling should students be expected to do this in small groups,
pairs, and eventually on their own.

Example using stages of reading development:

Topic Details Response

Emergent No concept of word At 2 years old my son likes

Pretend read to look through books and
Pretend write talk to himself as if he is
reading; he also likes to
say some of the letter
names as he scribbles.

Beginner Concept of word When I visited a first

Word by word readers grade classroom the other
Must read orally day during sustained silent
Learning to read and spell reading (SSR), many of
simple CVC words such as the students weren’t really
“cat” reading silently. They were
whisper reading to
themselves. Now I know
why.
Instructional Have a strong store of
sight words
Gaining fluency or are
already fluent
Begin to read silently and
eventually read faster
silently than orally
Reading longer and more
complex texts
Increased instructional
emphasis on
comprehension due to
complexity of texts

Column notes from Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2000). ​Strategies that work. ​Portland,
ME: Stenhouse.
Power Thinking
Rationale: ​Good readers are able to determine the hierarchical relationships
between information in a text.

Power thinking is an alternative to traditional outlining. It is a method for organizing

information into main ideas, subtopics, and details. The information is organized into
numerical levels. It would be helpful to model this strategy with common topics for
students such as sports, television shows, etc. and then to move towards modeling it
with texts. Only after extensive modeling should students be expected to do this in
small groups, pairs, and eventually on their own.

Power 1:​ main idea, thesis, topic

Power 2:​ subtopic, category of Power 1, detail of a Power 1
Power 3:​ detail or subtopic of a Power 2
...and so on...
Example
1: Stages of Reading Development
2: Emergent Readers
3: No concept of word
3: Pretend read
3: Pretend write
2: Beginning Readers
3: Concept of word
3: Word by word readers
3: Must read orally
3: Learning to read and spell simple CVC words such as “cat”
2: Instructional Readers
3: Have a strong store of sight words
3: Gaining fluency or are already fluent
3: Reading longer and more complex texts
3: Increased instructional emphasis on comprehension due to complexity of texts

Power Thinking Tip:

Sometimes it is easier for students to identify the power 1’s and power 3’s first. In
other words, list out the details (power 3) related to a topic (power 1) of study and
then determine the power 2’s by examining the list of details (power 3) and seeing
what is common about them (power 2).

Power Thinking from www.readingquest.org

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