Adler, M and Van Doren, C. (1972). How to Read A Book. Oklahoma Research Center. (Original work published 1940)
Context
This book was written in 1940 and then completely revised and updated to reflect that changes in education by 1972. When Adler originally wrote this book fewer people had high school educations, let alone college educations than was the case even 32 years later when Adler and Doren updated the book. This book was also written during a time when interest had shifted from reading fiction to reading non-fiction. The 1970s were designated as the “Decade of Reading” (pg. ix) Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare dedicated federal funds in support of a wide variety of efforts to improve proficiency in
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They argue that these steps are progressive and that a reader must learn one before they progress to the next; however, they state that a truly skilled reader cannot leave the prior stage behind, but instead must build each stage upon the previous. Thus, elementary reading is contained in inspectional reading, as, in deed, inspectional reading is contained in analytical reading, and analytical reading in syntopical reading. (pg. 31)
• Elementary Reading Level. The Elementary Reading stage starts with reading-readiness. This is the birth to age six or seven. (pg. 24) Once children begin to recognize simple words they progress to understanding how these words make sentences and soon the readers vocabulary will grow and greatly expand. Before a reader leaves this stage they are able to carry concepts from materials they have read in the past and apply these concepts to new more difficult material. (pg.
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The most important rule in Analytical Reading can be expressed as follows: Rule 1. You must know what kind of book you are reading and you should know this as early in the process as possible, preferably before you begin to read. (pg. 60) Titles and prefaces are often ignored because readers don’t feel they can tell them anything about the book, Adler and Doren disagree. Rule 2. State the unity of the whole book in a single sentence, meaning determine what the book is about as briefly as possible. (pg. 76) By doing this it is easy to determine whether the book successfully accomplished what the reader hoped it would and what the author promised it would. The biggest point in analytical reading is not only knowing definitions of the words on the page but also being able to decipher how the author is using subtle shifts or emphasis on the terms, to change the content of the paragraph. To be a truly analytical reader one must not only know the definition of the terms used but understand the authors intentions in having chosen the words they did.
• Final Level – Syntopical Reading. This is the level of reading that makes college life so much easier. Syntopical reading is knowing at what speed to read every book we encounter. Being a faster reader according to Adler and Doren doesn’t make you the best reader. Knowing how to assess every book, article, assignment and determine how much time and effort to spend reading is key. Syntopical reading
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
In the article “How to Read a Book” by Jeremy Anderberg on the website Art of Masculinity (http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/06/17/how-to-read-a-book/), he is inditing about the author Mortimer Adler’s novel of the same name, different ways of reading a novel. These distinctive ways are Elementary, Analytical, Inspectional, and Syntopical. Each one has its own significance, relying upon on what is obligatory? First, there is elementary reading. This type of reading is what beginners study in elementary school, which without a doubt gets them to the point when he or she can acknowledge the words and read them. Secondly, there is Inspectional reading. Moving lightly through an article or novel is mostly Inspectional reading, which he or she
Devoss, Danielle, et al. "The Future of Literacy." Wardle, Elizabeth and Doug Downs. Writing about Writing A College Reader. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins, 2011. 395-421. Print.
Tovani, Cris. I Read It, but I Don't Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers. Portland, Me: Stenhouse Publishers, 2000. Print.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: a Lively and Entertaining Guide to
Richard Wright, in his essay “Discovering Books,” explains how reading books changed his outlook on life and eventually his life itself. The first book that widened his horizons was an overtly controversial book by H. L. Mencken. I have a story not so dissimilar from his.
In the book, Ways of Reading, the authors Bartholomae and Petrosky outline what they describe as a "strong reader". They characterize the attributes that collectively contribute to this title and then talk about the relations between a strong reader and a strong writer. The perspectives that Bartholomae and Petrosky discuss on ideas and textual analysis are very interesting and in point of fact remind me of the thought process of which I use when analyzing a reading.
“I am thrown off my reading game when forced to read to fast,” wrote Thomas Newkirk author of The Art of Slow Reading. No matter where I was I didn’t like having to read on a time period; it was always a lot of pressure on me. It was either my mom or teachers rushing me to read. But over time, I started to accept the pressure. As I look back in my life, I realize my reading experiences have had an impact on my life.
During adolescence, I began reading and writing through a fundamental learning program called, "Hooked on Phonics." This program consisted of long hours spent reading short novels and writing elementary phrases which were commonly taught in the second and third grade. With the motto, "Improve your child's reading and writing skills in just four weeks!" I was bound to become the next Mark Twain. The method of this course specialized in the improvements of word acquisition rates as well as reading speed; however, it lacked in the area of teaching comprehension. At a young age, I was instilled with the dire need to be highly educated and although I was unable to experience a fun and adventurous childhood like many other children, I am grateful for being raised with a greater knowledge and wisdom than that ingrained in many.
Four phases of reading development have been established (Ehri 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999) : pre-alphabetic, partial alphabetic, full alphabetic and consolidated alphabetic. These phases has led to the core understanding of children's reading development, apart from the pre-alphabetic phase phonological awareness skills are seen throughout the phases.
Close reading, according to the author, has five key components to look for; word choice, repetition,
...ents to make a good reader. Therefore, without a certain piece of reading students skills the scaffolding is unstable. Due to a student’s faulty scaffolding, reading does not work cohesive to make the end product a successfully understood story. This concerns me. If I feel like they are falling behind on these skills and their other teachers, my colleagues, are not teaching them these skills, I will and do my best at making it appropriate for my class. Without reading skills, they will be faced with horrible ramifications from their problems to comprehend and understand the vocabulary words they see in their textbooks.
Foster, Thomas C. How to read literature like a professor. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.
According to Temple et. Al, there are components for reading. “Reading is the act of getting meaning from a written text.” (Temple & Ogle & Crawford & Freppon, 2005, p.7) There are steps to learn to read; first step is “word recognition.” This activity is that readers recognize letters and words. Next step is “phonemes” which is the smallest sounds in language. Readers who in “phonemic awareness” are able to know how to make sounds with letters. In “comprehension” step, readers are able to understand what they are reading. They can improve reading ability by expanding knowledge of vocabulary. If they can understand words faster than previous time and accurately, they are on “reading fluency” step. The last step, which is “interpretation” or also known as “critical reading”, is a time when they are able to understand author’s thought and mind by reading their words and arguments. National Reading Panel categorized literacy by areas of alphabetic, fluency, comprehension, teacher education and reading instruction, computer technology, and reading instruction. Alphabetic includes
Furthermore, informational texts found in Reading A-Z talk about different water sources like the Mississippi River where the learner could relate too since the river crosses Minnesota. Part of the assessments done the learner indicated the dislike of reading, but through selective texts of her interest or texts that she could relate and use her background knowledge to engage on the reading would create on her motivation to read. Just as Fisher & Frey (2012) states that few readers read the introduction to know if it the text meets their needs. In order to create engagement on readers, looking at the complexity of a text as a teacher is it vital to maintain the reader joy