Texts are arguably the most important tool that we as teachers have at hand. In order for these texts to be useful in educating students, students must be able to effectively study them. Teaching students various strategies not only increases the amount of information they are receiving from your lesson, but also provides them with excellent lifelong skills that will be useful both in future classes and in life after graduating.
The most fundamental building block of understanding how to read and use a text is understanding text structure. Knowing the functions of certain text elements and how they interact with one another is key when trying to make connections between pieces of important information in the text. External text structure refers to things such as the table of contents, appendix, headings, graphs, charts, illustration, title page, etc. Literacy of these elements allows a student to easily identify information, sort it by importance, and connect it; these elements become great tools when reading, especially if the concepts are complicated. Internal text structures are not as overtly stated. Searching for text patterns, which are the "different types of logical connections among important and less important ideas in informational material,"allows students to more effectively find relationships and identify significant information (Mraz, Vacca & Vacca 320). Searching description for the major facts, putting facts or events into sequence, comparing and contrasting facts, people, or concepts, identifying cause and effect factors, and recognizing the development from problem to solution, are all important text patterns to use when reading texts.
Once a student has a grasp on text structures and how the relationships within them are significant, they can focus more on the actual facts and ideas a text presents. A good way to do this is by using graphic organizers, which are visual represenations that help students "comprehend and retain textually important information" (Mraz et al., 324). This study strategy lets students take charge of their own learning by organizing concepts by importance and relationship. These are great for visual learners in a language arts class. They allow students to break down dense texts into manageable skeletons that highlight the most important concepts. A comparison-and-contrast matrix shows similarities and difference in a text, and could be used to compare two characters in order to explore how an author uses characterization. A problem-and-solution outline and series-of-events chain both could be used to sequence events in order to explore plot structure and analyze how events work together. Semantic (cognitive) mapping is a visual "web" that connects main concepts to smaller ideas and inferences, would be a great way to overview an entire unit, e.g., connecting a series of books and their concepts during a slave narrative unit.
Two other important studying strategies are writing summaries and taking notes. Writing a summary of a text is a good way to make sure that all main points are understood. Reiterating these into one's own words creates a more personal connection between student and text, therefore promoting memory of the various concepts. Taking notes operates the same way, only notes use a more concrete structure as opposed to the free-flowing words of a summary. A few common examples of these include T-notes and Cornell notes. Different note styles can have unique benefits based on the structure of the topic that is being discussed and the personal comprehension/preference of the individual student.
Scaffolding these various strategies into your classroom has so many benefits. However, they all must be implemented carefully, providing plenty of support for students. With this help, they can gain a full understanding of how these strategies work and how to use them effectively. The extra review required to do these will promote better memory, analyzing and reiterating into one's own words will spark interest, creating a organizer of some kind allows students to easily reflect back on information in the future - all of which foster a deeper understanding, creating a more deep and meaningful learning experience.
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