A
Annie
Guest
I have worked with older students on their study skills, and I think you can improve your reading.
First, choose books with only 3 to 5 words per page (300 words) that you don’t know. You will be less frustrated and be able to figure out some of the meanings through context.
Second, to improve your memory, practice remembering. Try this variation of what I do with my students: read something short (start with a half to a whole page; 150 to 300 words) and complete, such as something from an Aesop’s Fables, a news item, a religious reading for the day, etc.
At first, read it all at once (hence something short
)
After you finish reading it, write down a few questions about what it says. It is important to pose and answer questions.
Use spaced repetition to answer the questions. (Skip to How to Use Spaced Repetition if the link does not take you to that section.)
Do that for a while as practice, and continue to do it for things you really want to remember. (While they have apps for this, writing things seems to help remember better than typing does!)
But for things that are not as important, when you have read 15 or 20 short stories–you’ll need a copy of them, so maybe get a book of short stories out of the library-- just open the book randomly to the part where you have read the stories and read right in the middle until you figure out which story it is; it can be just, the story the wife brought home a dog, not necessarily the title. The amount you have to read before you see where you are should get shorter and shorter.
You can do this with books that are all one story as well, but remembering which part of the book you are in: that’s the part where he is getting ready to propose to her.
Each time, also review the story or section entirely as well.
Hope this helps!
First, choose books with only 3 to 5 words per page (300 words) that you don’t know. You will be less frustrated and be able to figure out some of the meanings through context.
Second, to improve your memory, practice remembering. Try this variation of what I do with my students: read something short (start with a half to a whole page; 150 to 300 words) and complete, such as something from an Aesop’s Fables, a news item, a religious reading for the day, etc.
At first, read it all at once (hence something short
)After you finish reading it, write down a few questions about what it says. It is important to pose and answer questions.
Use spaced repetition to answer the questions. (Skip to How to Use Spaced Repetition if the link does not take you to that section.)
Do that for a while as practice, and continue to do it for things you really want to remember. (While they have apps for this, writing things seems to help remember better than typing does!)
But for things that are not as important, when you have read 15 or 20 short stories–you’ll need a copy of them, so maybe get a book of short stories out of the library-- just open the book randomly to the part where you have read the stories and read right in the middle until you figure out which story it is; it can be just, the story the wife brought home a dog, not necessarily the title. The amount you have to read before you see where you are should get shorter and shorter.
You can do this with books that are all one story as well, but remembering which part of the book you are in: that’s the part where he is getting ready to propose to her.
Each time, also review the story or section entirely as well.
Hope this helps!
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