Skimming and Scanning
SKIMMING AND SCANNING Readers use different strategies based on why they are reading. To be an efficient reader, students need to know when to use other reading method, such as scanning and skimming.
* SCANNING involves moving your eyes quickly across a line or down a page to locate particular information or searching for what is needed.
Guidelines for scanning a book or a magazine * Understand the organization of the material. * Stay focused on what you are looking for. * Use whatever clues available to speed your search. * Confirm your information.
Guidelines for scanning a text or an article * Read the guide questions. * Decide what kind of information you are looking for- person’s name, date, functions, etc. * Look only for these information. Do not read word in every sentence. * Find the sentence/ word/ detail that you think answers the question. Read it to be certain that you have the right answer.
Example: Scan the “Changing Weather (An Excerpt)” and use the following guide questions. * What is the difference between weather and climate? * What group coined the phrase “El Nino?” * Besides the weather, what else is affected by “El Nino?” * When was the last big “El Nino?”
* SKIMMING is a strategy for getting an overview of the ideas contained in a particular piece of writing. When you skim, you glance over the text rapidly to find the main idea and you become three to four times faster when you normally read.
Guidelines for skimming * Establish your goal for skimming. * Identify the type of work and study the organization. * Skim newspaper articles by reading the first two paragraphs and then moving your eyes quickly down the center of each column. * Skim magazine articles by reading the first one or two paragraphs and then skimming the rest of the article.
Example: Skim an article from a newspaper.
* Oral Exercise: Identify what reading strategy (Scanning or Skimming)
* SCANNING involves moving your eyes quickly across a line or down a page to locate particular information or searching for what is needed.
Guidelines for scanning a book or a magazine * Understand the organization of the material. * Stay focused on what you are looking for. * Use whatever clues available to speed your search. * Confirm your information.
Guidelines for scanning a text or an article * Read the guide questions. * Decide what kind of information you are looking for- person’s name, date, functions, etc. * Look only for these information. Do not read word in every sentence. * Find the sentence/ word/ detail that you think answers the question. Read it to be certain that you have the right answer.
Example: Scan the “Changing Weather (An Excerpt)” and use the following guide questions. * What is the difference between weather and climate? * What group coined the phrase “El Nino?” * Besides the weather, what else is affected by “El Nino?” * When was the last big “El Nino?”
* SKIMMING is a strategy for getting an overview of the ideas contained in a particular piece of writing. When you skim, you glance over the text rapidly to find the main idea and you become three to four times faster when you normally read.
Guidelines for skimming * Establish your goal for skimming. * Identify the type of work and study the organization. * Skim newspaper articles by reading the first two paragraphs and then moving your eyes quickly down the center of each column. * Skim magazine articles by reading the first one or two paragraphs and then skimming the rest of the article.
Example: Skim an article from a newspaper.
* Oral Exercise: Identify what reading strategy (Scanning or Skimming)