Entry #2 Using the SQ4R Reading Strategy

This week, I was introduced to the SQ4R Reading Strategy as a way to better comprehend informational texts. This method includes thinking about the information being presented before, during, and after reading, and while in theory, those are all things I think we are all taught to do at an early age, this reading strategy really narrows in on how to accomplish that.

The SQ4R strategy helped me become aware of what I was reading by more thoughtfully taking notes throughout the reading process. I think as a reader, I’m used to initially reading text, and then going back through to look for important information as a secondary action, which tends to make comprehension a little bit more difficult, because I’m really just looking for information as it relates to a question posed. However, writing notes as I read through in real-time allows me to better understand what is being said and how it relates to the text as a whole. It helped me to become aware of how I was reading by allowing myself to slow down more and fully grasp the idea that the author is explaining. 

Using the SQ4R strategy helped me to become more prepared for group/forum discussions as well. By turning each bolded heading into a question to answer after reading that section, I was able to focus my attention on what was being covered in those particular sections, and I think doing so helped me to be able to answer specific forum questions later on. I found many of the questions related back to the headings I had formed questions for, so I was ready to discuss more in-depth when the time came to bring my ideas to the table, and recite back (another SQ4R strategy) ideas that were brought up in the text. 

There is always room for improvement when it comes to literacy, and opportunity to grow into a better reader overall. A habit that might be good for me to build in order to become a more purposeful reader of texts, would be to focus closely on reading with concentration. Sometimes I find it really hard to get through a text, just based on distractions and probably honestly my own reading level as an intellectual. We discussed breaking up this last text we read into sections, reading just pieces at a time to really focus on the content. While I had every intention of doing just that, I ended up reading the whole text in one sitting, taking short 1-2-minute breaks in between those bolded headings. I think it would be great to really focus on splitting up larger texts, and giving myself time to be distracted, as long as I come back ready to learn again. 

A habit I think would be good to build in order to be prepared to engage in discussions with classmates about texts would be to take better quality notes. I’m also one of those people who like to highlight/underline a lot, and I’m always worried about not taking enough notes in case I miss something. However, I think it would be great moving forward to focus on being able to really think about the notes I’m taking and understand how it pertains to key ideas. I think taking the time to take good quality notes, will make participation in group discussions much easier and in doing so, will make comprehension of the text overall clearer.