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We are DONE with the charter school!! I’m so excited! I didn’t realize how happy I could be finally disentangling ourselves from them! Not that the people involved weren’t the best…but it was a real burden the last few months!
J2 has some learning disabilities and having to work at their pace and on their standards just sucked the fun out of homeschool!
We signed out this morning and the first thing I did when I got home was to get out our history projection that I had created two years ago and dusted it off! Right now it looks like we are going to do World History for the next two years, then California histoyr followed by 2 years of US History. After that 4 years of World History – but slower and finally, US Government the last year of school. Knowing me this will change many times…but just knowing I have the freedom to plan our schedule again — I’m sooo jazzed!
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“The Second level of Reading: Inspectional Reading”
“…you can not read on the inspectional level unless you can read effectively on the elementary level.”
There are two types of IR:
INSPECTIONAL READING 1: Systematic Skimming or Pre-Reading
Main aim is to discover whether the book requires a more careful reading. Also, skimming can tell you lots of toher things about the book – even if you decide not to read it again.
Acquire a habit of skimming:
a) Look at the title page and preface – it will give you a good idea of the subject and help you categorize it with other boks you’ve read.
b) Study the table of contents – to gain a sense of the book’s structure — a road map on a trip.
c) Check the index (if applicable) – quick estimate of the range of topics and books and authors referred to.
d) Read publisher’s blurb (dust jacket) “It is not uncommon for author – in these blurbs – to try to summarize as accurately as they can the main points in their book.” If the blurb is fluff…mayb the book is too!
**”At this point you may already have enough info about the book to know that you want to read it more carefully, or that you do not want or need to read it at all.” If not,
e) Look at chapters that seem pivotal to it’s arguement.
f) Finally, flip through the book – reading a paragraph or two or even several pages in a sequence (but no more). Do not fail to read the last 2-3 pages (not the epilogue).
NOTE: Due to some newish features at amazon.com and the like – we can do much of this online now. Features that I use EVERY time I try to figure out if I want to buy a book or not.
This is very active reading. You are a detective looking for clues to the book’s general theme or idea.
INSPECTIONAL READING 2: Superficial Reading
Rule – In tackling a difficult book for the first time, read it through without ever stopping to look up or ponder the things you do not understand right away.
Pay attention to what you CAN understand. Go right on reading past things you don’t understan until you get to that which you do understand. Even if you only understand 50%-it will help you the next time you read it.
p 37 – reading Shakespeare – exactly!! No fun!
On Reading Speeds – Inspectional reading shoud happen quickly. P 40-41 how to speed read.
SUMMARY: p 42 “You can not comprehend a book without reading it analytically; analytical reading…is undertaken primarily for the sake of comprehension (or understanding).”
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“The First Level of Reading: Elementary Reading”
Stages of learning to read
a. Reading readiness (birth – six/seven)
b. 2nd stage – learn to read very simple materials
c. 3rd stage – rapid progress in vocabulary and increased skill in “unlocking” the meaning of unfamiliar words through context clues / Start to read for fun and different subjects to gain understanding.
d. 4th stage – refinement and enhancement of skills previously acquired.
p 28 – “Only when he (student) has mastered all of the four stages of elementary reading is the child prepared to move on to the higher levels of reading. Only then can he read independently and learn on his own.”
“To this day, most institutions of higher learning either do not know how to instruct students in reading beyond the elementary level, or lack the facilities and personnel to do so.”
*** So, WHERE are we to learn the other levels??? EVERYONE need to read this book!
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Please note this is part of my participation in the “Great Books Reading Partnership”. We are currently reading “How to Read a Book”. Please go here to read other’s comments on the chapters!
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I joined a Reading Partnership this week. The first book we are reading is called “How to Read a Book” by Mortimer Adler. I totally scoffed at the title the first time I read it – but three chapters later I’m really enjoying it. I’m taking notes as I read and posting them on the Reading Partnership blog – but I’m going to post them on my blog too. Since others are commenting too – I’m not sharing everything I learn, just the things that haven’t been shared yet or that I was to particularily highlight!
I am an avid reader…I read anything and everything! However, in the past few years I find I’m skimming more than reading. I think it’s due to the internet and other ‘easy’ informative avenues. Why excercise my brain to gather information when I can drink at the firehose of the internet!
So, as I started this book – it is with a bit of fear of not finishing or worse yet, not comprehending. The first chapter seemed to be written just for me!! When I consider this book was first written in 1940 – well, think how much easier “information” is to gain now. But understanding – ah, now that is a different story! I can quickly tell you how much the oil prices are today – but understanding WHY the oil is that much money – that takes some more work!
Since the other ladies have covered so much of what I was struck by – I wanted to share something else I found interesting. The author said, “we can learn only from our “betters”. We must know who they are and how to learn from them.” For some reason that has made me pause everytime I reread it. I think I really need to better consider who I’m learning from – and, online, who knows who wrote something!
I really like the idea that “being informed is prerequisite to being enlightened.” Doesn’t that sound so much like how we teach our children!
