USING SQR3

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There is a lot of important information in Biology: The Web of Life. How can you make sure you're focusing on the key facts? How can you boost your comprehension and get the most from what you read? Try SQR3, an easy multi-step reading technique that really works. Here's what the letters mean:

S	Survey
Q	Question
R	Read
R	Recite
R	Review

STEPS TO FOLLOW

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S --- Survey
When you survey a passage, you examine the material quickly before you start reading it in depth. A survey is similar to a reading preview. As you survey the reading, make predictions about the content. Based on your survey, decide what information you are going to find in the passage. As you survey, look at these places in the reading:

title	diagrams	captions
heads and subheads	graphs	last paragraph
photographs	introduction	charts
first paragraph	words in bold type	tables

Q-----Question
While you survey the passage, ask yourself questions about the material and what you find. Asking questions makes you an active reader, which greatly increases your comprehension. Start by turning the title, heads, and subheads into questions. As you survey, think about possible answers to these questions.

R-----Read
Now read the passage, chapter, or unit at your normal reading speed. Slow down when you come to key passages and important ideas. How will you know which information is significant? Think back to what you learned from your survey and questions. This can help you decide which parts of the passage are most important. As you read, refer back to the predictions you made in the previous two steps. Change your predictions as needed.

R-----Recite
After you finish reading, look over the passage again. Focus on the key places, such as the title, heads, and key paragraphs. Summarize the material in your head, reducing what you learned to a few paragraphs. Many people find it helps them understand and remember what they read to recite their summary aloud. See if this method works for you. If not, recite your summary silently to yourself.

At first, you will probably stop, summarize, and recite after every paragraph or so. But as you practice using SQR3, you will probably find that you can bite off bigger and bigger chunks of text, building to a page or so at a time. What happens if your mind goes blank? If you find you are having trouble remembering what you have read, take a moment to skim the passage again. It is vital that you make sure that you understood what you read before you go any further.

R-----Review
As you review, think back to the predictions you made during the Question step. Were your ideas on target? If so, isolate the details you used to make your predictions. If your predictions were off base, think about when and where you guessed incorrectly. Assessing your predictions and revising your methods of making them will enable you to make more accurate predictions next time.

TRY IT!

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1. What is the title of Section 28.2 on page 671? Rewrite the title as a question.
2. What do you predict this section will tell you?

Click here to check your answers to TRY IT!

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To practice what you've just learned, go to Worksheet 7.2
To learn about another reading strategy, go to Reading Strategy 7.1.

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Unit 7 Home Page

Reading Strategy 7.1 | Worksheet 7.1
Reading Strategy 7.2 | Worksheet 7.2

SUPER READ! Home Page