Strategy for Reading Textbooks

Ever heard of SQRW? Well it might sound sort of complex but its actually quite simple and straight forward. SQRW is a four-step strategy for reading and taking notes from textbooks that will help you better prepare for exams, better prepare for class discussion, improve your reading comprehension and help you learn better using textbooks. SQRW stands for Survey, Question, Read and Write.

Survey

The first step in the SQRW reading strategy is Survey. Before you actually start reading a chapter you first survey the chapter. You read the chapter title, introduction, headings and the summary or conclusion at the end of the chapter. When you survey you should also review any pictures, graphs, maps, or tables in the chapter and the caption (text explanation that goes with each). The purpose of surveying the chapter is to quickly learn what the chapter is about before reading it in its entirety.

Question

The second step in the SQRW reading strategy is to ask questions as your read. Questions help you to focus and give your reading purpose. Instead of simply reading without purpose now you are searching for useful, applicable information. Use each chapter heading to develop questions for that chapter. For example, for chapter titled “Housing Training Dogs” you might develop the question “How many ways are there to house train a dog?” or “What is involved in house training a dog?” If a chapter heading contains several ideas you may want to form a question for each idea. Always remember to use the chapter headings to develop questions – don’t use the conclusion, summary, introduction or the text to develop your questions.

Read

The R in the SQRW stands for Read and represents the third step in the SQRW reading strategy. Once you’ve surveyed the chapter and developed questions based on the chapter titles you should then read the information contained in the chapter to answer the questions you developed. As you read the chapter in an attempt to answer the questions you developed you may find it necessary to modify your question(s) or you may think of more questions that need to be answered. Make sure to focus as you read and take time to thoroughly answer each question you develop.

Write

The final step in the SQRW reading strategy for reading textbooks is Write. Make sure to write each of the questions you form along with its answer in a notebook. After you’ve written down each question as well as the answer to each question review each question again to make sure you have completely answered the question.

As you begin to apply the SQRW strategy you’ll find that learning will become easier, you’ll develop better notes to prepare for class discussion and exams, and ultimately you’ll learn much more.

A Strategy for Reading Textbooks

SQRW is a four-step strategy for readingand taking notes from chapters in a textbook. Each letter stands for one stepin the strategy. Using SQRW will help you to understand what you read and toprepare a written record of what you learned. The written record will bevaluable when you have to participate in a class discussion and again when youstudy for a test. Read to learn what to do for each step in SQRW.

Survey.

Surveying brings to mind what you already know about the topic of a chapter and prepares you for learning more. To survey a chapter, read the title, introduction, headings, and the summary or conclusion. Also, examine all visuals such as pictures, tables, maps, and/or graphs and read the caption that goes with each. By surveying a chapter, you will quickly learn what the chapter is about.

Question.

You need to have questions in your mind as you read. Questions give you apurpose for reading and help you stay focused on the reading assignment. Formquestions by changing each chapter heading into a question. Use the words who,what, when, where, why, or how to form questions. For example, forthe heading "Uses of Electricity" in a chapter about how scienceimproves lives, you might form the question "What are some uses ofelectricity?" If a heading is stated as a question, use that question.When a heading contains more than one idea, form a question for each idea. Donot form questions for the Introduction, Summary, or Conclusion.

Read.

Read the information that follows each heading to find the answer to eachquestion you formed. As you do this, you may decide you need to change aquestion or turn it into several questions to be answered. Stay focused andflexible so you can gather as much information as you need to answer eachquestion.

Write.

Write each question and its answer in your notebook. Reread each of yourwritten answers to be sure each answer is legible and contains all theimportant information needed to answer the question.

As you practice using SQRW, you will findyou learn more and have good study notes to use to prepare for classparticipation and tests.

HINT: Onceyou complete the Survey step for the entire chapter, complete the Question,Read, and Write steps for the first heading. Then complete the Question, Read,and Write steps for the second heading, and so on for the remaining headings inthe chapter.

Source of Article: www.how-to-study.com

A Strategy for Reading Textbooks

SQRW is a four-step strategy for reading and taking notes from chapters in a textbook. Each letter stands for one step in the strategy. Using SQRW will help you to understand what you read and to prepare a written record of what you learned. The written record will be valuable when you have to participate in a class discussion and again when you study for a test. Read to learn what to do for each step in SQRW.

Survey.

Surveying brings to mind what you already know about the topic of a chapter and prepares you for learning more. To survey a chapter, read the title, introduction, headings, and the summary or conclusion. Also, examine all visuals such as pictures, tables, maps, and/or graphs and read the caption that goes with each. By surveying a chapter, you will quickly learn what the chapter is about.

Question.

You need to have questions in your mind as you read. Questions give you a purpose for reading and help you stay focused on the reading assignment. Form questions by changing each chapter heading into a question. Use the words who, what, when, where, why, or how to form questions. For example, for the heading "Uses of Electricity" in a chapter about how science improves lives, you might form the question "What are some uses of electricity?" If a heading is stated as a question, use that question. When a heading contains more than one idea, form a question for each idea. Do not form questions for the Introduction, Summary, or Conclusion.

Read.

Read the information that follows each heading to find the answer to each question you formed. As you do this, you may decide you need to change a question or turn it into several questions to be answered. Stay focused and flexible so you can gather as much information as you need to answer each question.

Write.

Write each question and its answer in your notebook. Reread each of your written answers to be sure each answer is legible and contains all the important information needed to answer the question.

As you practice using SQRW, you will find you learn more and have good study notes to use to prepare for class participation and tests.

HINT: Once you complete the Survey step for the entire chapter, complete the Question, Read, and Write steps for the first heading. Then complete the Question, Read, and Write steps for the second heading, and so on for the remaining headings in the chapter.