Reading Strategies 2

Inter American University of Puerto Rico
Guayama Campus
Cooperative Title V Project
Reading Strategies II
Asking Questions
Identifying Supporting Details
Summarizing
Making Inferences
Paraphrasing
Prof. Daisy Irizarry Vzquez

April 2007
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Reading Strategies II Module

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Purpose 3
This module proposes to familiarize you with

another set of readings strategies that will also
prove helpful in your study of the simple
selections studied in the GEEN 1102, English as
a Second Language II or any basic reading
course.

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Introduction 4
Welcome to the study of a

new set of reading strategies!
Improved reading comprehension skills can positively

impact many aspects of your academic performance.
When you have effectively read and understood reading
assignments, you are better prepared for class, leading to
improved class participation and more accurate and
complete notes. Performance on exams and quizzes may
be greatly improved as you become a more proficient and
effective reader.

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Objectives
General Objective 6
After studying this module, you will apply

reading strategies to your reading process to
demonstrate further improvement of your
reading comprehension skills.

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Specific Objective 7
By the end of this module, you will make

appropriate use of the following reading
strategies: asking questions; identifying
supporting details; summarizing; making
inferences; and paraphrasing.

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8

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Part I. Pre-reading.
Select the letter of the correct answer.
9
1. What do traffic jams do to the air?

a. They contaminate it.
b. They clean it.
c. They decontaminate it.
2. What is another environmental

consequence of traffic jams?
a. car accidents
b. stressed drivers
c. global warming

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10
3. The title of the selection you will read is Air
Pollution. What do you think it will be about?
a. Ways to pollute the air.
b. Causes of air pollution.
c. Machines that clean the air.
4. It is known that a major cause of air pollution is

a. home cooking.
b. cigarette smoking.
c. industrialization.

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Part II. Read the selection and answer
the questions that follow.
11
AIR POLLUTION
From FORMS OF POLLUTION*
(1) Biologists define pollution as an undesirable

change in the physical, chemical, or biological
characteristics of an ecosystem. This means that pollution
makes our environment unfit for use and can injure or kill
living organisms. Industrialization and human population
growth have been cited as the underlying causes of air,
water, and land pollution, making it a global problem today.

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12
(2) Air pollution often seems to be a personal or
social issue the displeasure of being in a smoke-filled
coffee shop, the polluting smell of leaves burning, or the
frustration of sitting in a traffic jam amid trucks and cars
spewing out toxic fumes. But air pollution today is a global
problem that knows no borders.
(3) Although air pollution has always existed in some
form or other, pollution of the air has become a significant
problem since the Industrial Revolution.

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13
(4) Most air pollution today is generated by industry

and motor vehicles. Industries using coal, oil, and other
fossil fuels spew out large amounts of chemical compounds.
Despite regulations imposed by many governments, we still
witness smokestacks belching out clouds of soot and other
pollutants in the early mornings and late afternoons, creating a
blazing ball of red that is the sun filtered through the chemical
compounds in our air. These compounds, once dissolved in
water, shower pollutants back on earth in the form of acid rain.
Acid rain damages crops and forests, kills fish, and makes
water unfit for drinking.

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14
(5) Automobiles, a common necessity in most

countries today, are an equally significant contributor to air
pollution. A consumer born into a typical middle-class
American home will purchase a dozen cars, use more than
28,000 gallons of gasoline, and drive more than 700,000
miles during his or her lifetime. Considering facts such as
these for the United States alone, it is little wonder that
cities around the world are experiencing the debilitating
effects of automobile exhaust.

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15
(6) Despite air-pollution controls on motor vehicles in
most environmentally conscious countries, the city dweller
faces high risks of respiratory illnesses due to carbon
emissions from vehicle exhaust. Cities in dry, sunny climates,
and where motor vehicles are the main source of pollution,
tend to suffer under a yellowish haze that lingers overheada
form of air pollution known as photochemical smog. Cars and
trucks give off nitric oxide which reacts with oxygen to
produce a strong choking gas called nitrogen dioxide. As
ultraviolet rays from the sun mix with nitrogen dioxide
and oxygen, dangerous chemicals are produced.

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16
Add industrial solvents and spilled or unburned gasoline to

the air as the temperature rises, and you'll see a dense,
yellow-brown smog settle over the urban landscape.
Photochemical smog, along with other forms of air
pollution, has resulted in eye irritation, respiratory problems,
and cancer in humans. More than 1.5 billion people
worldwide breathe unhealthy city air daily, and at least 800 of
them die prematurely because of that pollution.

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17
(7) Car pools, cleaner-burning engines, new fuels,

and other personal and technological advances may begin
to bring air pollution under control, but without global
agreements on how to control and clean our air, the
problem can only grow worse. Today, and every day,
140,000 new cars, trucks, and buses start their engines for
the first time and add yet more pollutants to those belched
out or released by the more than half billion vehicles
already in use.
Bushell, B. (1995). Greening: An Environmental Reader.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents

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5. It can be inferred from the selection that 18
before the Industrial Revolution, air pollution

was not a major
a. environmental problem.
b. concern of governments.
c. economic issue.
6. Another possible inference from the reading is that

_______ are mainly responsible for the air pollution
problem.
a. governments
b. men
c. natural events
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7. When the author says that air pollution is a global19
problem that knows no borders, she means that
a. the problem is a big circle.
b. air pollution is affecting countries all over
the world.
c. there are too many cars in the world.
8. The two factors cited in the reading as the cause of

air pollution are
a. airplanes and trains.
b. leaves burning and smoke-filled coffee shops.
c. industry and motor vehicles.

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9 In summary, air pollution affects humans and the
. 20
environment by
a. causing respiratory illnesses and acid rain.
b. producing dark clouds of smog and lack of
jobs.
c. creating an awareness of the problem around the
world.
10. This selection concludes that

a. there are good national sales of motor vehicles .
b. there are more than half a billion buses on the streets
around the world.
c. global consensus is necessary to control and clean
the air world wide.
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Pre-Test Answer Key
21
Part I Part II
5. A
1. A
6. B
2. C 7. B
3. B 8. C
4. C 9. A
10. C

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Pre-Test Assessment
22
10 or 9 Excellent Go to the Post Test.
8 or 7 Very Good Review the incorrect answers and go to the Post

Test.
6 You need Review the incorrect answers; study the

practice strategies presented in this module; do the
assessment exercises and then go to the Post
Test.
5 or You have Study the module; review the strategies carefully

less to work the and do the assessment exercises. Then, you
whole can go to the Post Test.
module

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Asking Questions
Summarizing
Making Inferences
Paraphrasing
Strategy # 1 Asking Questions
24
Asking yourself questions is a useful

strategy to use before you read, while
you are reading, and after you finish
reading that can help you understand
and remember ideas and information.

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Asking Questions
25
Before you read, study the title and any

headings or pictures and then ask questions
such as these:
What is the selection or article about?

What do I already know about the topic?
What do I want to find out about the topic?

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Asking Questions
26
While you are reading, stop frequently to

ask yourself questions:
What is this paragraph about?

What is the writer saying here?
What is my reaction to this paragraph?

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Asking Questions
27
After you finish reading, ask questions

about what you read:
What was the selection or article about?

What was the main idea?
What was interesting to me? What did I
learn?

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Asking Questions
28
In Summary
Asking questions will help you to recognize confusion

and will promote your active learning.
Before reading, think about the subject based on the

title, chapter heads, and visual information.
Make notes of anything you are curious about.

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Asking Questions
29
In Summary
While reading, pause and write down any questions. Be

sure to ask questions if there is confusion.
Look for the answers while reading. Pause and write

down the answers.
After reading, were all your questions answered? Could

the answers come from other sources?

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Asking Questions Assessment
30
Situation:
You are about to begin reading a selection titled
Global Warming.
Select the logical questions that you might

ask before reading.
1.
a. What is a globe?
b. What is global warming?
c. How warm is the globe?

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Asking Questions Assessment
31
2.
a. What are the causes of global warming?

b. What happens when I get a warming globe?
c. Where is the warming globe found?
3.
a. Can I go to the beach?
b. Where can I do sports?
c. What are the effects of global warming?

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Asking-Questions Assessment
Answer Key
32
1. C
2. B
3. A
I know you got them correct!

Congratulations!

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Strategy # 2
33
Supporting details are sentences that tell about the main idea.
Details are small pieces of information.
As a reader, you recall details from a selection.

These details support main ideas.
You will identify details that reveal specific

information.

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Following are some questions that will 34
help you identify supporting details:
1. Which details helped you picture . . .?

2. What details from the selection support this theory?
3. When you read, you think about what most of the
sentences are describing. Is there one sentence that
describes the main idea for this topic?
4. What was the focus of this reading selection?

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Example
35
The focus of the reading selection Air Pollution in the Pre-
Test Section of this module was to illustrate the fact that we
are damaging the air we breathe and if some action is not
taken, future generations will have fewer chances of survival.
What details were used to illustrate the point?

1. the definition of pollution
2. the major causes of air pollution
3. government actions so far
4. statistics on vehicles purchase and gasoline consumption
5. the consequences of air pollution on humans and on the
environment
6. the need of global agreements to control and clean the air

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Strategy # 3 Summarizing
36
What is a summary?
A summary is a short statement -- usually
a few sentences -- that gives the main ideas
of a selection. It does not include all of the
details as in a retelling.
The essence of a summary is that it is
brief; it literally focuses on the key ideas of
the text.

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Summarizing
37
Summarizing allows you to discriminate

between main ideas and minor details.
In order to summarize a text, you filter out
less significant or repetitious details; identify
a general term for a list of specific details;
combine ideas into a broad category; and
create a topic sentence.

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Summarizing
38
A summary guides you to organize and

restate information, usually in written form.
There are certain questions that you can

ask yourself that will help you summarize a
reading selection. Lets see some of them in
the next slide!

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Questions that help you
summarize information
39
What do you think is the big idea of this article? Of
this paragraph? Of this story?
What two words would you use to describe the

general idea of the paragraph? selection? story?
When you read, you think about what most of the

sentences are describing. Is there one sentence that
describes the main idea for this topic?

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Questions that help you
summarize information
40
What was the focus of this reading selection?
How can you condense the information

described in this article, paragraph or story
using key ideas?
Which details were most significant? Which

details were less significant?

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Summarizing
41
Whether or not your professors require

you to write formal summaries, this
reading-to-writing skill is an important one
even for personal study goals.
Summaries written after every long

reading assignments become study
guides to be used for midterms, final
exams, or for final papers.

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Steps to Effective Summary Writing
42
#1
Highlight the chapter title and rewrite it in the
form of a goal question.
#2
Answer the question; this answer should
include the main idea of the chapter.
#3
State the answer as a main idea statement--IN
ONE SENTENCE ONLY!

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43
Review the heading and subheadings that

correspond to the sections. Write a main idea
sentence for each.
Begin leaving spaces as you will want to fill in

details under each main idea. Yes, you have
started to prepare an outline!

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44
Use the scanning skills you developed in Module I to
pick out important details and list them under the
main idea sentence you have formulated above in
step 3.
Try arranging them in order of appearance in the

text.
You might want to indicate the page number next to

each one since you are compressing information
and you can use these numbers at a later date for
referral for more information if needed.
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45
While filling in the details on the outline, look for

patterns of information. Group items together; delete
repetitive information.
You might want to type up a revised copy of this

summary at a later point, in order to have a clear
study tool. If so, use a general rule: The revised
summary should be one-quarter in length of the
original chapter.

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Strategy # 4
Making Inferences
46
To make an inference is to give a logical guess

based on the facts or evidence presented
using prior knowledge to help "read between
the lines".
When you make an inference or draw a

conclusion, you try to figure out something by
using clues from the text and what you know
from previous experiences.

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Making Inferences
47
The conclusion is reached after thinking about

details and facts from the selection.
Thoughtful readers synthesize and evaluate

information based on prior knowledge (what
experiences they bring to the text).

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Making Inferences
48
There are some questions that can help you make
inferences and draw conclusions:
What conclusions can be made based on the details

and facts described in the selection?
Do the facts add up? How do you know the facts are
accurate?
What evidence does the author provide to support

the decision to...?

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Making Inferences
49
There are some questions that can help you
make inferences and draw conclusions:
What facts led to the authors conclusions?
What facts/details support the authors conclusions?
What facts were revealed by the following clues?
What clues led to your conclusion?

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Strategy # 5
Paraphrasing
50
Paraphrasing is
-a technique that enables you to self
regulate your comprehension.
-stopping at the end of a section to check

comprehension by restating the information
and ideas in the text.

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Paraphrasing
51
Paraphrasing is restating or explaining ideas
in your own words while retaining the
meaning and ideas in the original selection.
Retelling captures all of the main ideas with

most of the supporting details.
Paraphrasing will certainly help you check

your own comprehension.

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Questions that invite you to
paraphrase information
52
How can you put the facts into your own words?
Which words capture the main ideas from this

selection? How can you use the list of key words to
make your own fact statements?
If you wrote the key ideas as a grocery list, how

would you compact the text? Which items are
essential to the list? Which items can be omitted?

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Questions that invite you to
paraphrase information
53
What was your purpose for reading? Which

details matched your goals? Which details
were irrelevant to your purposes for reading
the article or the selection?
What questions did you want answered in the

text? What answers were revealed?

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Paraphrasing
54
When paraphrasing
1. It must be a complete thought with a subject and a verb.

2. Information must be accurate.
3. New information must be added.
4. It needs to make sense.
5. It must contain useful information.
6. What is written must be in your own words.

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Paraphrasing
55
7. Remember
paraphrasing is like rapping or talking to
yourself.

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Paraphrasing
56
Paraphrasing is needed and useful in

order to answer comprehension questions.

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Now, you will work the Post-Test
to assess you learning.
I wish you Success!

Part I. Read the selection and answer
the questions that follow.
59
Water Pollution
"Unpotable ... no se beba el agua ... do not drink the water.
(1) More than one-half of the world's water supply is unfit
for drinking. In the United States, at least 40 states have
identified their water as polluted, and most East European
countries have severe water pollution problems. In Poland
alone, one-half of the water supply is already unsafe for
drinking, with predictions that by the turn of the century,
there will be no water fit to drink.
(2) How did this happen? Our grandparents used to drink

from mountain streams, and crystal clean water flowed
from the pumps of ground wells all over the world.

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60
(3) Today, the two basic causes of water pollution

are industrialization and the human population
explosion. Both produce waste products that are
often left untreated or are not disposed of quickly
enough. Pollutants, the substances that cause
pollution, get into our water supply in many
different ways and forms, and they cause varying
amounts of damage.

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Tracking Toxic Chemicals 61
(4) Perhaps the most dangerous water pollutants

are toxic chemicals, substances that are poisonous
to humans and much of the environment. These
poisonous substances accumulate and find their
way into our water supply, entering the food chain
through rivers, lakes, and oceans.

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62
(5) In only one example, on March 24, 1989, the Exxon
Valdez, a massive oil supertanker, struck a reef and
leaked millions of gallons of crude oil into Prince
William Sound off Alaska. The resulting spill covered
more than 730 miles of wilderness coastline with crude
oil, in places up to three-feet thick.
Studies into this oceanic disaster have found damage

to the food chain, from the tiniest microorganisms to
seals and sea birds that died because their immune
systems were weakened, allowing pneumonia and
other diseases to kill them. Because of the fragile Arctic
environment, effects from this disaster will linger and
grow for decades.

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63
(6) Elsewhere, factories, nuclear facilities, and

industrial sites spill untreated chemicals, sewage,
and waste into streams, rivers, and lakes with
regularity. Governments in many countries have
failed to enforce pollution control laws because the
treatment of such wastes is often expensive. The
damage will continue unless there is sufficient public
outcry to get laws passed and clean-up enforced.

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Who, me? 64
(7) But not all the water has been fouled by accidents and
corporate indifference. Pollution also comes from farmland,
residential areas, golf courses, streets, and construction sites.
Fertilizers, pesticides, salts, and other pollutants trickle into our
water supply from sources that can neither be monitored nor
easily controlled. Mother's advice to, "Wash that apple before you
eat it" is unfortunately not always very good advice any more.
Not only may the water itself be suspect, but many pesticides are
absorbed by the plant and dispersed throughout its tissues,
making it impossible to avoid ingesting them yourself. Pesticides
and herbicides are used liberally on lawns, gardens, golf courses,
and farmland, and often they end up in both our drinking water
and in the farm produce that has been so carefully tended.

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65
(8) Toxic chemicals naturally move through the

food chain and end up in human tragedy as well.
Between 1953 and 1968, 648 residents of
Minamata, Japan, died after consuming seafood
contaminated by industrial mercury. Hundreds
more continue to suffer from the effects of
mercury poisoning, and children are born with
both mental and physical deformities. Even
today, decades later, seafood from Minamata
Bay is still unsafe to eat.

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Part II. Select the correct answer.
66
1. What does this passage discuss?

It discusses
a. water chemical composition.
b. the various uses of water.
c. the basic causes of water pollution.

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67
2. What is Paragraph 1 about?
a. It explains the quality of water is poor in

many countries around the world.
b. It says that there are 40 states in the

United States that have poor quality water.
c. It describes the quality of the water in Eastern

Europe.

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3. The main idea of this reading is that 68
a. humanity will continue drinking water

even if it is of poor quality.
b. not only men but also industrialization

have caused quite irreversible damage to the
quality of the water around the world.
c. toxic chemicals can be prevented from

getting to water supplies.
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69
4. An appropriate inference about this reading is
that
a. it is preferable to consume bottled water.
b. we always have to wash the fruits before

eating them.
c. there is a need for consensus of the

world governments to produce and enforce
laws to stop the damage of water supplies.

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70
5. Another accurate inference from the reading
would be that
a. people are dying because of the effects of
water pollution.
b. industrial development has been positive
for humanity but terrible for the quality of
potable water around the world.
c. the cost for the treatment of polluted water
can not be afforded by many countries.
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71
6. Which of the following is NOT a supporting
detail for the main idea?
a. Our grandparents using water pumps to
get water from ground wells example.
b. The Exxon Valdez oil supertanker example

c. The mercury poisoning of Minamata,
Japan residents example.

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72
7. Toxic chemicals, in Paragraph 4 are
a. life-giving seeds that produce happiness.
b. lethal materials that affect people and
the environment.
c. chemical components of water

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73
8. An appropriate title for this selection would
be
a. Drinking Potable Water around the
World.
b. The Exxon Valdez Oil Supertanker
Tragedy.
c. Effects of Population Explosion and
Industrialization on Water

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9. A proper paraphrasing for the passage is 74
a. Countries have focused on industrialization

and improved ways of doing many things but
have not controlled the impact of progress on
potable water.
b. The Exxon Valdez oil supertanker accident

on March 24, 1989 could have been avoided.
c. Golf course and farmlands are the only

places where water can be consumed without
problems.
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10. What is an appropriate conclusion to reach after 75
reading the passage?
a. The oil supertankers captains should not
consume liquor in order to prevent accidents like the
Exxon Valdezs.
b. From now on, people around the world must buy

and consume bottled water.
c. People around the world have to urge their

governments to enforce legislation to stop the
already accelerated damage of water.
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Post-Test Answer Key
76
1. C 6. A
2. A 7. B
3. B 8. C
4. C 9. A
5. B 10. C

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Post-Test Score-Analysis
77
10 or 9 Excellent You master the reading strategies in this
module.
8 or 7 Very Review the reading strategies and work the

Good Post Test again.
6 You need Study the strategies presented in this module;

practice do the assessment exercises and work the
Post Test again.
5 or less You need Study the complete module again. If you still
to study have questions about the content of the
the module talk to your professor or to the English
module Lab technicians.
again

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Feedback
78
Congratulations!
You have finished the module!
I am sure that you are prepared to be in charge of

your reading experience in English as a Second
Language.
However, if you still have questions about the

strategies, I suggest you review the module again. Keep
in mind that you can count on your professor to assist you.

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79

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Inter American University of Puerto Rico

Prof. Daisy Irizarry Vzquez

You will use some buttons to navigate

use it to go back to the first slide

use it to move to the next slide

use it to return to the previous slide

Reading Strategies II Module

This module proposes to familiarize you with

Reading Strategies II Module

Welcome to the study of a

Improved reading comprehension skills can positively

Reading Strategies II Module

After studying this module, you will apply

Reading Strategies II Module

By the end of this module, you will make

Reading Strategies II Module

Reading Strategies II Module

1. What do traffic jams do to the air?

2. What is another environmental

Reading Strategies II Module

4. It is known that a major cause of air pollution is

Reading Strategies II Module

(1) Biologists define pollution as an undesirable

Reading Strategies II Module

Reading Strategies II Module

(4) Most air pollution today is generated by industry

Reading Strategies II Module

(5) Automobiles, a common necessity in most

Reading Strategies II Module

Reading Strategies II Module

Add industrial solvents and spilled or unburned gasoline to

Reading Strategies II Module

(7) Car pools, cleaner-burning engines, new fuels,

Reading Strategies II Module

before the Industrial Revolution, air pollution

6. Another possible inference from the reading is that

8. The two factors cited in the reading as the cause of

Reading Strategies II Module

10. This selection concludes that

Reading Strategies II Module

8 or 7 Very Good Review the incorrect answers and go to the Post

6 You need Review the incorrect answers; study the

5 or You have Study the module; review the strategies carefully

Reading Strategies II Module

Asking yourself questions is a useful

Reading Strategies II Module

Before you read, study the title and any

What is the selection or article about?

Reading Strategies II Module

While you are reading, stop frequently to

What is this paragraph about?

Reading Strategies II Module

After you finish reading, ask questions

What was the selection or article about?

Reading Strategies II Module

Asking questions will help you to recognize confusion

Before reading, think about the subject based on the

Make notes of anything you are curious about.

Reading Strategies II Module

While reading, pause and write down any questions. Be

Look for the answers while reading. Pause and write

After reading, were all your questions answered? Could

Reading Strategies II Module

Select the logical questions that you might