Reading skill level
The Four Levels of Reading: Improve Skills One Level At A Time
One of the secrets to acquiring knowledge is to read. A lot. My Hero, Charlie Munger, said it best “In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero.”
Picking up a book and reading the words is the easy part. Reading to understand is much harder.
The key is not simply to read more but rather be selective about what we reading and how we are reading.
This article, the first in a multi-part series on improving our reading skills, outlines the four levels of reading.
“Books give delisght to the very marrow of one’s bones. They speak to us, consult with us and join us in a living and intense intimacy.” — Petrarch
Mortimer Adler originally published How To Read A Book in 1940. It immediately became a bestseller. Since that time the book has been updated and recast many times, most notably by Charles van Doren in the 1970’s.
Active Reading
There is no such thing as passive reading. All reading, to some degree, is active reading. The only difference is that some reading is more active than others. And when it comes to reading to learn something or reading for information something the more active your reading habits the better.
Reading is a complex activity, just as writing is. It consists of a large number of separate acts, all of which must be performed in a good reading. The person who can perform more of them is better able to read.
Success in reading is determined to the extent that you receive what the writer intended to communicate. That doesn’t mean you agree with them, only that you understood them.
Reading For Understanding or Information
Assuming we’re not reading for entertainment, there are two things we generally want to get from reading. We can read to acquire information and facts or we can read to learn something new and improve our understanding.
Reading for entertainment is self-explanatory.
Reading for information is the one in which we read media or anything else that’s easily digestible. These things give us more information but don’t improve our understanding. There is no shock, no moment of … that doesn’t make sense.
Alternatively, we can try to read something by someone who knows more about the subject than we do. After reading works by authors who know more about a subject than we do, our understanding is changed … it may be the case that we better understand something or perhaps we understand that our understanding was incomplete. Either way, our understanding has changed.
The easiest way to improve our understanding is from people who understand more about the subject than we do.
So half the battle of reading for understanding is to identify and select works from someone (or a group of people) who know more about a subject than we do. The internet and Amazon have made this much easier with ratings and book reviews.
And if you can read for understanding, you need not worry about reading for information or entertainment as, being less demanding, they will take care of themselves.
Instruction or DiscoveryTo be informed is to know simply that something is the case. To be enlightened is to know, in addition, what it is all about: why it is the case, what its connections are with other facts, in what respects it is the same, in what respects it is different, and so forth.
This is the difference between being knowing the name of something and knowing something.
… if you remember what an author says, you have learned something from reading him. If what he says is true, you have even learned something about the world. But whether it is a fact about the book or a fact about the world that you have learned, you have gained nothing but information if you have exercised only your memory. You have not been enlightened. Enlightenment is achieved only when, in addition to knowing what an author says, you know what he means and why he says it.
You can’t be enlightened unless you are informed, however you can be informed but not enlightened.
Montaigne speaks of “an abecedarian ignorance that precedes knowledge, and a doctoral ignorance that comes after it.”
The first is the ignorance of those who, not knowing their ABC’s, cannot read at all. The second is the ignorance of those who have misread many books.
The Greeks had a name for people who have read too widely and not well, sophomores.
Being widely read and well-read are not the same thing. Adler argues that to avoid this error we must distinguish between how we learn into instruction and discovery.
The art of reading, in short, includes all of the same skills that are involved in the art of unaided discovery: keenness of observation, readily available memory, range of imagination, and, of course, an intellect trained in analysis and reflection.
The goal of reading determines the best way to read the material in question.
If we’re reading for entertainment, we’re going to read a lot differently than if we’re reading to build a rocket ship.
A thorough understanding of the levels of reading is necessary before we can improve our reading skills.
There are four levels of reading. They are thought of as levels because you can’t reach the higher levels without a firm understanding of the previous one — they are cumulative.
1. Elementary Reading
The first level of reading is elementary reading, which is what we learned to do in elementary school. Most of us never get beyond this level.
Other names might be rudimentary reading, basic reading or initial reading; any one of these terms serves to suggest that as one masters this level one passes from nonliteracy to at least beginning literacy. In mastering this level, one learns the rudiments of the art of reading, receives basic training in reading, and acquires initial reading skills.
2. Inspectional Reading
The second level of reading is inspectional reading, which can be thought of us intelligently skimming a book in a limited amount of time.
Not only does this prime our brain with the material in the book, but it helps us determine if we want to read the entire book.
Adler writes:
[A]nother name for this level might be skimming or pre-reading. However, we do not mean the kind of skimming that is characterized by casual or random browsing through a book. Inspectional reading is the art of skimming systematically.
The point of inspectional reading is to examine the “surface” of the book.
Adler guides us:
Whereas the question that is asked at the first level is “What does the sentence say?” the question typically asked at this level is “What is the book about?” That is a surface question; others of a similar nature are “What is the structure of the book?” or “What are its parts?”
Inspectional reading is underappreciated by a lot of readers because they see it as a waste of time.
A lot of people like to read linearly. They pick up a book, turn to page one, and plow steadily through it without ever reading so much as the table of contents.
“They are,” writes Adler, “thus faced with the task of achieving a superficial knowledge of the book at the same time that they are trying to understand it.” This makes reading more difficult, not less.
3. Analytical Reading
The third level of reading is called analytical reading, which goes deeper than inspectional reading. If your goal in reading is entertainment or acquiring information, analytical reading is not necessary. However, if you are reading to improve understanding, analytical reading is entirely necessary.
It is both a more complex and a more systematic activity than either of the two levels of reading discussed so far. … Analytical reading is thorough reading, complete reading, or good reading— the best reading you can do. If inspectional reading is the best and most complete reading that is possible given a limited time, then analytical reading is the best and most complete reading that is possible given unlimited time. The analytical reader must ask many, and organized, questions of what he is reading.
… [A]nalytical reading is always intensely active. On this level of reading, the reader grasps a book— the metaphor is apt— and works at it until the book becomes his own.
Francis Bacon remarked “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” Think of analytical reading as chewing and digesting.
4. Syntopical Reading
The fourth and most difficult level of reading is syntopical reading.
It is the most complex and systematic type of reading of all. It makes very heavy demands on the reader, even if the materials he is reading are themselves relatively easy and unsophisticated. Another name for this level might be comparative reading. When reading syntopically, the reader reads many books, not just one, and places them in relation to one another and to a subject about which they all revolve. But mere comparison of texts is not enough. … With the help of the books read, the syntopical reader is able to construct an analysis of the subject that may not be in any of the books.
It is obvious, therefore, that syntopical reading is the most active and effortful kind of reading.
This is the first article in a multi-part series on how to improve our reading skills.
The Four Levels of Reading: Mortimer Adler's Guide
What are the four levels of reading from Mortimer Adler’s How to Read a Book? Why are most adults still reading at an elementary level? How can you improve your reading level?
The four levels of reading are elementary reading, inspectional reading, analytical reading, and syntopical reading. With Adler’s guide and some time and practice, you, too, could reach a syntopical reading level.
Continue below to learn about each of the four levels of reading.
If you read a lot, then it makes sense to spend time learning how to read better and increase the value from your reading. That’s the point of How to Read a Book.
The argument is compelling: after you learn phonics as a child and go through high school English, no one really teaches you how to read intelligently.
College courses rarely touch on this, and the workforce even less so.
As a result, plenty of adults read at an elementary level – not in the sense of having a limited vocabulary, but in absorbing the value of a book efficiently. Here’s more about the four levels of reading.
The Four Levels of ReadingThe bulk of the book is about four levels of reading, each increasing in difficulty and complexity. Here they are at a high level:
- Elementary Reading
- This is pure mechanical reading of text and comprehension of what the symbols literally mean.
- This is where most remedial courses aim, and the extent to which reading is taught in school.
- Inspectional Reading
- This is a skimming of the book to understand its main points and its structure. It aims to gain the best understanding of the book in a limited time.
- This is achieved by reading the table of contents, index, and key summaries of major chapters.
- Analytical Reading
- This aims to gain the best understanding of the book in unlimited time.
- Not only should you aim to understand what is being said, you should develop a personal opinion about its validity.
- This isn’t necessary if your goal is simply information or entertainment. Furthermore, if the book is low quality, it’s not worth spending the time to comprehend the book at this level.
- Syntopical Reading
- This aims to compare books and authors to one another, to model dialogues between authors that may not be in any one of the books.
1.
Elementary ReadingElementary reading is the pure mechanical reading of text and comprehension of what the symbols literally mean. It’s the most basic form of reading.
Children learn to read quite magically. At some point words suddenly have real meaning to them. Science is not clear on how this happens. Children become more capable readers as they build vocabulary and infer meanings from context clues.
There are myriad systems for teaching language (from alphabetical to phonic) and the authors don’t espouse any particular method.
As an adult, you encounter difficulties at elementary reading when reading in a foreign language.
Most remedial courses in school, and speed reading courses, deal with elementary reading. Little explicit instruction is given on higher levels of reading like Inspectional, Analytical, and Syntopical. That’s what this book is about.
2.
Inspectional ReadingInspectional reading is a skimming of the book to understand its main points and its structure. It aims to gain the best understanding of the book in a limited time.
When most people read a book, they do so cover to cover, starting with page one and reading it all the way to the end. While this is more straightforward in some ways, it’s actually worse for comprehension – you’re trying to understand what a book is about at the same time you are trying to understand it.
Techniques for Inspectional Reading
- Read the title.
- This can be more informative than you think. “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” suggests the book begins with the height of the Empire, at the Age of the Antonines. It doesn’t cover the rise of the Roman Empire.
- Read the preface, blurb.
- The author often explain what the book is about, and how to tackle it.
- Read the table of contents.
- Scan the index for range of topics covered. More important topics will have more pages.
- Find the main chapters of the book, and read the summary areas of those chapters.
- The summary areas are often at the end of the chapter, or at the end of each major section.
- Thumb through the book, listening for the basic pulse of the book.
- (Shortform suggestion: also try reading the top Amazon reviews of the book, or scanning through our summary of a book.)
3.
Analytical ReadingThe aim of analytical reading is to gain the best understanding of the book in unlimited time.
Not only should you aim to understand what is being said, you should develop a personal opinion about its validity.
This isn’t necessary for every book, and would be a waste of time for lower quality books. If your goal with a book is simply information or entertainment, then you don’t need to do as thorough of a job.
Analytical Reading consists of four components:
- Understand the author – her intentions, problems, and goals.
- Understand what the book says, through its logical arguments.
- Define the keywords.
- Find the most important sentences. Restate the book’s propositions in your own words, to make sure you understand it.
- Use external resources (like dictionaries and reviews), only after you struggle through it yourself first.
- After you understand a book, criticize a book from your own viewpoint, finding areas you agree and disagree.
In the full book summary, we’ll cover specific tips for different genres like practical books, fiction, history, math and science, and philosophy.
Criticizing a Book
Reading a book is like a conversation. Your obligation as a reader is to talk back, even though the author isn’t there. There is no book so good that no fault can be found with it.
Your job is to determine which of her problems the author has solved, which she has not, and decide if the author knew she had failed to solve them.
Criticizing a book means to comment, “I agree,” “I disagree,” or “I suspend judgment.”
When you agree or disagree, you must give reasons for your disagreement.
If you disagree with the author, your criticism must fit into a set of categories:
- The author is uninformed: lacks knowledge that is relevant to the argument.
- Darwin lacked knowledge of later Mendelian genetics.
- An author ignores the relevant work of predecessors.
- The author is misinformed: asserts what is not the case; proposes as true/likely what it is false/unlikely.
- Aristotle was misinformed about how females participate in animal reproduction, and thus came to unsupportable conclusions about procreation.
- You must be able to argue the greater probability of a conclusion contrary to the author’s.
- The author is illogical: commits some logical fallacy.
- Non sequitur: the conclusion simply does not follow from the reasons offered.
- Example from Machiavelli: “The chief foundations of all states are good laws. As there cannot be good laws where the state is not well armed, it follows that where they are well armed they have good laws.”
- The inversion of a logical statement is not equivalent to the original statement – there can be well-armed states that do not have good laws.
- Inconsistency: two things the author has tried to say are incompatible.
- Non sequitur: the conclusion simply does not follow from the reasons offered.
- The author’s analysis is incomplete: the author has not solved all the problems she started with, or seen the implications of the materials used, or failed to make distinctions relevant.
4.
Syntopical ReadingPerhaps the most challenging of all types of reading is syntopical reading, which applies the analytical skills across a multitude of texts. Syntopical reading aims to compare books and authors to one another, to model dialogues between authors that may not be in any one of the books.
The ultimate aim is to understand all the conflicting viewpoints relating to a subject. It’s not to devise your own synthetic answer, as this would merely be an entry into the literature, rather than an understanding of what already exists.
The major steps of Syntopical Reading are:
- Create a total bibliography of works that may be relevant to your subject.
- Inspect all of the books on your bibliography to decide which are relevant to your subject, and to better define the subject.
- As you research, you may find that your subject is more difficult to define than you imagined. Imagine love, which has been attributed to everything in the universe.
Are you looking at love for men, women, parents, children, mankind, money, animals, wine, football?
- As you research, you may find that your subject is more difficult to define than you imagined. Imagine love, which has been attributed to everything in the universe.
- Find the most relevant passages within the bibliography.
- Read the book quickly. You are reading it for your ultimate purpose, not for its own sake.
- Bring the authors to terms with each other.
- Authors in different fields may use entirely different terms that mean the same thing, and the same terms in different fields may mean entirely different things.
- This is in some sense like translating Latin to French, or making Aristotle talk to Nietzsche.
- Frame a set of questions to which most of the authors can be interpreted as giving answers.
- Define the issues by ranging the opposing answers of authors.
- Order the questions and issues to throw maximum light on the subject.
In this way, you can establish an objective view of the world’s best arguments on subjects like how to live life, how to organize society, and the nature of progress.
Reading analyst - reading levels.
CONTENT
- Group 1. Teaching the technique of semantic reading
- Beginner level (letter reading)
- Developing level (reading by syllable)
- Advanced level (reading in whole words and syllables with compound words)
- Free level (reading in whole words)
- Group 2. Development of reading competencies for subject education nine0006
- Weak level
- Training level
- Independent level
The "Reading Analyst" system makes it possible to assess the level of reading competence for two groups - the group for teaching the technique of semantic reading (Group 1) and the group for developing reading competence for subject education (Group 2).
Although we assume that the first group will most likely include elementary school students from grades 1 to 4, and the second group will include secondary school children from grades 5 to 7, we strongly recommend taking into account the individual characteristics of children: if a child elementary school reads very well, test his reading competencies on tests of the secondary school group, but if a child in the fifth grade reads with a lot of technical errors, it may make sense to check his competencies on tests for group 1 elementary school and then select texts for reading corresponding to its level.
nine0005
Below we offer brief descriptions of the levels that are determined during testing and evaluation of texts, and also give recommendations on the selection of texts for each level.
Group 1. Education of semantic reading technique
Description of the levels of competence of reading words. The reading speed is low, there is a recall of each letter separately. In some cases, there may be a breakdown in reading a word due to the large time interval between reading letters. Reading comprehension is limited to a word or phrase. The teacher's help is needed both in the name of the letters and their reduction into a word, and in keeping the attention on the text. Reading speed per minute - 10-15 words. nine0005
Recommendations for the selection of texts for the initial level of reading technique:
Texts of the initial level of reading technique are intended for mastering the reading skill from scratch and represent various types of alphabets and short texts necessary to consolidate the skill of recognizing and reading letters and short words.
The transfer of the plot is carried out by 2-3 sentences connected sequentially with each other.
Features of texts suitable for this level:
Short texts of 30 words are suitable for beginners, the length of words should not exceed 5–6 letters. It is good if as many words as possible correspond to the following features.
- Words of one or two syllables.
- Three-syllable words must be open syllable (e.g. white ). Stressed vowels must be at the beginning of a word.
- Words begin with a consonant
- Words end in consonant
Very short and simple texts are required for this level of reading. Such texts are not evaluated by the Reading Analyst system, but are selected independently.
Developing level (reading by syllable)
Description of the level
Reading by syllables, in difficult places - spelling. There are many errors such as omissions of syllables and words, substitutions of letters and syllables.
There is almost no orientation to punctuation, the intonation when reading does not correspond much to the content. Reading comprehension is low and fragmented. Reading speed is slow. There is a decrease in motivation to read when faced with difficulties. A teacher's help is needed to read words that have more than three syllables and have articulations of three consonants. Reading speed per minute - 35-50 words. nine0005
Recommendations for the selection of texts for the developing level of reading technique:
Texts for the developing level of reading technique are designed to strengthen reading skills, as well as for corrective work in the presence of difficulties in mastering it. May contain a short simple linear plot with a main character or main idea and a small number of secondary additional ideas. If necessary, the narrative can be divided into several small parts without compromising reading comprehension. nine0005
Features of texts suitable for this level:
Texts consisting of 70 words are suitable for the developing level, the length of words should not exceed 10 letters.
The text may contain words that have the following features:
- Words with one closed three-letter syllable
- One-syllable words and two-syllable words with a combination of consonants at the beginning of the word (for example: coward , hello )
- Stress on the first syllable in two-syllable words and on the second syllable in three-syllable words (for example: lamp, candy )
- Words of three syllables and four syllables (alternating vowels and consonants) (for example: steamboat , ran )
- Nominative, accusative, dative and prepositional words
- Sentences with simple syntax: definition, subject, predicate. (For example: The white bird has arrived. )
- Offers with 2 homogeneous members
- Offers with 3 homogeneous members
- Impersonal offers
- Compound sentences
- Personal verbs
- Introductory words
Texts that are suitable for this level of reading, the "Reading Analyst" system refers to texts for developing reading level .
Advanced level (reading in whole words and syllables with compound words)
Description of level
Whole-word reading of easy words can switch to syllable-by-syllable reading in case of occurrence of polysyllabic, difficult or infrequent words. When reading, there may be errors in the repetition of words and syllables, difficulties in understanding some parts of the text. There is unevenness in the speed of reading and the transfer of expressiveness. Need help reading obsolete words, words with more than 5-6 syllables and texts of 3 levels of complexity. The understanding of the text is adequate, but fragmentary, there is an assimilation of the general plot of the narration, but the details and secondary ideas are not fixed. Reading speed per minute - 65-75 words. nine0005
Recommendations for the selection of texts for advanced reading skills:
Texts for advanced reading skills can be used to introduce new knowledge and develop competence in meaningful reading, in particular, reading comprehension and formulating answers to questions about the text.
The narrative may contain several storylines or ideas, the number of secondary elements of the narrative may increase, but should remain within 5. The text should be divided into semantic parts. These texts can be offered to read for leisure reading to schoolchildren who have developed and fluent levels of reading technique. nine0005
Features of texts suitable for this level:
Texts of about 100 words are best for the advanced level, the length of words should not exceed 14 letters. The text may contain words with the following properties:
- Monosyllabic words with a combination of consonants at the end of the word (for example: scarf )
- Two-syllable words with a combination of consonants in the middle of the word (for example: srot ) nine0007 Three-syllable words with a combination of consonants at the beginning, middle or end of a word (for example: beauty, harness)
- Words of four or five syllables (alternating vowels and consonants) (for example: drawing)
- Adverbs
- Genitive and instrumental words
- Complex sentences, sentences with coordinating conjunctions and sentences with direct speech
- Reverse word order in a sentence.
(For example: Vasya came home late. - - The presence of cardinal numerals, pronominal adjectives and pronominal nouns
Texts that are suitable for this level of reading, the system "Reading Analyst" refers to texts for advanced reading level.
Free level (reading in whole words)
Description of the level
Reading in whole words with a small number of errors in new terms, obsolete words or polysyllabic words, infrequently occurring words. Errors can be noticed by the reader and corrected. There is respect for intonation and expressiveness. Comprehension of the text is complete, answers to questions are detailed. The reader understands causal relationships, can predict linear events. Reading does not require the help of a teacher. Reading speed per minute - more than 100 words. nine0005
Recommendations for the selection of texts for the free level of reading technique:
Texts for the free level of reading technique are suitable for studying the subject and forming mental operations of analysis and forecasting when working with text, which are part of the reading competence.
The plot in the text may be non-linear with additional inclusions of secondary storylines or ideas. The story should be broken down into small semantic parts. For students with a free level of reading technique, to maintain motivation, the selection of texts includes the thematic interests of schoolchildren. Students can read such texts for pleasure. nine0005
Features of texts suitable for this level:
The free reading level allows you to read texts of 100 words, but words in the text can contain up to 18 letters. Words with the following parameters can be included in the text:
- Sentences with adversarial conjunctions
- Rarely used, obsolete words
- Foreign words
- The presence of participial phrases
Texts that are suitable in their parameters for this level of reading, the Reading Analyst system refers to texts for free reading .
Group 2. Development of reading competencies for subject training
Description of levels in the formation of reading competencies for subject training
Weak level
Reading level
It is difficult, no smooth, there are no smooth inaccuracies, mistakes.
Comprehension of the text occurs at a superficial level. Most often, there is just voice-over of the text. Can read light text independently. Reading more complex texts requires the help of an adult. Reading accuracy is below 85%, error rate is more than 20 words. He can correct 1 mistake out of 5 on his own. Reading speed is slow, there is no orientation to punctuation marks. Understanding is not adequate, fragmentary, there are errors in understanding both the text itself, and the subtext, and beyond the text. There is no way to generalize and use the information read. There are answers to factual questions like: Who? What? When? Where? How much? Is not it? nine0005
Recommendations for the selection of texts for a weak level of reading for subject teaching:
Texts suitable for a weak level are intended primarily for correcting reading skills and competencies, especially in cases where there are: a large number of errors, misunderstanding of what has been read, inability to answer factual questions.
For a weak level of reading competence, texts with the following properties are suitable for subject teaching:
- The text consists of 2-3 paragraphs.
- The text consists of short sentences without complex constructions and special language tools.
- There are no more than 3-4 terms in the text.
- The main idea is clear, simple, clearly formulated at the beginning of the text.
Texts that are suitable for this level of reading, the system "Reading Analyst" refers to texts for a weak level of reading for subject teaching. nine0004
Educational level
Description of the level
Reading has an average level, which is reflected in errors in words and intonations when reading. There is smoothness, except for those moments when complex words and phrases occur. Reading flexibility and expressiveness are present when reading light texts. For more complex texts, adult assistance is required.
Understanding of the text is adequate, but fragmentary. You can meet errors in understanding subtext and overtext. The accuracy of reading technique exceeds 85%, the error rate is 1 in 20 words. Ability to correct your reading errors - 2 out of 5. Reading speed is average. Can use information from the text within a narrow framework, generalize and find causal relationships, which allows answering questions of evaluative and convergent types. (Why? How? How? What do you think?)
Recommendations for the selection of texts for the academic level of reading for subject education:
Texts suitable for the academic level are intended to introduce you to the topic of the academic subject, to start studying the topic. Texts of this level can be used to develop the technique of semantic reading, as well as to develop the skills of reproducing the content of the understood text and answering questions about it. In addition, students who experience some difficulty in reading can read such texts for pleasure, which helps to strengthen the motivation to read.
nine0005
Texts for the intermediate level should have the following characteristics:
- The text has a simple logical and semantic structure.
- The main idea of the text is clear and precise.
- The main idea of the text is located either at its beginning or at the end.
- Each paragraph is linked to the previous one by the corresponding means of communication.
- The volume of terms does not exceed 5–7 words.
Texts that are suitable in terms of their parameters for this reading level are classified by the Reading Analyst system as Reading level texts for subject teaching.
Independent level
Level description
Reading is easy. It is characterized by fluency, ease, a small number of errors, expressiveness. Able to discuss what has been read. The help of the teacher is not required when reading texts of any complexity.
The independent level of reading competence for subject education is characterized by the following student skills: complete (basic thoughts and details), precise (meanings of words are known), distinct (all linguistic ways of expressing meaning are known), deep (understanding of text, subtext, overtext, context) understanding of a rather long text, often containing conflicting information, from unfamiliar and unfamiliar subject areas.
Inaccuracies in one of the four parameters are allowed. The ability to determine the difficulties of reading and understanding the text, as well as the quality of one's reading and understanding of the text, analyzing the quality of full and short answers to questions. Positive and interested attitude towards free, abundant reading. nine0005
Recommendations for the selection of texts for the independent level of reading competence for subject education:
A text suitable for the independent level can be designed to deepen knowledge in a particular academic subject, it introduces a large number of facts and terms. In addition, texts of an independent level are suitable for the formation and development of mental operations of analysis and forecasting when working with text, as well as the ability to make annotations, questions, formulate full and short answers to them. nine0005
Texts suitable for independent reading competence for subject-specific learning are characterized by the following properties:
- The text contains the author's opinion, is emotionally colored.
- The structure of the text can be complex, complex, the main idea is read from the text and can be located anywhere in it.
- The text contains a problem that the reader formulates independently based on its content. nine0007 Understanding the text requires background knowledge hidden in the text.
Texts that are suitable for this level of reading, the system "Reading Analyst" refers to texts for independent reading level for subject education.
| Test to assess the development of reading skills nine0005 (cognitive UUD) from the methodological complex "Forecast and prevention of learning problems in grade 5" L.A. Yasyukova Data logging : group form. Materials needed : registration form, pen. Student Instruction : “The sheets that you are receiving now must first be signed (last name, first name, school, class), only then can you start working. An excerpt from a fairy tale is printed on the sheet, but words are missing in the sentences. You need to enter the appropriate words (one or more) in the empty spaces. You don't have to guess the story. If in some place you do not know what to enter, then you can skip it. Not everyone has to have the same words. Words may be different, but they must fit in the sense, and so that the sentences are correct. nine0071 (If asked if it is possible to cross out and correct, then say that it is possible.) Do not talk, do not copy, work independently. When you're done, raise your hand."
Test execution time is not strictly limited. Answer forms from students should be collected as the test is completed. After 5 minutes, hurry up those who have not finished the work yet, tell them that they need to finish. After 7 minutes, collect response forms from everyone. Processing is carried out by comparing the words inserted by the child with the words given in the key. If the child uses similar keywords that are appropriate in meaning and linguistic rules, the answer is also considered correct. Reading test key: 1 - scaffolding 2 - bird, bird 3 - beam of light, beam, beam, sound 4 - thick 5 - stood, stood trees, got up 6 - quiet 7 - heard 8 - leaf, leaf, leaf 9 - under 10 - haven't been, haven't been, didn't go 1 point is given for each match. Then the total score is calculated ( maximum - 10 ), which is compared with normative data for grade 5 students to determine the level (zone) of reading skill development.
Interpretation : each of the selected zones characterizes the unit of perception of the text when reading and thus the formation of the skill itself. Zone 2. Weak level of reading skills. The unit of perception of the text is a single word or parts of a word (syllables). The child slowly parses each word and hardly understands what he reads. He can correctly perceive the meaning of only such texts, which consist of short simple phrases written in large print, and in terms of volume he will not read not only books, but also texts in textbooks. When he is forced to do this, he, seeing large texts in front of him, does not try to slowly parse them, but uses the method of guessing words by their general form, focusing on the beginning of a word or on the root stem and omitting secondary parts, usually suffixes and endings. Zone 3. Zone 4. Reading skills are well developed. The unit of perception of the text is a whole sentence, the meaning of which the child grasps immediately. The child usually reads a lot and with pleasure, any texts are available for understanding. Difficulties with understanding can only arise due to a limited vocabulary and insufficient general awareness. But as the child reads a lot, his vocabulary and general awareness expand rapidly and problems disappear. With a good development of reading skills, stylistic errors are possible when writing, otherwise it can be quite literate. Zone 5. Reading skills are very well developed. Fluent reading. The unit of perception of the text is the whole sentence, and not only its meaning is immediately grasped, but also literary and linguistic features. Any text is understandable. When reading, the child not only easily perceives the content, but also involuntarily notes the features of the literary language that are characteristic of a particular author. The foundation of humanitarian and linguistic abilities is laid, literary taste is formed, aesthetic perception develops. Literacy can be absolute. If the child still writes illiterately, then there are other reasons. nine0005 Keep in mind that it takes years to develop and improve reading skills. Even with constant and intensive reading, it is automated only by the 6th-7th grade. If a child in secondary school (when his parents no longer force him) stops reading, then an unsettled skill may degrade. In order to correct a defective reading skill, understanding of what the child is reading must first be provided. Therefore, the texts should be short (three or four sentences), the phrases should be simple, the words should be familiar, the font should be large, and it is desirable to have a picture from which you can understand the content of the text. The text itself should be interesting for the child. All these qualities are possessed only by comics and advertising brochures, on which children learn to read best of all. You should not offer "literal" texts or literary classics, as the former are boring and the latter are incomprehensible. You should not offer stylized "pseudo-Russian" comics, as popular illustrations are also incomprehensible to children. They should get the comics they want to read, as long as they read as many as possible. Whatever children have to read (the texts of paragraphs in the textbook, the conditions of the problem, the captions under the pictures in comics), you cannot demand from them to read aloud. It is necessary to provide the opportunity to read silently, with “eyes”, or whispering, as it suits you. The fact is that voicing (reading aloud) and comprehension (understanding of the written text) are two independent, parallel operations. When reading fluently, they "merge", and it seems that understanding occurs simultaneously with pronunciation. (But try to read aloud a newspaper editorial or an unfamiliar scientific text. It will be very difficult to retell the meaning of what you read. It seems to slip away. You will have to run the text again with your eyes to highlight the main semantic points in it. We suggest using the following method to improve reading skills. You can conclude an agreement with the child: parents undertake to read to him what is required according to the school curriculum, if he reads what he is interested in, but be sure to do it every day and that the total volume is not less than half a page (in the early days, and gradually more ). Let the child choose something simpler and shorter (the same comics) and sort it out silently and slowly, just to get to the point. Let him ask, and he should be explained what the words that he does not understand mean. If a child is characterized by a permutation of syllables and letters, when he pronounces subsequent syllables earlier than those that come first, then you need to allow him to run his finger over the text when reading (despite the fact that he is already in 3rd or 5th grade) until he refuses to do so. After the child can easily understand what he is reading, you can proceed to correct illiteracy. One of the difficulties in correcting illiteracy is that if a child writes “as it turns out” for several years, then visual-graphic patterns and motor automatisms of incorrect spelling of words are formed in him, which can be very difficult to get rid of, since they tend to appear as if by themselves, as soon as conscious control is reduced. Sometimes incorrect spellings become so habitual that it doesn't even occur to the child to check whether they are actually spelled that way. nine0005 A few more words can be said about the traditional method of overcoming illiteracy through the rewriting of texts. If a child cannot (or almost cannot) read, but diligently rewrites texts, then he can train himself not to make mistakes when copying. However, he still will not be able to write dictations, presentations or essays correctly. In our practice, there were such cases when children generally studied well, competently performed written work in a foreign language, and they had problems only with the Russian language. Test to assess the independence of thinking . (Cognitive UUD) from the methodological complex "Forecast and prevention of learning problems in grades 3-6 "L.A. Yasyukova. Purpose : study of independent thinking as an indicator of one of the components of cognitive UUD. Data logging : group form. nine0005 Materials required : registration form, pen. Instruction : “ Logic puzzles are written on the sheets that I am handing out to you now.
Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2014 
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Not a single ____________________ flew in here, not a single ____________________ penetrated through ___________________ branches. Tall trunks ___________________ in dense rows, like walls. It was so _________ all around that Eliza _________ her own steps, heard the rustling of every dry ________________________ that hit her __________________ feet. Never before has Eliza _______________________________ been in such a wilderness. nine0005 
nine0005 
The zone of pathology for reading is not allocated. If a child is mistaken in choosing words only in 1, 3, and 4 cases (writing, for example: “and got lost”, “beast”, “intertwined”), then this may indicate a lack of verbal fluency, some shortcomings in speech development, but reading, understanding the meaning of texts at the same time can be quite complete (that is, correspond to zone 4). nine0005 
Prepositions with their controlling role are also not perceived. When read this way, the entire sentence may be misunderstood. The meaning of long sentences turns out to be inaccessible to the child also because, getting to their end, he no longer remembers the words with which they began. Small print complicates understanding, since the perception of words is carried out by elements (by syllables and by letters), and their visual selection is difficult. If the child does not lead his finger over the text, then he cannot perceive the sequence of letters at all, since they visually merge into unrecognizable complexes that fall out of the field of attention. With a weak level of reading skill formation, the child writes so illiterately that he usually receives a diagnosis of dysgraphia. He makes many mistakes when copying texts, since he cannot use semantic control, but uses only visual control, while he cannot write dictations, expositions and compositions at all. nine0005 
Reading skill is not fully developed. The unit of text perception is a phrase. The child does not understand the meaning of the sentence immediately, but, as it were, puts it together from two or three parts. When reading slowly, he can make out any texts. Simply constructed texts on familiar topics are easy to understand. Only short texts on unfamiliar topics can adequately understand, as he "agrees" to read them slowly. The child understands long, stylistically complicated sentences with great difficulty. To work out large volumes, he uses his own “method” of quick reading, the essence of which is that the child “views” the text and tries to guess its content, “substituting” standard speech turns and stamps (he usually does not notice the discrepancy between the “substitution” and the real text ). Since the child has a very limited set of speech patterns, the meaning of the text can be perceived very approximately or even distorted. When reading literary works, the child is happy to confine himself to "pieces" where events are described or characters conduct dialogues, and omit common descriptions of nature or philosophical reasoning.
He usually does not read large books, because due to the “fragmentary” perception he does not have a holistic idea of the content, and the book becomes uninteresting. Thick books can only be read by children prone to fantasy. In this case, what the child reads in the book acts only as the basis for his own ideas and fantasies, which often have little in common with the real content: the time and place of events, the cultural and national affiliation of the characters, the peculiarities of kinship and emotional relationships are not identified. Basically, only events and conversations are perceived. The general background is not quite consciously defined by the child as “about us, here and now” (variants are possible: “about abroad, about America”), regardless of where and when the events described in the book take place. The letter also suffers from a specific illiteracy. Stylistic and punctuation errors are ineradicable. There can be many errors in endings if it is necessary to coordinate individual parts of a complex sentence.
A child can also make such mistakes when copying, since he can consciously control only phrases, individual parts of a sentence, but not the entire sentence. There may be typos (even in dictations) when a child “substitutes” a familiar speech stamp instead of a real text (for example, a teacher dictates: “a big, beautiful balloon”, and a child writes: “a big, beautiful, red balloon”). With regard to literate writing, a child can achieve only if he uses simple, short phrases. nine0005 
If a child writes illiterately, then other reasons must be sought. nine0005 
In this case, testing also shows lower results than the child had in the primary grades. The destruction of the skill of reading will give rise to problems corresponding to the level to which it descends. nine0005 
There is no need to stand in a pose and say that in this way we form a bad literary taste in a child. If he does not learn to read now, then he will not pick up a single book in his life, and then there will be no need to talk about any literary taste at all. nine0005 
Reading silently allows you to immediately understand the meaning, and there are no difficulties with retelling.) When a child is forced to read aloud, he fails to distribute attention and simultaneously carry out both operations, and he performs only the one that is required of him. The child learns voicing without understanding. When asked to tell what he has read, he is unable to do so. (The child is usually sincerely indignant, because he has already read what else can be demanded.) 
When he announces that he has read everything, do not force him to retell or read aloud. If he wants to say something, let him tell. If not, then ask the simplest questions (who was it, what did you do, where did you go, whom did you meet, etc.) and, having discussed the text read in this way, make sure that the child understood it. On the day he has to sort out several comics, while he must be praised. In our practice, children learned full reading, that is, understanding printed texts, for two weeks. After that, they themselves moved on to reading textbooks. Literary texts for some time should be read to them by their parents, but children at this time are obliged to read almost equivalent volumes of what they like. nine0005 
At the same time, however, you need to read silently or quietly in a whisper and take your time. Such permutations are often characteristic of a child who does not read well, if he is left-handed or overtrained left-handed. The reason for such oddities in reading is that it is convenient and habitual for a left-hander to perform actions from right to left (and not from left to right, as for a "right-hander"). During visual perception, the human eye does not move smoothly through the text, but moves in jumps, and several syllables or a word appear in the field of perception at the same time, which are analyzed. We all have to read texts from left to right. Those who are accustomed to "acting from left to right" do not feel any discomfort and continue to analyze in their usual direction. The left-hander in the “piece” selected for analysis can, without being aware of this, make micro-movements familiar to him, but they have an opposite direction to how the text should be read. nine0005 
For this, a two-week period will no longer be enough. 8 years are allotted for teaching literate writing at school. Therefore, in this manual, we will not attempt to provide any partial recommendations. Parents should be prepared for the fact that correcting an illiterate letter is much more difficult than teaching them to read and write. When a child learns to read, he will have at least hope of success. nine0005 
It is usually recommended by both speech therapists and teachers. It should be remembered that it can bring some benefit only if the child can read fluently (and not just read texts without understanding their meaning) and wants to overcome illiteracy himself. If he is forced to rewrite books "under pressure", there will be no positive result. Internal rejection, rejection of work leads to the fact that, performing it mechanically and with disgust, the child does not seem to perceive what he is doing at all, and therefore he does not fix and remember the correct spelling of words. nine0005 
Having tried, they quickly achieved error-free copying, but this did not help them at all when writing dictations and presentations in these cases, illiteracy remained absolute. The attitude of the child to the Russian language is also important: if this attitude is dismissive, as to a secondary subject, then literacy is unattainable, even when the reading skill becomes complete. nine0005 
There are only seven of them. There are three possible answers for each problem: "a", "b", "c". You need to read the puzzle, read the answers and choose the one that seems right to you. The answer must be put down with a cross here in this table. (Show the table on the board and on the form.) In the sheets themselves, where the tasks are given, nothing can be written or circled. You must answer as follows. Maybe the answer “c” seemed correct to you in the first problem, then you put a cross here, in the second - “a”, in the third - “b”, etc. (in the process of explaining, put crosses in table on the board). For each puzzle, you need to choose only one answer, that is, you should have one cross in each line. If something in the process is not clear, raise your hand, I will come and explain. You have to work independently, you can not consult with each other. If it is not at all clear which answer to choose, then you can skip this task ". 
