SKIMMING THE READING TEXT 2

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OVERVIEW
Brainstorm Observing picture and text
Reading Skimming Reading Strategy
Reading strategy Brainstorm and Skimming
Activity Discussion and cooperative learning

OBJECTIVES
 Students are able to identify the difficult words by scanning the text
 Students are able to recognize the general idea of text through skimming the text
 Students are able to identify the general idea of another given text in given time

NOTE
Your successful recognition on main idea which then modifying the feature in order to
complete the context depends on your understanding of its theory and meaning. Identify the
components and comprehend the holistic meaning of them will help you to decide the dependency
of them.

Discuss the following question!

1. Do you know skimming?
2. What do you know about skimming?
 3. What do you do when you skim reading text?
4. Who will mostly use skimming reading strategy?
5. What is best function of skimming?
6. Can we use skimming strategy to find the main idea of text?

Which of the following statements do you agree/disagree with? And why?

1. Skimming makes us reading the text in the very short time
2. Skimming helps reader to find the holistic idea in the text
3. Without skimming the reader will be hardly finding the main idea in the paragraph or
text
4. Skimming is more superior than scanning reading strategy
5. Skimming is not actually reading but only seeing the important information that is
looked for
6. Skimming is only applicable for the skillful one

Challenge

Look and observe the following picture and solve the case!

(Source: https://binged.it/2PsZytv)
1. What do you find in picture?
2. What do you think the event in the picture?
3. Have you ever try to do the skimming in literary works? How did you do that?
4. What will you observe when skimming?
5. Where are the common places the skimming works well in the paragraph?
6. Based on your experience, what make someone faces difficulties to do skimming?
7. How can you help other to skim the reading text?
 Now I Know

SKIMMING & SCANNING

Skimming is reading a text quickly to get a general idea of meaning. It can be contrasted
with scanning, which is reading in order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names.
Example
A learner taking a reading exam decides to approach text by looking at the title,
introductions, and any diagrams and sub-headings, then skim reading to get a clear
general idea of what the text is about.
Skimming
In this first step, students can start with skimming the text. the function of skimming is to
give better understanding of how the different elements fit together into a whole article or book.
The elements that need to be skimmed are:
a. The title
b. The abstract
c. The introduction
d. The subheading
e. The table of contents
f. The conclusion
Skimming and scanning are reading techniques that use rapid eye movement and
keywords to move quickly through text for slightly different purposes. Skimming is reading
rapidly in order to get a general overview of the material. Scanning is reading rapidly in order to
find specific facts. While skimming tells you what general information is within a section,
scanning helps you locate a particular fact. Skimming is like snorkeling, and scanning is more
like pearl diving.
Use skimming in previewing (reading before you read), reviewing (reading after you
read), determining the main idea from a long selection you don't wish to read, or when trying to
find source material for a research paper. Use scanning in research to find particular facts, to
study fact-heavy topics, and to answer questions requiring factual support.

Skimming to save time

Skimming can save you hours of laborious reading. However, it is not always the most
appropriate way to read. It is very useful as a preview to a more detailed reading or when
reviewing a selection heavy in content. But when you skim, you may miss important points or
overlook the finer shadings of meaning, for which rapid reading or perhaps even study reading
may be necessary.
 Use skimming to overview your textbook chapters or to review for a test. Use skimming
to decide if you need to read something at all, for example during the preliminary research for a
paper. Skimming can tell you enough about the general idea and tone of the material, as well as
its gross similarity or difference from other sources, to know if you need to read it at all.
To skim, prepare yourself to move rapidly through the pages. You will not read every word;
you will pay special attention to typographical cues-headings, boldface and italic type, indenting,
bulleted and numbered lists. You will be alert for key words and phrases, the names of people
and places, dates, nouns, and unfamiliar words. In general follow these steps:

1. Read the table of contents or chapter overview to learn the main divisions of ideas.
2. Glance through the main headings in each chapter just to see a word or two. Read the
headings of charts and tables.
3. Read the entire introductory paragraph and then the first and last sentence only of each
following paragraph. For each paragraph, read only the first few words of each sentence or to
locate the main idea.
4. Stop and quickly read the sentences containing keywords indicated in boldface or italics.
5. When you think you have found something significant, stop to read the entire sentence to
make sure. Then go on the same way. Resist the temptation to stop to read details you don't
need.
6. Read chapter summaries when provided.
If you cannot complete all the steps above, compromise: read only the chapter overviews
and summaries, for example, or the summaries and all the boldfaced keywords. When you skim,
you take a calculated risk that you may miss something. For instance, the main ideas of
paragraphs are not always found in the first or last sentences (although in many textbooks they
are). Ideas you miss you may pick up in a chapter overview or summary.
Good skimmers do not skim everything at the same rate or give equal attention to everything.
While skimming is always faster than your normal reading speed, you should slow down in the
following situations:
 When you skim introductory and concluding paragraphs
 When you skim topic sentences
 When you find an unfamiliar word
 When the material is very complicated
(Source: http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/readingstrategies/skimming_scanning.html)

Guide for Reading

 (source: https://binged.it/2vpDXcm)
Brainstorming Questions
1. What do you see in picture?
2. What do what is the person doing?
3. Why the person highlighting part of text? What is that for?
4. Do you think the person do skimming?
5. How can skimming help the person with reading?
6. Do you also do similar thing as that person when reading text or paragraph? What is
your purpose?

Vocabulary in Focus
 Concentration (noun)
 Focus (noun)
 Attentive (adj.)
 Careful (adj.)
 Experience (noun)
 Search (verb)
 Rigid (adj.)

Let’s Read
Read the following text!

EFFICIENT READING SKILLS

Skimming to get an overall impression.

Skimming is useful when you want to survey a text to get a general idea of what it is about.
In skimming you ignore the details and look for the main ideas. Main ideas are usually found in
the first sentences of each paragraph and in the first and last paragraphs. It is also useful to pay
attention to the organization of the text.
As reading is an interactive process, you have to work at constructing the meaning of the
text from the marks on the paper. You need to be active all the time when you are reading. It is
useful, therefore, if you need to read the text in detail, before you start reading to activate the
knowledge you have about the topic of the text and to formulate questions based on this
information. Skimming a text for gist can help you formulate questions to keep you interacting
with the text.
Skimming a text using first lines of paragraphs.
In most academic writing, the paragraph is a coherent unit, about one topic, connected to
the previous and next paragraphs. Paragraphs are organised internally and the first sentence of
each paragraph is often a summary of, or an introduction to, the paragraph. You can therefore get
a good idea of the overall content of a text by reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This
should help you get a feeling for the structure of the text. In many cases that will be enough, but if
it isn't, you will now have a good idea of the structure of the text and you will find it easier to read
in detail. Familiar texts are easier to read.
As reading is an interactive process, you have to work at constructing the meaning of the
text from the marks on the paper. You need to be active all the time when you are reading. It is
useful, therefore, if you need to read the text in detail, before you start reading to activate the
knowledge you have about the topic of the text and to formulate questions based on this
information. Skimming a text using first lines of paragraphs can help you formulate questions to
keep you interacting with the text.
Skimming a text using first and last paragraphs.
In most academic writing, the text is organised clearly with an introduction and a
conclusion. The introduction gives you an idea of what the text is going to be about and the
conclusion shows that this is what it has been about. You can therefore get a good idea of the
overall content of a text by reading the first and last paragraphs of a text. This should help you get
a feeling for the content of the text. In many cases that will be enough, but if it isn't, you will now
have a good idea of the content of the text and you will find it easier to read in detail. Familiar
texts are easier to read.
As reading is an interactive process, you have to work at constructing the meaning of the
text from the marks on the paper. You need to be active all the time when you are reading. It is
useful, therefore, if you need to read the text in detail, before you start reading to activate the
knowledge you have about the topic of the text and to formulate questions based on this
information. Skimming a text using first and last paragraphs can help you formulate questions to
keep you interacting with the text.
Skimming a text, using section headings.
In some academic writing, the text is organized through the use of headings and sub-
headings. You can therefore get a good idea of the overall content of a text by reading the headings
and sub-headings first. This should help you get a feeling for the content and organization of the
text. In many cases that will be enough, but if it isn't, you will now have a good idea of the content
of the text and you will find it easier to read in detail. Familiar texts are easier to read.
As reading is an interactive process, you have to work at constructing the meaning of the
text from the marks on the paper. You need to be active all the time when you are reading. It is
useful, therefore, before you start reading to activate the knowledge you have about the topic of
the text and to formulate questions based on this information. The title, sub-titles and section
headings can help you formulate questions to keep you interacting with the text.
(Source: https://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Write_in_English.html)

Vocabulary in text
 Academic (noun)
 Sub-heading (noun)
 Familiar (adj.)
 Active (adj.)
 Useful (adj.)
 Organized (verb)
 Heading (noun)
 Skimming (noun)
 Cases (noun)
 Knowledge (noun)
 Previous (adv.)

Task 1
Answer the following questions based on the text above!
1. Skim the above text and decide the main idea of each paragraph!
Paragraph Main Idea

8
 2. Make the summary of each paragraph in the above text!

Task 2
Mention the synonym of the following words with vocabularies you find in text and mention
its the position in text! You can find the position of words by scanning.

No Words Synonym Position

1 Communicative
2 Make use
3 What is understood
4 Signs or clues
5 Create
6 Managed
7 Beneficial

Task 3
Read the following text and decide the main idea of each paragraph and then make them
into good summary!

THE PERSONAL QUALITIES OF A TEACHER

Here I want to try to give you an answer to the question: What personal qualities are
desirable in a teacher? Probably no two people would draw up exactly similar lists, but I think the
following would be generally accepted.
First, the teacher's personality should be pleasantly live and attractive. This does not rule
out people who are physically plain, or even ugly, because many such have great personal charm.
But it does rule out such types as the over-excitable, melancholy, frigid, sarcastic, cynical,
frustrated, and over-bearing : I would say too, that it excludes all of dull or purely negative
personality. I still stick to what I said in my earlier book: that school children probably 'suffer more
from bores than from brutes'.
Secondly, it is not merely desirable but essential for a teacher to have a genuine capacity for
sympathy - in the literal meaning of that word; a capacity to tune in to the minds and feelings of
other people, especially, since most teachers are school teachers, to the minds and feelings of
children. Closely related with this is the capacity to be tolerant - not, indeed, of what is wrong, but
of the frailty and immaturity of human nature which induce people, and again especially children,
to make mistakes.
 Thirdly, I hold it essential for a teacher to be both intellectually and morally honest. This
does not mean being a plaster saint. It means that he will be aware of his intellectual strengths, and
limitations, and will have thought about and decided upon the moral principles by which his life
shall be guided. There is no contradiction in my going on to say that a teacher should be a bit of
an actor. That is part of the technique of teaching, which demands that every now and then a
teacher should be able to put on an act - to enliven a lesson, correct a fault, or award praise.
Children, especially young children, live in a world that is rather larger than life.
A teacher must remain mentally alert. He will not get into the profession if of low
intelligence, but it is all too easy, even for people of above-average intelligence, to stagnate
intellectually - and that means to deteriorate intellectually. A teacher must be quick to adapt
himself to any situation, however improbable and able to improvise, if necessary at less than a
moment's notice. (Here I should stress that I use 'he' and 'his' throughout the book simply as a
matter of convention and convenience.)
On the other hand, a teacher must be capable of infinite patience. This, I may say, is largely
a matter of self-discipline and self-training; we are none of us born like that. He must be pretty
resilient; teaching makes great demands on nervous energy. And he should be able to take in his
stride the innumerable petty irritations any adult dealing with children has to endure.
Finally, I think a teacher should have the kind of mind which always wants to go on learning.
Teaching is a job at which one will never be perfect; there is always something more to learn about
it. There are three principal objects of study: the subject, or subjects, which the teacher is teaching;
the methods by which they can best be taught to the particular pupils in the classes he is teaching;
and - by far the most important - the children, young people, or adults to whom they are to be
taught. The two cardinal principles of British education today are that education is education of
the whole person, and that it is best acquired through full and active co-operation between two
persons, the teacher and the learner.
(From Teaching as a Career, by H. C. Dent, Batsford, 1961)

Task 4
Find the main Idea of each paragraph by choosing the multiple choices provided below!

PULP FRICTION

Every second, one hectare of the world's rainforest is destroyed. That's equivalent to two
football fields. An area the size of New York City is lost every day. In a year, that adds up to 31
million hectares -- more than the land area of Poland. This alarming rate of destruction has serious
consequences for the environment; scientists estimate, for example, that 137 species of plant,
insect or animal become extinct every day due to logging. In British Columbia, where, since 1990,
thirteen rainforest valleys have been clearcut, 142 species of salmon have already become extinct,
and the habitats of grizzly bears, wolves and many other creatures are threatened. Logging,
however, provides jobs, profits, taxes for the govenment and cheap products of all kinds for
consumers, so the government is reluctant to restrict or control it.

Much of Canada's forestry production goes towards making pulp and paper. According to
the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world's wood pulp and 49%
of its newsprint paper. If these paper products could be produced in some other way, Canadian
forests could be preserved. Recently, a possible alternative way of producing paper has been
suggested by agriculturalists and environmentalists: a plant called hemp.

Hemp has been cultivated by many cultures for thousands of years. It produces fibre which
can be made into paper, fuel, oils, textiles, food, and rope. For centuries, it was essential to the
economies of many countries because it was used to make the ropes and cables used on sailing
ships; colonial expansion and the establishment of a world-wide trading network would not have
been feasible without hemp. Nowadays, ships' cables are usually made from wire or synthetic
fibres, but scientists are now suggesting that the cultivation of hemp should be revived for the
production of paper and pulp. According to its proponents, four times as much paper can be
produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many environmentalists believe that the
large-scale cultivation of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada's forests.

However, there is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries of the world. This plant, so
useful for fibre, rope, oil, fuel and textiles, is a species of cannabis, related to the plant from which
marijuana is produced. In the late 1930s, a movement to ban the drug marijuana began to gather
force, resulting in the eventual banning of the cultivation not only of the plant used to produce the
drug, but also of the commercial fibre-producing hemp plant. Although both George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp in large quantities on their own land, any American growing the
plant today would soon find himself in prison -- despite the fact that marijuana cannot be produced
from the hemp plant, since it contains almost no THC (the active ingredient in the drug).

In recent years, two major movements for legalization have been gathering strength. One
group of activists believes that ALL cannabis should be legal -- both the hemp plant and the
marijuana plant -- and that the use of the drug marijuana should not be an offense. They argue that
marijuana is not dangerous or addictive, and that it is used by large numbers of people who are not
criminals but productive members of society. They also point out that marijuana is less toxic than
alcohol or tobacco. The other legalization movement is concerned only with the hemp plant used
to produce fibre; this group wants to make it legal to cultivate the plant and sell the fibre for paper
and pulp production. This second group has had a major triumph recently: in 1997, Canada
legalized the farming of hemp for fibre. For the first time since 1938, hundreds of farmers are
planting this crop, and soon we can expect to see pulp and paper produced from this new source.
(Source: https://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/570/pulp/hemp1.htm)

The multiple choices are:

1. The main idea of paragraph first is:

 A. Scientists are worried about New York City.
B. Logging is destroying the rainforests.
C. Governments make money from logging.
D. Salmon are an endangered species.
2. The main idea of paragraph two is:
A. Canadian forests are especially under threat.
B. Hemp is a kind of plant.
C. Canada is a major supplier of paper and pulp.
D. Canada produces a lot of hemp.
3. The main idea of paragraph three is:
A. Paper could be made from hemp instead of trees.
B. Hemp is useful for fuel.
C. Hemp has been cultivated throughout history.
D. Hemp is essential for building large ships.
4. The main idea of paragraph four is:
A. Hemp is used to produce drugs.
B. Many famous people used to grow hemp.
C. It is illegal to grow hemp.
D. Hemp is useful for producing many things.
5. The main idea of paragraph five is:
A. Hemp should be illegal because it is dangerous.
B. Recently, many people have been working to legalize hemp.
C. Hemp was made illegal in 1938.
D. Marijuana is not a dangerous drug.

Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift. —
Kate DiCamillo