Session 1 Review: COMMENTS on READING STRATEGIES

PRACTICING READING STRATEGIES: Flip, Skim, Read + Analyze

Ideas from Week 1: To save time and energy, leaders are strategic about what they read and how they read it. With this in mind, we discussed reading strategies and the value of developing a routine that includes flipping and skimming prior to reading.

Prior to reading a text, it will help you focus your energies if you flip through a text to see areas you want to invest more time reading later. Then skim. Take five or so minutes to skim the text. For our program, when we say "skim," this will mean that the reader focuses on the first and last paragraphs of major sections and the first and last lines of longer paragraphs. Typically readers can see key points during a skim and circle or target sections where they want to invest more time reading and re-reading materials. After the flip and the skim, settle in to read the text.

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There is a time to skim to identify sections you want to skip, and there is a time to use skimming to help orient you to the text prior to reading the entire text closely. The decision is yours as you learn to navigate texts to serve your purposes.

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Think back to our conversations about intentionality as you read.

Why are you reading this material? How does this "why" influence the way you read and areas you invest more time reading closely? Who is the writer or organization and what is their purpose for putting the materials together? Should you question the author's/organization's agenda? Interrogating the rhetorical scenario is a great way to start your readings. During Session One, we discussed other reading strategies from Ellen Carillo. You're welcome to glance back at Carillo's comments on Peter Elbow's Doubting and Believing Game and other reading schema--Chapter 2, p. 20.

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BEING STRATEGIC ABOUT HOW YOU'RE ENGAGING EACH BOOK OR ARTICLE

Part of interrogating the rhetorical scenario is being strategic about why and how you'll read a book or article. Are you reading from the perspective of a grassroots leader? Are you taking time to read like a writer? As part of the Advanced Grassroots MCH Leadership program, we will be to develop an array of strategies that help us become more savvy readers. We'll be more intentional about the way we consume readings by flipping and skimming prior to reading. We'll also practice using different lenses to examine texts from a variety of perspectives and for a variety of reasons, much like you already do in your professional lives. 

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METACOGNITION: Thinking About Thinking About Your Reading Strategies

Number five in your homework asks you to think about the new ways you're thinking about reading and ways of engaging texts. We all use different reading strategies intuitively, based on what we're reading and why we're reading it. This week, the challenge is to reflect on ways we intuitively navigate texts and to become more strategic readers.

Think of the email example we discussed. We skim our email looking through the FROM list when we're anxiously expecting a reply. Sometimes we look only at FROM to delete emails without ever opening them. Why? From matters. Researchers suggest that the FROM line is the most important indicator of if we decide to open or skip an email (Vertical Response). Other times we notice the SUBJECT lines to determine if we need to read an email or opt to delete it. We're skimming our email with a clear purpose in mind--get through it fast and get to the information we want to see.

Next think of how you manage the mail that lands in your mailbox or on your desk. Most of us throw out a portion of our mail without ever opening the envelopes based on who it's from. Other envelopes we open, pull out the message, and skim prior to tossing it into the recycling. We would treat a card from a friend or family member differently and might even display it on the refrigerator. Bills are a different story. We read bills differently. We get straight to the total. If it looks normal, we can pay it and get on with the day. If it's higher than normal, we carefully examine each charge to see if we need to call to ask that a line item be fixed. These reading strategies evolve intuitively based on our experiences, our purpose, and our goals.

As leaders, we can use similar strategies to purposefully navigate what we read as grassroots leaders by being strategic about strategies we use as we read, which portions we read closely, and why.

Feel free to keep a journal or jot down notes in your cell phone about times you catch yourself reading more strategically and/or using schemas to help you interrogate a text to get the most out of the time you invest reading.

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Going the Extra Mile:

As you think about reading and the ways you read, you're engaging in a metacognitive activity. Vanderbilt has a wonderful, short overview of metacognition and why it's a critical part of both learning and developing mastery of materials. To learn more about the value of metacognition, visit: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/metacognition/

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POWERFUL QUOTE FROM Ella Baker on grassroots progress:

"And to me, when people themselves know what they are looking for and recognize that they can

exercise some influence by action, that's progress."

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What you are doing as part of this

Advanced Grassroots MCH Leadership Training is the sort of progress Ella Baker was writing about:

find your focus and explore ways to exercise your influence.

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SESSION 2: TRIPLE FOCUS

The Kellogg Workbook provides concise, valuable information that we'll discuss as we explore your triple focus.