Textual Healing: Using Text Features to Better Understand Your College Level Texts :Textual Healing: Using Text Features to Better Understand Your College Level Texts LTCY 524 Brandon Minton Fall 2008


First Check Out This Video :First Check Out This Video http://www.dvolver.com/live/movies-200495


Classes and Textbooks :Classes and Textbooks Basically every class that we encounter in college requires the reading of a textbook. The big problem is that some students never learned how to approach the reading of a textbook and how to use text features to their advantage.


I have a textbook. Now what do I do? :I have a textbook. Now what do I do? Now that you are in class and have a textbook that you have to read you need to take some time to get to know the book. Text features and elements support students’ abilities to navigate through the textbook and increases their understanding of how the concepts presented are related to the structure of the text. This is especially important in content areas as informational text is often exclusively used. By offering students time and opportunity to discover and use the features their textbooks, they will ultimately increase their ability to become active readers (FOR-PD’s, 2007).


What features do I need to look for? :What features do I need to look for? Check out this great and informative presentation on AuthorStream. It talks about various text features and how to use them. http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/ttravis-57862-Text-Features-Table-Contents-Index-Glossary-Titles-Subheadings-Bold-Color-Education-ppt-powerpoint/


Now for some practice. :Now for some practice. Textbook Inventories will help you to figure out what you know and what features are in a text to assist you in learning. Fill out this Textbook Inventory for your class texts. You will gather more information than you think. http://forpd.ucf.edu/strategies/textbook_inventory.pdf


What can I do now? :What can I do now? Take a look at your texts. Become familiar with the features of the text. Take a long hard look at the Table of Contents. This will help you locate the topics and chapters that are covered in class. Use the text to help you not hurt you.


What can I do now? :What can I do now? Study the pictures, captions, diagrams, and tables. Many students overlook them but they also hold important information. Remember too that bold, italicized, and differently colored words are almost always important. Take advantage of chapter summaries and practice questions. Using them will help you do better on tests.


Practice makes perfect. :Practice makes perfect. Now, you know what to look for. Fill out this sheet using a chapter from one of your own class textbooks. http://www.slc.k12.ut.us/staff/larmad/science/pages/Reading%20Strategies/textfeatures.pdf Note the text feature type and how it is used for all of the text features that you can find.


Congrats!!!! :Congrats!!!! Now you will never get that bad feeling when reading a text. Cause you got TEXTual Healing. By using this strategy you will better understand your text and will almost certainly do better in your classes.


Bibliography :Bibliography FOR-PD’s (2007). FOR-PD’s Reading Strategy of the Month. Retrieved on October 23, 2008 from http://forpd.ucf.edu/strategies/strattext_features.html AuthorStream (2008). Text Features: Understanding Non-Fiction Texts. Retrieved on October 23, 2008 from http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/ttravis-57862-Text-Features-Table-Contents-Index-Glossary-Titles-Subheadings-Bold-Color-Education-ppt-powerpoint/ Salt Lake City School District (2006). Survey Text Features. Retrieved on October 23, 2008 from http://www.slc.k12.ut.us/staff/larmad/science/pages/Reading%20Strategies/survey_text_features.htm