Chunking When Reading.

  Most of us when we were in school, never really learned to read a textbook.  The only thing I learned was to read the questions at the end of the section before reading so I could find the answer.  This technique does not work as well in mathematics.

What I learned later in life after leaving college and working for a few years were things I wished I'd known about then.  Over time, its become clear that chunking material, even in a textbook is important.

Too many of our students have a limited attention span and are not willing to read through the whole textbook.  If a student reads below grade level or is an English Language Learner, they find the assignment to be difficult but if we teach them to chunk the material, it can make it easier. In addition, these are things everyone should know.

Chunking by its nature, breaks the material down into smaller pieces so students are able to concentrate on one block at a time.  Here are a few suggestions to make chunking easier.

1.  Break the reading down into paragraphs or sentences.  Have the student read one section and then record the important point or points in a graphic organizer you prepare in advance.  At least until they've learned what information should go into the graphic organizer.

2. Before you have them paraphrase the text review specific decoding techniques so they have some tools at their hands.  I'd make copies of the text so they can write on the copy rather than the book. 
Techniques include, circling unfamiliar words, use context clues to determine their meaning before looking them up, replace the words with synonyms to make it easier to read, underline important information, read aloud, and read multiple times.

3. Begin by you deciding how the material should be chunked so as to provide modeling for the students.  Over time, have them do more and more so eventually they can do it on their own.

4. Take time to teach students how to paraphrase the text.  Many of my students think that writing it in their own words mean they should copy it but change one or two words.

5. Have students compare their paraphrased text to see similarities and differences.

Variations on the above activity:
1.  First step have students identify and define key words in their own words.
2. Create a visual with pictures or symbols.  Let them choose some visual that helps them remember.
3. To help students become proficient at paraphrasing, give them 10 words or less to summarize the material.
4. Ask them if they see connections to anything they've learned before so they call on prior learning.
5. Break the text into parts and use the jigsaw strategy to assign parts to different groups so they can share back the main information.

The idea behind chunking is that with the information broken into smaller pieces, the brain finds it easier to learn and remember it. 

Let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear.  Have a good day.