SQ3R

SQ3R or SQRRR is a reading comprehension method named for its five steps: survey, question, read, recite, and review. The method was introduced by Francis Pleasant Robinson in his 1946 book Effective Study. he SQ3R reading technique is a method used by readers at many different stages. When a passage is encountered, either through assignment or pleasure, the reader may become overwhelmed. Utilizing the SQ3R method will alleviate some of the pressure of reading larger passages by breaking the information into smaller sections.

The method was created for college students. However, it can also be used by elementary school students, who can practice all of the steps once they have begun to read longer and more complex texts (around fourth grade). Studying works better when it means something to you, when it relates to your life. There are a number of ways to do this and I recommend you try as many as you can. One fact which we all know from our own experience and psychological research has documented is that we remember things better when they are connected to emotions. This includes that funny sort of emotion "curiosity" and the nice experience of having it satisfied. So, one way to have things stick more is to find things that you're curious about.

Less intuitive, perhaps, but again documented, and believable once you think about it, is the fact that we remember things better when they are interconnected. To take an example, which of the following lists of 5 words would be easier for you to remember?
1: dog always smoke question just
or
2: cars are hazardous inside cities
For most of us, the second is easier, because it means something*, it is a list of things that are interconnected. Making such connections is called elaboration in cognitive psychology and the more elaborate your schema for something, the better able you are to remember it: Chess experts have better memories for positions of pieces in a chess game than do novices, but not if the pieces are randomly placed on the board. You can use these facts about human minds in your own studying by actively making connections between ideas. Any connections seem to help, but the ultimate connection seems to be to things you care about in your life where you bring in the emotion as well.

Similar methods developed subsequently include PQRST and KWL table.

Students study books or articles to get information or pleasure. Reading may be a part of

Study with a serious purpose like an examination in mind. Now the question is how to read .

There are many effective ways and skills of studying. One of the most widely  used study

Skills, which is also very useful in reading is the SQ3R method It was SQ3R {S+Q+3+R+R+R} stand for the first letters of the five steps in studying a text.

The five steps are as follows;

1.        S stand for Survey.

2.        Q stand for Question.

3.        R stand for Read.

4.        R stand for Recall.

5.        R stand for Review.

SQ3R was based on principles documented in the 1930s.

The five steps

 SQ3R is a reading strategy formed from its letters:                                                        Survey! Question! Read! Recite! Review!                                         The first step Survey or skim advises that one should resist the temptation to read the book and instead glance through a chapter in order to identify headings, sub-headings and other outstanding features in the text. This is in order to identify ideas and formulate questions about the content of the chapter. Skim the index for unknown terms.

It means to get an overview of the reading materials. It aim is to discover the over all meaning, general outline and main points of the text. While reading a text students should look at the heading to seethe major points. 

Before you read, Survey the chapter:

• the title, headings, and subheadings
• captions under pictures, charts, graphs or maps
• review questions or teacher-made study guides
• introductory and concluding paragraphs
• summary

Question asks "What is this chapter about?" "What question is this chapter trying to answer?" "How does this information help me?" "Question" also refers to the practice of

turning the headings and sub-headings themselves into questions and then looking for

the answers in the text. If one chooses to actually write down the questions then they are using a variation method known as "SQW3R".

Question while you are surveying:

• Read questions at the end of the chapters or after each subheading
• Ask yourself,
  "What did my instructor say about this chapter or subject
  when it was assi  Note: If it is helpful to you, write out these questions for consideration.
  This variation is called SQW3R

   Turn the title, headings, and/or subheadings into questions

        Read questions at the end of the chapters or after each subheading

        Ask yourself,

        "What did my instructor say about this chapter or subject

        when it was assigned?"

        Ask yourself,

        "What do I already know about this subject?"

         Note: If it is helpful to you, write out these questions for consideration.

        This variation is called SQW3R

Ask yourself,
"What do I already know about this subject?"

When you begin to Read:

        Answer questions at the beginning or end of chapters or study guides

        Reread captions under pictures, graphs, etc.

        Note all the underlined, italicized, bold printed words or phrases

        Reduce your speed for difficult passages

The first "R" stands for Read. Only, in this case, one is meant to use the background work done with "S" and "Q" in order to engage oneself in a way similar to active listening.

Read to the end of the first headed section to answer this question. Make this an active search for the answer. Underline only key words--never whole paragraphs. restate in your own words the relationship being made. Use a dictionary if necessary. No note should be written until the whole headed section has been read.   

 Read only a section at a time and recite after each section When you begin to Read:

• Look for answers to the questions you first raised
• Study graphic aids 
• Stop and reread parts which are not clear
• Read only a section at a time and recite after each section

The second "R" refers to the part known as Recite/write or Recall. Using key phrases, one is meant to identify major points and answers to questions from the "Q" step for each section. This may be done either in an oral or written format. It is important that an adherent to this method use her own words in order to evoke the active listening quality of this study method. Now look away from the book and try briefly to recite the answer to your question. Use your own words and cite an example. You can jot down from memory brief cue phrases in outline form on a sheet of paper. These should be brief and your own words. If you cannot do this, glance over the selection again.

• Now repeat steps QUESTION, III, and IV with each successive headed section. Do this until the entire lesson is completed.
•  Recite after you've read a section:

• Orally ask yourself questions about what you have just read, or summarize, in your own words, what you read
• Take notes from the text but write the information in your own words
• Underline or highlight important points you've just read
• Reciting:
  The more senses you use the more likely you are to remember what you read Triple strength learning: Seeing, saying, hearing
  Quadruple strength learning: Seeing , saying , hearing, writing!

Recite after you've read a section:

        Orally ask yourself questions about what you have just read, or summarize, in your own words, what you read

        Take notes from the text but write the information in your own words

        Underline or highlight important points you've just read

        Reciting:

        The more senses you use the more likely you are to remember what you read

The final "R" is Review. In fact, before becoming acquainted with this method a student probably just uses the R & R method; Read and Review. Provided the student has followed all recommendations, he should have a study sheet and should test himself by attempting to recall the key phrases. This method instructs the diligent student to immediately review all sections pertaining to any key words forgottenSQ3R reading method. When the lesson has been studied in this way, check your memory by reciting the major subpoints under each heading. You can do this by covering up the notes and trying to recall the subpoint listed under it. Review daily during the period of time before class exam. Review should probably not be longer than five minutes. It is a good idea to try and for two hours daily. Make a stud.

When you have worked through the whole text this way you need to review what you have read. But not just once at the end of your reading. If you never looked at this text again, it is unlikely that you would remember the content of what you read very well. Can you say what the main points of the text are the next day? If you reviewed your reading by recalling the main points of the sections of the text the following day then you would be helping this information get into your long-term memory. It is not a case of memorising sentences word for word, but a case of reviewing the main points so that you can articulate them in your own words.

Review: an ongoing process

Day One

        After you have read and recited the entire chapter,

        write questions in the margins for those points

        you have highlighted or underlined.

        If you took notes while reciting,

        write questions for the notes you have taken

        in the left hand margins of your notebook.

        Complete the form for a critical reading review

Day Two

        Page through the text and/or your notebook to re-acquaint yourself

        with the important points.

        Cover the right hand column of your text/note-book

        and orally ask yourself the questions in the left hand margins.

        Orally recite or write the answers from memory.

        Develop mnemonic devices for material which need to be memorized.

                                                                                                                                           Make flash cards for those questions which give you difficulty.

Days Three, Four and Five

        Alternate between your flash cards and notes and test yourself

        (orally or in writing) on the questions you formulated.

        Make additional flash cards if necessary.

Weekend

      Using the text and notebook, make a Table of Contents - list all the topics and sub-topics you need to know from the chapter.

        From the Table of Contents, make a Study Sheet/ Spatial Map.

        Recite the information orally and in your own words as you put the Study Sheet/Map together.

        As you have consolidated all the information you need for this chapter, periodically review the Sheet/Map so that at test time you will not havCharacteristics of Critical Readers

• They are honest with themselves
• They resist manipulation
• They overcome confusion
• They ask questions
• They base judgments on evidence
• They look for connections between subjects
• They are intellectually independent

Ask yourself the following questions as you read:

• What is the topic of the book or reading?
  What issues are addressed?
• What conclusion does the author reach about the issue(s)?
• What are the author's reasons for his or her statements or belief?
  Is the author using facts, theory, or faith?

Facts can be proven
Theory is to be proved and should not be confused with fact
Opinions may or may not be based on sound reasoning
Faith is not subject to proof by its nature

• Has the author used neutral words or emotional words?
  Critical readers look beyond the language to see if the reasons are clear
• Be aware of why you do, or do not, accept arguments of the author.

Steps to the SQ3R Method:

1. Lead students in a survey of a reading selection. Pay special attention to headings, subheadings, topic sentences, and highlighted words.
2. Build a question for each heading and subheading in the text selection. These questions will be answered during the close reading of the text.
3. Ask students to read the selection carefully, keeping the questions in mind as they read.  
4. Have students "recite" the answers to the questions by verbalizing them in a group discussion or writing them down. This act of "restating" thought in spoken or written form reinforces learning.
5. Repeat this process for all of the questions.
6. Finally, have students review all of their spoken or written answers.