About the Book
The Reading Context provides extensive reading skills practice at a new value price of under $25.
Designed for developmental reading courses (Grades 9?), The Reading Context emphasizes reading as a three—step “prepare ? read —respond? process. The book starts where developing readers need to start: with an explanation of the context created by author, work, and reader. It also stresses the importance of thinking about who the writer is, what the author's purpose is, what kind of work students are about to read, and what they can expect to gain from it.
Reading selections have been chosen to hold student interest while representing the kinds of material they will meet in college assignments —textbook material from business to psychology, from advertising to history, from health to education. Chapters are filled with short prose pieces for illustration and practice, and each chapter concludes with two or three longer reading selections. In each chapter, clear explanations of each reading skill are supported by numerous exercises.
Table of Contents:
Preface.
* deotes a new selection.I. INTRODUCTION.
1. Understanding Reading.
The Reading Process.
The Engaged Reader.
Reading Selections.
*1 (Sociology) James Henslin, “Why Do Native Americans Like Westerns?.”
2 (Essay) Douglas Colligan, “The Light Stuff.”
Net Links.
2. Developing a Reading Strategy.
Prepare-Read-Respond: How the Parts Connect.
Prepare.
William Barklow: “Hippo Talk.”
Read.
Wood and Wood, “Long-Term Memory” and “The Three Processes in Memory: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval.”
Respond: Reflect and Review. Reflect Questions to Aid Reflection Review.
Reading Selections.
1 (Psychology) Lester A. Lefton, “Hypnosis.”
2 (Essay) Robert J. Samuelson, “The Triumph of the Psycho-Fact.”
Net Links.
3. Building Word Power.
Context Clues.
Learning from Word Parts: Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes.
Using the Dictionary.
What Each Dictionary Entry Contains.
Strategies for Learning New Words.
Some Important Words from Various Disciplines.
Reading Selections.
1 (Science) Edward J. Tarbuck and Frederick K. Lutgens, “The Nature of Scientific Inquiry.”
*2 (Science Essay) K. C. Cole, “Entropy.”
Net Links.
II. TOPICS, MAIN IDEAS, AND DETAILS.
4. Identifying Topics and Main Ideas.
The Role of Previous Knowledge.
General and Specific Statements.
Identifying the Topic.
Understanding Main Ideas.
Identifying a Paragraph's Topic Sentence.
Placement of the Topic Sentence.
Reading Selections.
*1 (Advertising) George Rodman, “Advertising Objectives.”
*2 (Essay on Advertising) Dean Rieck, “Waiting for Guffaw: A Serious Look at Humor and Why You Should Avoid It.”
*3 (Essay on Business) Diane Hales and Dr. Robert Hales, “Does Your Body-Talk Do You In?”
Net Links.
5. Identifying Main Ideas in Longer Passages.
Distinguishing Among Supporting Details.
Distinguishing Among Details in Longer Passages.
Bailey and Kennedy, “Jeffersonian Idealism and Idealists.”
Robert M. Hazen. “Scientific Questions Are Richly Varied in Scope and Content”,
Aileen Jacobson, “Women In Charge”,
Kishlansky, Geary, and O'Brien, “Aristocratic Lifestyle in the Early Middle Ages.
Renzetti and Curran, “Voodoo: A Blending of Cultural Traditions.”
Reading Selections.
*1 (Music) Jean Folkerts and Stephen Lacy, “Music and Rebellion.”
*2 (Health) Samuel E. Wood and Helen R. Green Wood, “Exercise: Keeping Fit Is Healthy.”
*3 (Essay on Media and Health) Abigail Trafford, “At Sea with the Marlboro Man.”
Net Links.
6. Recognizing Unstated or Implied Main Ideas.
Paragraphs with an Implied Main Idea.
Your Strategy for Recognizing Implied Main Ideas: Read, Question, Reflect.
Longer Passages with an Implied Main Idea.
Tom L. McKnight, “Rainforest Removal.”
Reading Selections.
*1 (Psychology) Samuel E. Wood and Ellen R. Green Wood, “Attachment.”
*2 (Sociology) Claire M. Renzetti and Daniel J. Curran, “Do Women and Men Have Different Brains?”
3 (Folklore Essay) Roger L. Welsch, “Belly Up to the Bar: This Round's on Me.”
Net Links.
III. STRATEGIES AND STRUCTURES.
7. Recognizing Patterns and the Use of Transitions.
Listing/Addition.
Examples.
Definition.
Ordering: Chronology and Process.
Comparison and Contrast.
Reading Selections.
1. (Communications) Stephen E. Lucas, “Differences Between Public Speaking and Conversation.”
*2 (Sociology: Sport) Martin G. Miller, “Conflict Resolution and Sport: Dealing with Anger.”
*3 (Essay on Sport) C. W. Nevius, “The Cost of High Stakes on Little League Games.”
Net Links.
8. Recognizing More Patterns and Handling Mixed Patterns.
Statement with Clarification.
Cause and Effect.
Problem/Solution.
Summary Chart of Patterns with Key Signal Words.
Mixed Patterns.
Reading Selections.
*1 (History) Mark Kishlansky, Patrick Gerary, and Patricia O'Brien,“The Family in Sixteenth-Century Europe.”
2 *(Sociology) James M. Henslin, “Breaking Through the Barriers: The Jaime Escalante Approach to Restructuring the Classroom.”
3. (Essay) Andrew Vachss, “A Hard Look at How We Treat Children.”
Net Links.
IV. CRITICAL READING.
9. Drawing Inferences.
What Are Inferences?
Three Tone Indicators.
Drawing Inferences from Descriptive Details.
Drawing Inferences from Narrative Essays.
Reading Fiction.
Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour.”
Reading Poetry.
Robert Herrick, “To Daffodils.”
Reading Selections.
1 (Nonfiction: Description) Tracy Kidder, “Mrs. Zajac.”
2 (Autobiography) Annie Dillard, “The Chase.”
3 (Two Poems) Amy Lowell, “Taxi”; A. E. Housman, “Is My Team Ploughing.”
Net Links.
10. Drawing Inferences: Additional Practice.
The Writer's Stance.
Three More Tone Indicators: Hyperbole, Understatement, and Irony.
The Role of Prior Knowledge in Recognizing the Writer's Stance.
Dave Barry, “Unplugged.”
Reading Selections.
1 *(Essay) Gretel Ehrlich, “Chilly Thoughts of Days to Come.”
2 *(Essay) Ellen Goodman, “Mind Over Muscle.”
3 (Essay) Richard Rodriguez, “El Futuro: The New California.”
Net Links.
11. Reading and Evaluating Arguments.
Characteristics of the Critical Reader.
Sorting Out Facts, Opinions, and Judgments.
Understanding the Basic Structure of Argument.
Evaluating Arguments and Taking a Stand.
Reading Selections.
1 (Business/Economics) Lester Thurow, “Why Women Are Paid Less Than Men.”
*2 (Education) Gerald Bracey, “What They Did on Vacation.”
*3 (Criminal Justice) Richard Cohen, “Kids Who Kill Are Still Kids.”
Net Links.
V. COLLEGE SUCCESS.
12. Supporting Reading with Writing Strategies.
Highlighting/Underlining.
Annotating.
Outlining.
Mapping.
Note Taking.
Summary.
Reading Selections.
1 (History) Jackson J. Spielvogel, “The Witchcraft Craze.”
2 (Essay) Charles Krauthammer, “Saved by Immigrants.”
Net Links.
13. Reading and Studying for College Classes.
Efficient Reading.
Daniel J. Curran and Claire M. Renzetti, “Getting a Better Turnout: How Other Nations Run Their Elections.”
Claire M. Renzetti and Daniel J. Curran, “How Is the Earth's Physical Environment Changing?”
Reading Graphics.
Preparing for Class.
Participating in Class.
Strategies for Retention.
Preparing for Testing.
John H. Postlethwait et al., “Homo Sapiens.”
Mark Kishlansky et al., “The Trials of Galileo.”
Reading Selections.
1 (Geography) Tom L. McKnight, “Rainforest Removal.”
2 (Paleontology) Mark A. Norell et al., “How Large Were the Biggest Dinosaurs?”
Net Links.
Appendix: Additional Readings.
Rebecca J. Donatelle and Lorraine G. Davis, “Environmental Health” (Chapter 23 from Access to Health).
*Donald M. Berwick, “We All Have AIDS.”
William Raspberry, “Will Our Future Be Workable?”
*Margaret Carlson, “The Case for a National ID Card.”
*Diane Ackerman, “Come to the Window and Look.”
Glossary.
Index.
