Get a 'Read' in Five Minutes
By Doug Buehl,
Madison East High School teacher
Member, Wisconsin State Reading Association
January 2001
Think
about standing in front of a bookstore rack teeming with titles on a topic
about which you want more information. Or scanning through possible sources
in the electronic card catalogue that might be appropriate to your needs.
Or perusing the stacks of professional resources on display at a educators'
conference or convention. How do you decide what to pick up? How do you
determine what is worth reading?
Often, our dilemma is not that there are no resources
available. Instead, we are more likely to feel inundated by possible materials
that could meet our needs. You may be forced, perhaps within a limited
time period, to make a choice, and in some cases spend money.
Students experience a similar challenge when they undertake
research projects. They may confidently sally forth to the library, only
to discover a few minutes later that there are more potential sources
related to their topic than they can possibly handle. Overwhelmed, many
adopt a default strategy to make their choices, settling for the source
that appears to be the easiest. The rest are relegated back to the shelf,
even though some of them might have been better suited for what the student
was looking for.
The Strategy
How can you get a "read" on a book before you actually have to read it?
Helping students size up a possible resource is a critical component of
the research process.
Step 1: Model the process for critically examining
a source through a think-aloud to the class. Begin by very clearly stating
your research goals or intentions: "I am looking for . . ." "What I will
need is . . ."
For example, as a prelude to examining a book on anxiety,
note that you have decided to investigate panic attacks: "I am looking
for strategies that can help a person cope with panic attacks." Or with
a book on substance abuse, say: "I need to locate information on the effects
on alcoholism on the abuser's family and friends." This is a crucial step,
because it targets the specific domain of information that needs to be
accessed during research. Instead, many students will approach a research
project having articulated only vague goals, such as "I'm doing a paper
on anxiety, or alcoholism." Without narrowing their focus, they will likely
find the breadth of information too formidable and won't know where to
begin.
Step 2: Next, continue your think-aloud to walk
students through the steps for a "5 Minute Read" of a source (this can
be distributed to students as a handout or bookmark). Introduce the steps
by emphasizing that an intelligent analysis of a potential source must
include two important facets: author perspective and available information.
Students commonly overlook authorship of their sources,
trusting that any materials purchased for a library collection must be
legitimate. But as more sources are accessed through Internet sites, students
need to be conditioned, as an initial step, to identify who has compiled
the information and what credentials these authors bring to the topic.
This phase of the "5 Minute Read" establishes reliability of the information
and provides insight into the perspective offered by the authors.
If individual authors are listed for the source, students
need to look for any biographical information that may be available. Students
should be especially tuned into any group or professional affiliations
that may be listed. Sometimes the publisher can provide a clue (such as
a university press or a professional organization, such as the American
Medical Association).
Students should also take this opportunity to read the
preface, forward, or introduction to the source, a step almost always
overlooked. The perspective of the book is commonly outlined here: how
the authors are connected to the material, what the book does or does
not attempt to do, and what provides the basis for the selection of information.
Step 3: The second phase of a "5 Minute Read"
is to scout the source to determine if information related to identified
research goals is available. Students are well practiced using the Table
of Contents for this purpose, although this feature is frequently not
adequate in highlighting the information pertinent to specific research
questions. Students should turn next to the index, if one is available.
They should scan the entire index, rather than try to pinpoint a certain
narrow term or two, because categories of information that they had not
anticipated may present themselves as being potentially useful.
Finally, they will need to investigate specific chapters
that seem promising, paying special attention to introductory and summary
paragraphs. A quick skim of a chapter, which focuses on first sentences,
can provide a further indication of whether the source will be worthwhile
for further consultation.
Advantages
This process of scoping out potential resources should take about 5 to
10 minutes to complete, depending on the complexity of the material. The
5 Minute Read facilitates research in the following ways:
- Students approach their sources with a focused mind-set, as they aggressively
examine materials with their research goals as a guide.
- Students have a protocol for source analysis, which assists them
in a systematic examination of the usefulness of an array of materials.
- Students are more likely to identify the best of available materials,
and to ascertain which sections of a source will be most useful.
- Students will approach electronic texts with a more analytical eye,
especially in terms of authorship.
The five-minute read
- Locate author biographies and background information: Who are the
authors and what are their credentials?
- Find the title page, front and back: Does the title give you any
clues as to the focus of the book? Who is the publisher? How recent
is the book?
- Locate a preface, introduction, or foreward: Are main points or major
themes of the book mentioned?
- Examine the table of contents: How does the book appear to be organized?
- Peruse the index: Which topics have the most extensive entries? Which
entries might be connected to your research goals?
- Quickly skim the first chapter: What do the chapter introduction
and summary tell you?
- Sample several chapters, quickly reading introductions, first sentences,
and summaries.
Posted April 19, 2001