RESERVATIONS TO READ

It’s Saturday night, around 6:00 p.m., and you’re taking your “special someone” out to her favorite restaurant for an intimate date. When you arrive, the place is packed with people. You go to the hostess station and she says, “Hi, do you have a reservation?” You don’t have a reservation and now you are starting to sweat because you know you are not going to get a table.

Reading is like going to your favorite restaurant on a Saturday night. If you don’t make reservations, the reading won’t get done. To improve your reading, set a time to read, daily.

READING RESERVATION FORMULA

1. # of sections ___x 5 minutes = __ minutes to read the chapter.
2. # of sections __ ÷ 4 =__ how many breaks you will need to take x 5 minutes for each break = __ minutes you will need for brain breaks.
3. Minutes to read ___ + ___Break time = ___Total reading time

Find the chapter you need to read for this week and then use the following formula to calculate how much time you will need to reserve to read.

1. A nonfiction chapter is complied of many major ideas. In order to support the reader, an author uses titles and headings to advertise the main idea of a small section of text. If you read correctly, you will need about five minutes to read each section. This means one minute to FLIRT (This is a ___ about___. I already know______ and I am curious about____. The author wants me to ____.) three minutes to read the words and then one minute to summarize the main idea. (See HIGHLIGHTING, DRAWING, AND NOTES, OH MY!) Now, flip through your chapter and count how many sections you will have to read and then fill in the first part of the formula. (Remember, a section is a title or heading followed by a small chunk of text)


# of sections ___ x 5 minutes = ___ minutes to read the chapter.
Example: # of sections 12 x 5 minutes = 60 minutes to read the chapter.

2. Surprised? You’re not done yet! Research suggests the brain needs time to process the new information. Stopping every twenty minutes, or every four sections for a brain break is ideal. Let’s say you will need about a five minute break. During this break, you can: check your cell phone, return the IMPORTANT calls, respond to social networks on line, walk around, and get a snack. Time to fill out the section part of the formula:

# of sections ___ ÷ 4 =__ how many breaks you will need to take x 5 minutes for each break = ___ minutes you will need for brain breaks.

Example: # of sections 12 ÷ 4 = 3 how many breaks you will need to take x 5 minutes for each break = 15 minutes you will need for brain breaks.

4. To determine the total time you will need to read this chapter: take the minutes you will need to read the chapter and add it to the amount of time you will need for breaks.

Minutes to read __ + __ Break time = __ Total reading time
Example: Minutes to read 60 + 15 Break time = 75 minutes of total reading time.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Reading Reservation Formula is a guide to support your decision making about reserving the proper amount of time you will need to read. Keep in mind the time needed to read will change depending on your level of prior knowledge, difficulty of the text, and your interest in the topic. If the text is hard to read or you do not have a lot of prior knowledge about the topic, your pace of reading will be slower. In this case, change the time for reading each section from five minutes to seven minutes. If you are not interested in the subject you are reading, count in more time for breaks

Copy and paste the Reading Reservation Formula in your post. Then complete the formula. Does this match the time you have reserved for reading or will you have to make adjustments to your daily schedule? Remember, making a reservation to read will guarantee an intimate date with the author.

1. # of sections __ x 5 minutes = __ minutes to read the chapter.
2. # of sections __ ÷ 4 =__ how many breaks you will need to take X 5 minutes for each break = ___minutes you will need for brain breaks.
3. Minutes to read ___ + __ Break time = __ Total reading time