KeWL Reading for the GED
I guess the hardest thing on the GED for me is reading, cuz English isn’t my first language. And reading’s not just on the reading section. The whole science and social studies parts make you do a lot of reading. So studying reading is like a 3-for-1 deal to get a higher GED score.
I pay a lot of attention to what my son Roberto does in his school, and I’m trying to bring home ideas to help me study for my GED. I know, he’s still pretty young, but I figure that now’s the time he’s learning to read, right? I can get better at reading by using some of the things they teach about in his school.
Here’s something they have him do… when you need to read something, you go through three steps. You can remember them by remembering KWL. I think of it like the Dwayne reading strategy… you know, “KEWL!”
KNOW…Ask Yourself, What Do I Already Know?
The first thing to do is look at the topic you’re studying. What do you already know about it? What can you tell just by looking at what you’re reading? Are there pictures? What’s the title? What’s the subject? Write down what you already know.
WANT TO KNOW…Ask Yourself, What Do I Want to Know?
The second thing to do is think about what you want to know from reading. What do you think you’ll learn? What would be interesting to know? The thing about the GED is, when you read a passage, there’s always something you want to know… it’s the answer to the question! So, if it’s on the GED, I look at the question and think about what I want to know to answer it. Write down what you want to know.
LEARN…After Reading, Ask Yourself, What Did I Learn?
It helps you remember things to think about them after reading them. So, after reading, what did you find out? Did you find the answers to your questions? Did you learn anything else, anything new? Write down what you learned.
I’m going to try reading this article to figure out how to make a blackberry cobbler: http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/08/the_great_cobbl-2.html
Elizabeth tells me it’s really good, so I’ll see what I can do. I’ll use the KWL method to read… and I’ll let you know how it works out. You try it with something you want to read, too!