Chapter #10: Determining Importance in Text

I made a real personal connection with this text about finding out what is most important within a given reading.  In the book, an anecdote is told about a student that went back and looked back into her book and discovered that EVERYTHING was highlighted.  I did the exact same thing; looking back at my old textbooks, I highlighted everything as well.  I was never taught how to pick out what is most important in a text.  

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when highlighting or teaching students how to highlight:

• Most important information is usually contained in the first and last lines of a paragraph.
• Focus on words and phrases rather than entire sentences.
• Utilize margins and sticky notes for paraphrasing notes
• Interesting details should be avoided- go for the meat of the article rather than the flash.
• Pay attention to signal words, Ex. "See page 15..."
• Non-fiction features like bold words and infographics, labels, graphs, etc, should all be focused on.
• Surprising information can tip you off that you are learning something new.
• You should be highlighting less that 50% of the paragraph as you begin to hone your skills.  Aim for a rate around 30% when you really get the hang out it.

As always, i am looking for ways to make a connection with our readings and bringing it to a kindergarten level.  I realized that I can do a better job of pointing out non-fiction text features so that my students are able to recognize what they are signalling.  Students will most likely not understand the significance of these features without being told at this age.  Hopefully, with some guidance, I can "highlight" the importance of these features so that my students are able to most quickly locate pertinent information.  

"When kids read and understand non fiction, they build background for the topic and acquire new knowledge.  The ability to identify essential ideas and salient information is a pre-requisite to developing insight." (page 156)  

I found some great ideas on pinterest that I already plan to incorporate into my lessons this week.