Reading Now

Reading Now engages students through thematic content to connect meaning with reading skill development and a richly illustrated design that delivers key concepts in an inviting way.

Table of Contents:
BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I   OVERVIEW OF THE READING PROCESS Chapter 1   The Active Reader Part 1: Asking the Right Questions Chapter 2   The Active Reader Part 2: Answering Your Questions Chapter 3   A Word about Words   PART II SKILL REVIEW AND PRACTICE READINGS Chapter 4   Everyday Life: Finding the Special in the Ordinary (Skill: Main Idea) Chapter 5   In the News: Lasting Issues that Spark Debate (Skill: Supporting Details) Chapter 6   Work and the Dollar: How They Influence Decisions (Skill: Organization) Chapter 7   Health: Preserving the Mind and Body (Skill: Purpose and Tone) Chapter 8   Science and Technology: Investigating New Realms (Skill: Making Inferences) Chapter 9   The Environment: Interacting with a Changing Planet  (Skill: Critical Thinking) Chapter 10  The World: Glimpses of Different Places and Perspectives (Skill: Checklist Review)   PART III ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Using the Internet Skimming and Scanning Forms for Photocopying    DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS Detailed Table of Contents Preface                        To the Student PART 1 OVERVIEW OF THE READING PROCESS Chapter 1   The Active Reader Part 1: Asking the Right Questions Essential Questions to Ask What Is the Main Idea of the Reading? How Does the Writer Support the Main Idea? How Is the Reading Organized? What Is the Writer’s Purpose? What Is the Writer’s Tone? What Can I Infer from the Reading? What Other Critical-Thinking Skills Do I Need to Use to Fully Appreciate the Reading? Chapter 2   The Active Reader Part 2: Answering Your Questions Delivering the Answers Annotating Making Connections Recording Your Findings Paraphrase Summary Outline Visual Aids Applying the Techniques  “Sport or Not a Sport” by David Andriesen Textbook Considerations Organization SQ4R Reading Method Applying the Techniques “The Nature of Remembering” from Mastering the World of Psychology by Samuel E. Wood, Ellen Green Wood, and Denise Boyd Short Story Considerations Plot Characters and Dialogue Conflict Setting and Tone Symbolism Theme Applying the Techniques “The Stolen Party” by Liliana Heker Chapter 3   A Word about Words Expanding Your Vocabulary Context Clues Dictionary Use Dictionary Entries Online Dictionaries versus Paper Dictionaries Flash Cards Multiple Meanings Denotations and Connotations Word Parts Prefixes Roots Suffixes PART 2 SKILL REVIEW AND READINGS Chapter 4   Everyday Life: Finding the Special in the Ordinary Main Ideas The Topic Topic Sentences Thesis Statements and Implied Main Ideas Readings “Get Time on Your Side” by Jennifer Nichols “The Blessed Bean: There’s Nothing on Earth like Coffee" by Slim Randles “Professor Delves into Odd Culture of Freshmen” by Michelle Roberts “Behind Every Grad …” by Thomas L. Friedman “Socialization” from Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach by James M. Henslin “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes  Chapter 5   In the News: Lasting Issues that Spark Debate Supporting Details Major and Minor Supporting Details Types of Supporting Details Examples Statistics Testimony Reasons Fact or Opinion  Evaluating Supporting Details Readings “We Need to Get Smart about Marijuana” by Rick Steves “Have Gun, Will Show It” by Nicholas Riccardi “Under Whom?” editorial from theLos Angeles Times                                                                 “Complexion” from Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez by Richard Rodriguez “Identity in Contemporary America” from Created Equal by Jacqueline Jones, Peter H. Wood, Thomas Borstelmann, Elaine Tyler May, and Vicki L. Ruiz “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Chapter 6   Work and the Dollar: How They Influence Decisions Organization Methods of Ordering Information Patterns of Organization Transition Words and Phrases Readings “Life Stages of Debt” by Sheyna Steiner “How to Buy Happiness: Choosing between Stuff and Experiences” by Cynthia G. Wagner “For Love or Money: Workers Weigh Professional Passion with the Need to Make a Living” by Michelle Goodman “School Again” from Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston “Becoming Financially Independent” from Planning Your Future: Keys to Financial Freedom by Stephan Konowalow “Hot Dog Grotto” by Katy Tallorin Chapter 7    Health: Preserving the Mind and Body Purpose and Tone Purpose Tone Selecting Tone Words  Readings “The Great Awakening” by Catherine Price “Sun Savvy: Myth or Reality? From Blistering to Bronze, the Truth about Tanning” by Tracy Davis “Cross-Train Your Brain” by Kate Hanley “How We Eat Reflects and Defines Our Personal and Cultural Identity” from Eating Well for    Optimum Health by Andrew Weil, M.D. “Healthy Relationships” from Access to Health by Rebecca J. Donatelle “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe Chapter 8   Science and Technology: Investigating New Realms Making Inferences Inference Clues Bias      Readings “Kids Led the Way, But Texting’s GR8 for All” by Kevin Simpson “Constant Techno Communication Brings Lack of Focus and Loss of Privacy” by Eric Adler and Laura Bauer “Happily Ever Laughter” by Peter Doskoch “In the Mountain Meadow” from Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey “Responding to Stress” from Mastering the World of Psychology by Samuel E. Wood, Ellen Green Wood, and Denise Boyd “Virtuoso” by Herbert Goldstone Chapter 9   The Environment: Interacting with a Changing Planet Critical Thinking Faulty Logic Figurative Language Readings “Where to Hide from Mother Nature” by Brendan I. Koerner “Stuffing a Lifetime into a Suitcase” by Janet Eastman and Bettijane Levine “Mayors Take the Lead” by Anne Underwood “Surface Waters and Underground Seas” from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson “What Makes Cities Livable?” from Environmental Science by Richard T. Wright “The Phoenix” by Sylvia Townsend Warner Chapter 10   The World: Glimpses of Different Places and Perspectives Checklist Review SQ4R Method Main Idea Supporting Details Organization Purpose and Tone Inference Critical Thinking Short Story Readings “Journey to the Seven Wonders” by Tony Perrottet “Country of Longitudinal Essences” from My Invented Country by Isabel Allende “Mongolia . . . Dancing in the Village of Delight” by Louisa Waugh “Uluru from In a Sunburned Country” by Bill Bryson “Gestures” from Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach by James M. Henslin “Folktales From Around the World: The Roaming Horse, Snake’s Promise, Cat and Fox in the Forest, and Crossing the Lake” PART 3 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Using the Internet Skimming and Scanning Skimming Scanning Forms for Photocopying Reading Review Form Evidence Chart Checklists SQ4R Method Main Idea Supporting Details Evaluating Supporting Details Organization Purpose and Tone Inference Critical Thinking Short Story Glossary Credits Index

Review :
Advance praise for Reading Now   Presenting the skills together is brilliant I think the idea to cover all of the skills up front and reinforce later is a clever idea.  It is difficult to teach the reading process in an artificially segmented way. --Laurel Severino, Santa Fe College   I love that the pre-reading questions ask them to look at the picture/graph before they read.  This helps developmental reading students understand the importance of previewing the photos/graphs. --Barbara Kashi, Cypress College   I LOVE the use of photographs and graphs, etc.  Visuals are very important to readers, they draw the reader in and help them understand what the author is trying to say.  Readers learn to use picture clues early on, and if we use them they make the reading selections more interesting for those visual learners. --Eileen P. Steeples, Middlesex Community College   The first two chapters are excellent.  Presenting the “big picture” at the beginning is not done nearly enough in developmental reading textbooks.  Students are going to be reading many things in their other classes and need to have an overview as soon as possible. Helping students to see the big picture right at the start is an excellent idea.  I really like the major comprehension concepts introduced right at the beginning.  Too often developmental reading instruction is presented as a combination of discrete skills.  The reality is that all of it relates together.  This synthesis of ideas/concepts is very appealing to me. --Linda Huber Mininger, Harrisburg Area Community College I like the inclusion of photographs a lot!  They are real and students can respond to them in open-ended ways, where cartoons or graphs may require deeper thinking to come to the “right” answer.  I think they add tremendously to the chapters, not just for the aesthetic quality of them, but because the author asks the reader to think about them, to answer questions about them, to “read” them, it engages the reader.  --Lynette D. Shaw-Smith, Benedictine University at Springfield   Students are more interested in reading and analyzing current trends and issues, such as politics and global warming. I have seen that using these types of materials have a greater impact on my students’ ability to do well in class when current events are used rather than old material from textbooks. Therefore, I would like to use a text that has up to date material. --Marisol Varela, Miami Dade College   I love the tone and way the author presents the information.  It is very approachable and conversational.  I teach my students to ask similar questions with my students in an effort to make them active readers… to show them how to interact with the text… and these questions apply to various types of texts and summarize the reading process very well. --Karen Larmon Whalen, Collin College   The best part of the book is the selection of readings.  --Lynette D. Shaw-Smith, Benedictine University at Springfield The questions before and after the reading selections are amazingly comprehensive, thought-provoking, cover the basic skills, but also “dig a little deeper” so the reader makes text-to-self connections, learns vocabulary in a context, is engaged in before, during and after reading strategies… The author designed these questions based on what the reading research suggestions effective readers do, the strategies they have internalized, which our developmental students need help mastering and applying.  --Lynette D. Shaw-Smith, Benedictine University at Springfield I like the diversity of texts and genres. I like how some of the readings can really help them in the time of their life right now — a subtle message being taught when practicing the skills of reading — nice touch! And I found the articles that I skimmed through very attention-getting and interesting, and I’m sure my students would feel the same way. The literature based readings are good also. --Rachel Evans, St. Charles Community College Overall, I feel that the material covered in Reading Now is a complete and comprehensive manual for teaching students how to improve their reading comprehension. --Rachel Evans, St. Charles Community College   I really liked the chapter content.  I sincerely appreciate the vocabulary section as this could potentially eliminate the need for a separate, more costly, vocabulary book purchase.  I appreciated the Internet activities because students today are on the Internet more than ever and they enjoy using it for their coursework. -Melanie Ward, Tyler Junior College   The themes are appealing and seem applicable to real-world reading that a college student is required to complete.  --Linda Huber Mininger, Harrisburg Area Community College   The holistic and specific-skills approach is totally unique.  I think it is a more natural way to learn reading skills which engages the brain in problem solving.  --Sandra Jones, Community College of Baltimore County The readings are current and very interesting and provocative.  I think they would also spark discussion and debate and group projects.  They excite the teacher in me to think of additional activities for small group work.  It is important that one textbook reading is included in each chapter.  Students need “real” textbook excerpts to practice the skills on in preparation for their general education classes. --Sandra Jones, Community College of Baltimore County   The readings are appropriate and interesting.  They cover a variety of topics and are timely.  They seem to be at the proper level for our developmental students. --Helen L. Streicher, Kankakee Community College   I found the readings to be very valid for the course.  They are real world, relevant, and cross-curricular, three things I struggle to find each semester.  -Melanie Ward, Tyler Junior College