Tips for Reading a Textbook

[Music Intro]
Book #1: Help! I can't breathe! And it's dark!

Book #2: Oh, for Guttenberg's sake, we're in a book bag! Of course it's dark and stuffy. 

#1: Well, you're not still wrapped in plastic!

#2: Wrapped in plastic? Isn't the semester almost half over? I might be going out on a limb here, but I'd say the first step to getting the most out of your textbook is to unwrap it!

#1: Then just don't sit there yapping! Help me out of the shrink-wrap!

#2: You know, students need me so they can be successful in their coursework.  When I get used as a doorstop, they don't get a good grade!

#1: Yeah, we've got good stuff inside. Like in the front there's the table of contents, which gives them an idea of what's in the course, and in the back, some of us have a glossary, which is a dictionary of the important words that they'll hear in class.

#2: And pictures and graphs! And, of course, new books like you have CD-Roms, even their own websites!

#1: Yeah, but how do you know what's important? I mean, I'm a textbook, and even I'm not sure what my important parts are!

#2: Well, do you have study questions at the end of your chapters? Or maybe chapter summaries?

#1: Hey, I need to know what to pay attention to before I read, not after!

#2: But that's exactly what you can use the study questions for! The author's not going to ask you about things he doesn't think are important. Or take all the time to summarize useless information.

#1: So you're saying I can use the questions at the end of the chapter as a guide to what's important, while I read?

#2: Exactly! When you come across something that was mentioned in the summary or end of chapter study questions, you can write it down, maybe even highlight it!

#1: Hey, I'm a new book here! No way am I going to let someone do me up in day-glo marker!

#2: It's not that big of a deal, as long as you don't highlight or underline every square inch, the bookstore will still buy you back; unless there's a new edition. And highlighting is good for so many things! 

#1: Like what?

#2: well, come test time, you don't have to re-read the whole chapter, you can just concentrate on what you've highlighted, you know, those parts that are the most important.

#1: Yeah, but our teacher gives us a study guide, I don't need to highlight! 

#2: Okay, but did you know that highlighting may actually help you remember what you've read?

#1: Now, you're just being crazy!

#2: No! Sometimes the physical act of highlighting, concentrating on the important points of the text, moving the marker across the words, sometimes that's enough to get the information through that thick cover of yours!

#1: I don't know, sounds a little flaky to me! Are you sure the silverfish haven't gotten to you?
[Music outro]