Lesson 3

Learning Intention: We are learning to locate important facts and information by skimming and scanning.

Success Criteria:
✅ I can skim to get the gist of a text.
✅ I can scan to find specific facts.

Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information, or the “gist” of text.  When we skim text, we quickly look over  the text to get some of the main ideas and a general overview of the material. You don’t read for details at this point.

Steps to skim a chapter:

1.        Read the first paragraph of the chapter line by line. 

2.        Next, read all the bold print headings starting at the beginning.

3.        Read the first sentence of every paragraph.

4.        Study any pictures, graphs, charts, and maps.

5.        Finally, read the last paragraph of the chapter.

Scanning is used to find a particular piece of information. We use scanning by running our eyes over a text and looking for the specific piece of information that we need. If you see words or phrases that you don’t understand, don’t worry when scanning.

Scanning is what you do, when you need to find an answer to a specific question. You may run your eyes quickly down the page in a zigzag or winding S pattern. If you are looking for a name, you note capital letters. For a date, you look for numbers. Vocabulary words may be boldfaced or italicised. When you scan for information, you read only what is needed. 

Instructions:

1. Choose a Space Topic
   Select a topic that interests you (e.g. the Sun, asteroids, planets, black holes, etc.).

2. Find an Article
   Use a computer to research and find an article related to your chosen topic. Make sure it’s a reliable source with useful information.

3. Print the Article

Once you’ve found a suitable article, print a copy so you can highlight directly on the page. Ask your teacher if you need help printing. 

4. Skim the Article
   Read quickly through the article to get a general idea of what it’s about. Don’t worry about understanding every word just yet.

5. Highlight the Text
   Use different coloured highlighters to mark important parts of the article:

   • Headings and Subheadings – Use one colour to highlight these.

   • Key Facts – Use a second colour for facts, dates, numbers, and important information.

   • Unfamiliar Words – Use a third colour to highlight words you don’t understand or want to learn more about.

6. Be Neat and Focused
   Highlight only the most important parts—don’t colour the whole page!

Turn and talk - What helped you find information quickly today?