How to Read
Image credit: Smithsonian Magazine
High school history students! Listen up my friends (and maybe history teachers too…). If we’ve met you know that I assign a TON of reading. Some textbook work, of course, but also a lot of older monographs, journal articles, book reviews, even public interest stories with a historical theme. My most advanced students have known me to assign hundreds of pages each week. Suffice it to say, this amount of reading can seem overwhelming - especially if you are also dealing with numerous other classes, homework, exam preparation, basketball practice and all that. But fear not. There is actually a winning strategy that I use myself when taking on what seems an insurmountable amount of reading. And you’re in luck - because I am providing that strategy right here…and it’s pretty straight forward. This, by the way, is part of my recent book, Mastering the Past: Unlocking Excellence in High School History. The book includes all sorts of strategies for reading, researching, and writing history. You should probably grab a copy if you are a serious student.
Anyway….here you go.
It may seem a little overwhelming at first when assigned a large chunk of reading – but I promise it is doable if you follow this strategy. You will not only get through the material you will also retain it and be able to discuss it intelligently.
- Step one: you need to plan ahead. This may sound like an obvious point, but I have learned over the years that students are really bad at planning. You must set aside enough time to read the material – in its entirety. Since I assume you are enrolled in more than one class, you need to do this for all of your classes. Now, I strongly encourage you to read incrementally – in 15 to 30 minute sessions. I have found that reading for much longer affects one’s ability to retain information. You may say that you don’t have enough time. Generally speaking, I do not believe you. Put your phone away…you’ll find that you magically have a lot of free time on your hands.
- Step two: read the introduction or opening paragraph carefully. Get a notebook – a real notebook, with paper and everything. Write down the argument and see if you can figure out from the introduction how the author is going to support that argument. Write that down too. This is called active reading. My personal experience and evidence gathered from my own students suggests that doing something other than simply reading (which is passive) will help you retain the information. Otherwise, you will fall asleep and forget everything.
- Step three: write down points of analysis and supportive evidence. You might use a notebook here too (I also use index cards that I keep inside the book – but that’s just me). In other words, if the author brings up an important analytical point in support of the thesis, you should take the time to write that point down, making sure to include what evidence the author used in support. Why? Well, first because the action of physically writing something will help you retain the information, and second you can always go back and reference your notes when studying or using the source for your own writing.
- Step four: write a brief (one paragraph should suffice) evaluation/explanation of the book/article/chapter for reference. Again, the act of writing will help you retain the information.
So, what are you going to do with all of these reading notes? Your notes are an important part of your personal reference materials to be used in conjunction with your class notes (more on this later). You will find that the best classroom instruction will complement the reading, not simply repeat it, and often, it will offer counterpoints. Remember, historians don’t agree on much of anything, so when you hear something in class that does not align with the reading material, it is a good idea to make note of it.
So I hope all this was helpful - and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. And…for some more historical insights, just follow me on Instagram!
With compliments,
Keith