Freedom Scientific LSG Presents
The WYNNing Word WYNNing Word
November, 2005

Strategies:
WYNN and SQ3R Work Together to Help
the Struggling Reader Meet State Standards

"Many students do not know how to get the most information out of a reading assignment. They focus on all the details, but remember few. However, there is an approach that has worked for many students. It encourages active reading, which is the basis of remembering what you have read. This approach is called SQ3R," says Sally Shaywitz, M.D., author of Overcoming Dyslexia.

John loves science. He loves the experiments and can't wait to learn more about the topic. He begins to read the text, but becomes lost. His confidence wanes. Soon John is no longer intrigued and becomes disruptive in class.

Sound familiar? John is a student who really wants to learn, but suffers from a lack of ability to focus on the written word. He has the interest and the intelligence, but not the appropriate tools to overcome his learning disability.

WYNN and SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Record, Review) work well together to encourage an active learning situation which promotes successful reading. The SQ3R study method enables students to actively study textbooks. This method helps students process, analyze, and synthesize information, leading to better comprehension and mastery of the material. WYNN supports this process with tools on WYNN's Pink, Study Tools Toolbar.

SURVEY - Before reading the actual chapter, read the introduction and summary (if given). Skim through the chapter paying attention to topic headings, bold-faced words, summaries, and key points. These can give you an idea of general structure and content before you begin reading. From the Pink Toolbar use Highlight or Bookmark to mark key information.

QUESTION - Set a purpose for your reading by developing questions about the material. Use the topic and heading information you gathered in the survey step to create questions to be answered. Ask yourself who, what, where, when, why, and how. General questions covering main topics and important points are most beneficial. Use the Voice Note or Text Note on the Pink Toolbar to insert your questions in context.

READ - Break the material into sections to read, and re-read the material section by section. Look for answers to your questions; identify key concepts and supporting details; and study charts, graphs, tables, and pictures. This presents new information and ties together concepts from the reading. Listen to the text using the Read button. As you read, use the Dictionary to look up unfamiliar vocabulary and Highlight and Bookmark key information.

RECORD - Go back and 'pull out' the main ideas. This can be done using the Highlight or Bookmark feature. Using the List Feature you can create a separate document of the isolated information. After each section, paraphrase and summarize the key information using Text Notes and/or Voice Notes.

REVIEW - After completing the entire chapter, scan back over the reading and review the information. Use the Find button from the Yellow tool bar to jump quickly from one mark to the next. Use the Voice Note to clarify and identify overall themes and relationships between concepts. Make any necessary revisions of your Highlights, BookMarks, Text Notes, and Voice Notes so they can be easily understood when you re-visit the key information.

* In order to meet the various needs of students, some educators have expanded upon the SQ3R method. The steps in SQ5R, the expanded method, are Survey - Question - Read - Respond - Record - Recite - Review.

Want more information about WYNN and SQ3R & SQ5R?

To receive a free PowerPoint presentation of Using WYNN and the SQ3R Method to Support the Struggling Student, please e-mail wynningword@adelphia.net and we will e-mail it to you.

Download a copy of the SQ3R tip sheet in Word format.
You can also find the Improving Reading Comprehension Using WYNN and SQ5R tip sheet at www.freedomscientific.com/LSG/tipsheets.

Check out what some of the leading authorities in methods to improve reading skills have to say about SQ3R and SQ5R:
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/sq3r.html
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/lynch/TRIntroduction.htm
http://www.arc.sbc.edu/sq3r.html
http://aaswebsv.aas.duke.edu/skills/ASIPwebsite/sq3r.html
http://www.teach-nology.com/cgi-bin/sq3r.cgi
http://www.ops.org/reading/sq3rstudy.htm
LEARNING SKILLS INSTRUCTION
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/reading.html
http://www.dushkin.com/connectext/psy/ch07/sq5r.mhtml
http://www.dc-uoit.ca/disabilities/strat_sq5r.php

Go-To-Meetings

GoToMeeting allows us to conduct free, real-time online meetings and presentations of WYNN and TestTalker. All that's required is a high-speed Internet connection and a phone line for the audio. This is a great way to get a live product overview, see new product features, or explore the steps for using a particular function, all without leaving your desk.

If you're interested in setting up a GoToMeeting with our staff, just contact your Regional Manager. You can also go our home page for a list of meetings that have already been scheduled. You'll be surprised how easy, fun, and effective this type of meeting can be.

ASK-the-EXPERT:

In last month's WYNNing Word we invited our readers to ask questions about using WYNN with older students.

Q. College materials can be very difficult to digest and may have to be read several times. Is it difficult to find the time to sit at the computer to reread the materials?

A. With the newest version, WYNN 4.0, you can download your files as MP3 audio files to any MP3 player, including the Apple iPod™, giving you the flexibility to reread your materials wherever and whenever you choose.

Each month we will include a tip that helps you be more productive when using WYNN or TestTalker. If you have an idea that will help others, or if you have a question that we might have a tip for, please e-mail wynningword@adelphia.net.

THIS MONTH'S TECH TIP:

If you would like to save your documents to a location other than the Default setting in WYNN:

1. Click Settings from the Toolbar
2. Click General Settings
3. Click inside the Default File Location box and type the name of the location where you would like to save documents.

Support for our customers is always available at www.freedomscientific.com/LSG/support/

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Like most of you, WYNNing Word will be taking a break in December. We will be back online in January.

Happy Holidays to All from Freedom Scientific Learning Systems Group.

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