“When the reading brain skims texts, we don’t have time
to grasp complexity, to understand another’s feelings or to perceive beauty. We
need a new literacy for the digital age”
By: Maryanne Wolf
Published: The Guardian, 25 August 2018
Level of difficulty: **
BEFORE YOU READ
·
The evolutionary roots of the reading brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZgixRg3myk
·
Psychotactics: why slow reading beats speed reading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrAPVw0i57Y
·
Skimming versus close reading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUMkK_BajUc
QUESTIONS
1.
Why is the
obsession of people with electronic communication described in the text
significant?
2. Would it be correct to say that our brain has developed
over millennia in response demands made on us or would it be better to say
that our brain evolved over the millennia as it was programmed to do?
3. What would be the logical conclusion to be drawn from
the above?
4. Sherry Turkle states that we should:
·
Not be too eager
to innovate
·
Respond with
caution to innovations
·
Focus on deep
reading skills nevertheless
·
Focus on deep
reading skills also
5. It is necessary to pay careful attention to the
development of the reading circuit because unlike other abilities….
6. Does it really matter that much if our reading circuit
is changing to adapt to the way we consume digital media or use electronic
communication? Why or why not?
7. What does “this” refer to in the phrase “bear this
out”?
8. Students’ avoidance of classic literature is
significant because it implies that there is a widespread loss of…
9. What interesting conclusion may be drawn from the
experiment conducted in Norway?
10. Ziming Liu proved in his experiment that we only
touch the surface/ barely penetrate the surface / glide along the surface
of a reading passage because we don’t skim/ scan/preview/predict/read/write
properly. Mark as many as necessary.
11. A lot of
bookworms claim they prefer the actual book to the screen when reading this may
be the case because they……..The screen on the other hand doesn’t give them the
opportunity to…
12. What frightening finding did the US media researchers
make?
13. We understand from the text that the loss of deep
reading processes should concern us all because it hampers our efforts to…
14. The writer of the texts advocates a return to the
cultivation of deep reading skills / advocates a two pronged approach /
advocates a focus on what exactly we lose.
15. The only way we
can aspire to the kind of society described in the last paragraph is by fostering
the development of….
WRITING TASK
Discuss the reasons why many visitors to this blog
find the reading questions too tough. Hint: they all require critical thinking
and deep reading skills.
SKIM READING IS THE NEW NORMAL. THE EFFECTS ON SOCIETY ARE PROFOUND; KEY
AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
If, like me,
you have been wondering why students who logically should be highly intelligent
manage to be, well to be blunt, seriously lacking when attempting deep reading
tasks like the ones on this blog and the inferential questions they include,
here is your answer. I read the text and prepared the task you have before you
with the very greatest pleasure. I hope you find it useful.
1.
Because the neuronal circuit that
underlies the brain’s ability is subtly, rapidly changing as a result. (Needs
to be added for the answer to make sense)
2.
The first
3.
Each of our deep reading skills may
be under threat
4.
The last
5.
It is not given to human beings
through a genetic blue print
6.
Yes it does because the slower
time-demanding slow reading skills are indispensible to learning at any age.
7.
The negative effects of screen reading can appear as early as fourth and
fifth grade
8.
The ability to read with a level of critical analysis sufficient to
comprehend the complexity of thought and argument found in more demanding texts
9.
Digital screen use may be causing a variety of troubling
downstream effects on reading comprehension in older high school and college
students.
10. All
true for the first lot, read
11. Need a knowledge of where they are in time and space that allows them to
return to things and learn from re-examination / look back
12. Negative effects of screen
reading can appear as early as fourth and fifth grade
13. Navigate a constant
bombardment of information
14. Advocates a two pronged
approach
15. A
bi-literate brain
