UNDERSTANDING YOUR

TEXTBOOK Study Skills

2nd Period

Mrs. Sheppard

TABLE OF CONTENTS The Table of Contents, at the beginning of a textbook, lists each chapter’s title and starting page. Chapter titles are the main ideas. Looking at them in the Table of Contents will help you understand how the book is organized.

BASED ON THE TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOVE, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What chapter will tell you about Puerto Rico’s natural features?  2. What is the title of Chapter 3?  3. What chapter begins on page 49?  4. Where would you find information on native food and dress?  5. What chapter will tell you about explorers?   

TABLE OF CONTENTS PRACTICE

In Puerto Rico

Contents PAGE Chapter 1: A Home in the United States……………………………………………………….………3 Chapter 2: Puerto Rico Discovered ……….……………………………………………………………15Chapter 3: Spanish Under Attack………………………………………………………………………..23Chapter 4: Smugglers, Pirates, and Corsairs……………………………………………………….34 Chapter 5: Slavery……………………………………………………………………………………………...49Chapter 6: United-States-Puerto Rico Relations………………………………………………..71Chapter 7: Migration to the Mainland………………………………………………………………..81Chapter 8: Geography of Puerto Rico…………………………………………………………………95Chapter 9: Puerto Rican Culture……………………………………………………………………….103

 

CHAPTER TITLES The title of a chapter shows its main idea. Looking at the chapter titles shows how the book is organized and what topics are covered.

HEADINGS The headings in each chapter usually appear in bold type. A heading is the main idea for the section that follows. For example, in Chapter 2: “Puerto Rico Discovered,” you will find these headings:

The Taino Indians Arrival of Columbus Ponce de Leon

SUBHEADINGS Subheadings, too, often appear in either bold type, in italics (but in a smaller size font than the headings), or in another color. Subheadings provide clues as to the supporting information for each heading. For example, under the heading Arrival of Columbus are these subheadings:

First Trip from Spain to the Caribbean Second Voyage: Columbus Reaches Puerto Rico Columbus Takes Gold Back to Spain

PICTURESPictures help you understand what’s in the text. Some visual aids your might find in a textbook include: Photographs Drawings Maps Tables Graphs Diagrams

CAPTIONS Captions are the words that explain important details in the pictures.

GLOSSARY The glossary is a mini-dictionary of words that are unusual, difficult, or special for that book. It usually appears at the end of the book, sometimes at the end of each chapter.

EXAMPLE OF A GLOSSARY cacicas – village chief of the Taino Indians

census – official count of the number of people in a particular place or county

corsairs – pirates given the right by Spain to capture enemy ships

epidemic – rapid spreading of a disease with many people ill at the same time

export – send products for sale to other countries

import – purchase products from other countries

inhabitants – people who live in a particular place

migrate – move from one place to another

smuggle – bring in or take things out of a country illegally

INDEX The index, found at the back of a textbook, is more detailed than a Table of Contents. Every topic in the book, and the pages where that topic appears, are listed in alphabetical order in the index. The index also often refers you to pages on other subjects related to the topics.

CHAPTER REVIEW OR SUMMARY Many chapters have a short review or summary at the end. This part of the chapter goes over the main points you should have learned from your reading. The summary reminds you what the author thinks is important for you to know.

REVIEW QUESTIONS Review questions give you the opportunity to test yourself on the chapter’s main points. If you can answer the questions, you have learned the chapter thoroughly and are ready to be tested on the material. If you can’t answer a question, reread that section in the textbook until you are sure you understand the materials.

ADDITIONAL TEXTBOOK FEATURES You may also come across the following special features of a textbook: Title page – first page that shows the title,

author, publisher Copyright page – the page on the reverse

side of the title page; it tells when the book was published

Bibliography - list of sources the author used for research

Appendix – additional information at the back of the book

HOW TO READ A

TEXTBOOK .

PREVIEW THE CHAPTER Before you read every word in a chapter, preview what’s in it. This gives you clues about what the chapter contains.

Go through the pages from beginning to the end of the chapter. Look closely at the title, introduction, headings and subheadings, pictures, glossary, summary, and review questions. Pay special attention to the summary and review questions, since these show what the author thinks is important.

READ Now that you have previewed the chapter, you are ready to read. It is important to maintain your concentration. You must learn to be an active reader.

ACTIVE READING HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR ACTIVE READING

As you read, ask and answer the questions you made up from the headings and subheadings.

If you’re allowed to write in the book or use a highlighter, mark main points and key terms. If not, take note in a notebook, on note cards, or on post-it-notes.

After you read a paragraph or short section, put the main idea and supporting details into your own words (paraphrase).

Be alert for answers to the review questions you read in your preview.

Ask yourself questions as you go along. For example: What are the main points so far? How does this relate to what we learned already? What do the author and the teacher want me to remember? How would I teach this to somebody else?

REVIEW Reviewing the material immediately after

reading it will help you remember, so make a habit of reviewing right away.

During your review, list the main points and supporting details. Attempt to define key terms, answer review questions, and the questions you make up from the headings and subheadings. If you get stuck, return to the section in the chapter and reread it.

Try to figure out what questions your teacher is likely to ask on a test. As part of your final review, explain the chapter to someone else.

SUMMARYIn this power point, you have learned about textbooks. You have become familiar with the parts of textbooks and learned about the three step process of preview, read, review when reading a textbook.