Tools+for+reading

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Dictionaries and Thesaurii If you want more words or don't know what a word means, then either use the Reference Section of the library to find English dictionaries or try one of these online ones. [|One Look] [|Cambridge Dictionaries] [|Collins Word Exchange] [|Thesaurus.com] [|Lexical FreeNet]

Pick the best books
Use [|this Dewey tutorial]to find out how books are organised in a Library.

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When you are looking for information on a topic, you need to compare a variety of resources to decide which are the BEST ONES FOR YOU. Pick the **3** best books to start with and use others later. Think about whether the book : Most important - Does the book tell you what you want to know?
 * at the right level for you?
 * up to date?
 * easy to use ?
 * well illustrated?

Looking at books

 * **Contents** Page - inside the front of the book - gives headings in the order they appear in the book.
 * **Index** Page - at the back of the book - an alphabetical list of all the topics covered in the book with page numbers
 * **Glossary** - an alphabetical list of unusual words used in the book with explanations.

Look through the contents page and the index to see if the book is going to be useful to you.


 * Try the Types of reading tutorial **

Looking at webpag es

 * Sometimes web pages are hard to read.**
 * There are some simple things you can to to make things easier.**

As with books you can look at parts of the web page to decide if it is going to be useful.
 * **Menus,**
 * **Navigation links,**
 * **Headings,**
 * **Illustrations,**

In Internet Explorer go to View, text size and make it larger.
 * If the writing is hard to read -**
 * Here is a video on how to make text bigger.**

Highlight the text with a mouse and it will be easier to read.
 * If the background colours make the text hard to see -**
 * Here is a video on making text clearer.**

Clicking on the Restore down box in the top righthand corner of the browser window will make the page narrower and easier to read.
 * If it is hard to read right across the page -**
 * [|Here is a video on how to do it.]**

Only click on the ones you are sure you need to go to.
 * If there are too many hypertext links -**
 * Here is a video on how to manage hyperlinks.**

FIND Command
Either go to **Edit** in the toolbar, then scroll down to **Find** ,or press **Ctrl + F** to find the words you are looking for on the page.
 * Is there too much writing on the page?**
 * Here is a short interactive video on how to use Find on this page.**

**Skimming,** Scanning
If your mind starts to wander…go back to your keywords.
 * How to skim**
 * Read the title
 * Look through the menu or contents page.
 * Look at headings and subheadings.
 * Look at the first and last sentence of each paragraph.
 * Look at pictures and diagrams.
 * Decide if the resource has useful information.
 * Use an index to find specific pieces of information.
 * How to scan**
 * Think about the information you are looking for.
 * DO NOT READ EVERY WORD ON THE PAGE.
 * Quickly look down the page for specific information like dates, places, or names.
 * Look for keywords. These are often in **bold**.
 * Then Read Carefully**
 * Read the most relevant sections
 * Read for understanding.
 * Make sure you read all the details.
 * Make sure you remember the details.

To improve your scanning of snippets go to the California Gold Rush To improve your scanning of paragraphs go to the Klondike Gold Rush.


 * For more practice on skimming and scanning games and exercises go to 4 2 Explore **

Pictograms
Sometimes information is not in words but in images or symbols.
 * Try this Pictograms tutorial.**

Once you have read your information, you need to move on to Tools for evaluating information.