How Reading the Newspaper Every Day Will Make You
a Better Student (Continued from EdWorld
At Home)
The experts will tell you (they already told us) that the best
way to prepare for any standardized test is to read anything you
can get your hands on – novels, textbooks, poems, magazines,
the backs of cereal boxes – because reading is the best way
to improve your vocabulary and comprehension. Vocabulary and comprehension
are the two main ingredients for doing well on the verbal side of
these standardized tests, and a related skill – reading instructions
very carefully – is important no matter what the subject matter.
But don’t take our word for it: The
College Board, the group that writes the SAT and PSAT, has declared,
“Students who have strong reading habits do well on the verbal
part of the SAT.”
What makes the newspaper the ideal reading material for building
these skills is that, one, a daily newspaper covers so many subjects
that you’re bound to find new vocabulary words in it almost
every day, and, two, most newspaper articles are just about the
same length as SAT reading passages, and they deal with similar
subjects.
Start on the front page and work on your vocabulary. As you read
the articles, make a note of any word whose meaning you don’t
know. Then try to figure out what it means from how it’s
used. Here’s an example:
“Democrats yesterday used a filibuster tactic to delay a
vote on the law. Until the filibuster ends, Senators will have to
wait to decide whether it should become a law for all Americans
under 18 to read the newspaper every day.”
So, what does filibuster mean? If you guessed, “some
kind of delaying tactic,” you’re on the road to higher
scores. Figuring out the general meaning of words from their context
is a key test-taking skill. (Use a dictionary to check the exact
meanings of new words to take your skill here to the next level.)
Next, move to the opinion page of the paper. (It’s often
called the “Op-Ed” page because it’s opposite
– op – the page with the newspaper’s own editorials,
or opinion pieces.) This section often also contains letters to
the editor from readers. You can usually find this section on one
of the last pages of the front section of the newspaper.
The amazing thing about opinion articles and columns is that they
look so much like the reading passages you’ll find on standardized
tests, in style and length. In fact, they’re just about identical.
Choose an opinion piece to read. As you read, try to answer some
of these questions in your head, because they’re the kinds
of questions you’ll be asked on standardized tests:
- What issue is this person writing about?
- Why is it important?
- What does this writer think about the issue?
- How does the writer express his or her main ideas?
- Did the writer try to convince me to agree with his or her point
of view?
- Does the headline tell me the writer’s main point?
You can work on a lot of skills using the front section of the
newspaper. But there’s a lot more inside:
- Science and food articles are full of new vocabulary words you
might not find anywhere else.
- Newspaper maps, charts and political cartoons and just like
the ones you’ll be studying in social studies class.
- Articles about community history and traditions could give you
ideas for class projects.
- And don’t forget TV, music, and movie reviews –
they’re opinion pieces, and you can practice your reading
skills on them as well.
There’s one more thing about reading the newspaper every
day. As you start following the ups and downs of major stories each
day – overseas battles, political campaigns, and courtroom
trials – you may find yourself getting hooked. And once reading
the paper becomes a habit for you, higher test scores should become
a habit as well.
USA TODAY surveyed reporters and the public as the year 2000 approached
and asked about the top 100 news events of the past 100 years. The
list is here. Please remember that the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, are not listed!
Here are a few Web sites that have news for young people:
Also, while you’re looking at today’s news, you might
be interested in finding out about things that happened …
On
This Day in History (This is part of the New York Times Learning
Network, as is the following page.)
On
This Day in History Archives (Look up what happened in history
on your birthday!)
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