Active Reading // 3 Easy Methods

- Hi everyone.

In today's video I'm going to be talking

to you about the art of active reading

and I'm gonna be showing
you my three most used

methods to do so.

Now before I begin, I just wanna make sure

that everyone is on the same page with me.

When I say active reading,

it means engaging the
material you are trying

to understand, remember, and focus on.

So this can be PowerPoint
slides, textbooks

or actual books or magazine.

Uh, basically these methods
will help you better understand

what you're reading, not fall
asleep while you're reading,

and actually focus and
remember what you have read

and what you are trying to read.

So hopefully this will help you out.

I'm just gonna begin by
enumerating the three methods I

personally use to active read

and to be engaged with
the material I am reading.

The first method is called
read slash summary method.

So we can call it the RS method.

The second method is the
memory boost or MB method.

And the third one is think
like a teacher method.

So TLT method I called it.

Now with that being said, let us start off

with the first method.

So what I have here is a
textbook on Intro to psych.

This is my favorite
textbook to use as examples

because it's very clear

and I find it's the
standard textbook looking

text you can ever have.

So let's just start with this one.

In the method called read
summary, that is exactly

what we are gonna do.

We are going to read

and each paragraph we see we are going

to summarize in the margin.

If you cannot do so in the book,

I suggest just getting like a blank sheet

of paper right here and
just doing so there.

Remember, this method
is not textbook notes.

You do not have to make them
pretty, they do not have

to be coherent, if that makes any sense.

You will see what I'm talking about.

This is just a way you
can engage the material

and you can erase your notes after

or like just make a more beautiful

and more perfected version
of it to study later.

But this is not the
point of active reading.

The point of active reading is
while you go to the material,

you need to remember as
much as you can of it.

You need to engage and focus on as much

as you can from it.

So basically think of this
video kind of like how not

to fall asleep while
reading type of video.

Think about it, what's better?

You take a bit more time
when reading it just once

and understanding it or you
read it, don't remember anything

of it and have to reread
it at least five times.

So actually remember something
or not just like drool

and your head on the textbook falling

asleep type of thing, huh?

Well you do a T account here.
Do do you know it's better?

It's better. So in the first stage

of development call the oral stage,

the baby's mouth is the
focal point of pleasure.

During the first 12 to 18 months of life,

children suck mouth

and bite anything that
will fit into their mouths.

To Freud, this behavior suggested

that the mouth is the primary site

of a kind of sexual pleasure.

Infants who are either
overly indulged, perhaps

by being fed every time they cried

or frustrated in their search

for oral gratification might
become fixated at this stage.

So if you want, if this is
already too much for you

and you're losing your train of thought

and you're like, eh, falling
asleep, summarize this.

Just engage the material.

So you know what, let's
just not go further.

Let's summarize this. So

what you can do is if you
can write on the textbook

and you don't mind
writing on the textbook,

you can write it in the margin,

but I'm just gonna say
show you how I do it.

So basically I just got a blank
piece of paper right here.

Gonna put it a bit higher right there.

And this is the first paragraph.

And if you would write in the book,

you would just do a little, I don't know

how you call this aad I think, anyway,

and you're just gonna write
a really quick summary

of what you understood.

So what I understood
here is that first stage

oral, so mouth

focal point

and that's it.

That's all I'm gonna
write for that paragraph.

But what I am doing here is
I'm engaging the material,

it's ugly, it's quick,
but I engaged my hand.

And when you engage your
senses while you read,

not only does it make you
focus on the material,

think critically and remember

what you you read.

It's because your mind
doesn't only remember

what your eyes tell you,
it remembers what your

hand gesture tells you.

So by the smell spelling, by
the smelling, by the spelling

of oral

stage. Your hand is gonna

remember those movements

and it's gonna help you
remember the term oral stage.

So that is basically what we
are doing throughout the book,

throughout reading the material,

just make little side
notes on every paragraph

or every time you think, you
know what, I'm getting kind

of sidetracked, I'm getting kind of bored,

it's not going in anymore.

Engage the part that's
not going in. Attack it.

Be like, yo, you know what?

I'm gonna understand
you due to lack of time.

I'm just gonna provide you
with a brief overview of all

of these techniques and if you want me

to go into detail on any of them,

just let me know in the
comments down below.

But with that being said,
I am going to move right on

to the second method,

which is called the
memory boost MB method.

And I also like to name
this right in the fields.

And you'll see why,

because we are once again
engaging our feeling, our touch,

and getting ourselves
into what we're reading.

This is, I have to admit

my most used method out of the three.

I absolutely love this.

And you're gonna laugh because
it looks just like it looks,

it makes no sense, it's a mess.

But oh my god, it works so much.

We are going to use
different material this time.

We're gonna be using
slides for this example.

And this one is from one of
my Greek mythology classes.

Hey, I told you I'm passionate
about a lot of things.

Greek mythology is one of them.

What I'm gonna do is I'm
gonna take this list,

the local labors of Hercules or Hercules,

however you like to call him,

and just show you what I
do to better remember them

as opposed to just reading them quickly.

And two seconds later you
ask me, so what are they?

I'm gonna, I have no clue.
But if you do this, you will.

So I'm gonna show you a real life

legit example of active reading

and what I personally
mean by active reading.

When I say active
reading, this is it folks,

this disgusting pile of random stuff is

what happens when I actively read.

So basically what I do is
I get a really old notebook

that's a bit destroyed,
disheveled with pages missing.

You need something, you can use the back

of papers or anything.

So basically how I do the
second method is in my bed,

I'm all chillaxed and I have
in front of me the slides

or whatever material I'm
trying to read and remember.

And then an old like, like I
mentioned, um, unused notebook

or blank piece of paper or
anything I can write on.

And either a pencil, a
pen, it doesn't matter.

This is gonna be quick and messy.

And I'm just gonna show
you my thought process

throughout the whole experience.

Before we get into this, I
just wanna mention that this

specific method is insanely
useful when you are trying

to remember keywords and lists.

It's big, big, big on
memory for keywords and list

because you're writing
them and rewriting them

and engaging your feels as
in your touchy feely hands

as in your touchy feely.

This is sounding weird,
so I'm just gonna stop

and show you what I do.

So the local, the local labors number

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Oh my god, that's a lot to
remember. Can I? Yes you can.

The first one is the Namean lion.

Second one, oh my god,

I'm gonna massacre names, is the Larnean Hydra.

Third one, Ceryueian Deer.

Four.

I dunno if you can see this.

Eugiuantium boar. Five,

oh my god, I know how to pronounce that.

Augeon stables.

And six Stem

stympalian birds.

See that? See how fast and
random and disgusting it was?

This is honestly, I love this method.

I always do it because not
only will you remember how

to write these, so on an exam,
you write them correctly.

You'll remember this, trust me,

if you do active reading a bunch of times

and if you are trying to remember a list

and for the life of you, you can't even

with active reading, keep doing it.

Keep doing it. Oh man,
I can't remember this.

Go through the slides. Come back to it.

Local labors, I remember
now just 'cause I wrote it.

I remember there were
six. So 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

And it, depending on your class,

how detailed you need to remember.

I remember there was a lion,
uh, I'm not looking legit.

I know there was the hydra.

I know number six was birds

and then there was a boar somewhere

and then something that I don't remember.

And then something with a barn. Barn.

I don't know what that is.
Let's see how good I did.

Oh, I remember the lion.
Remember the hydra?

Then remember the deer. Write it down.

Boar remembered it.
Stables, barn, same thing.

I was close. And birds, that's take two.

See how much I remembered
just by doing active reading.

And if you keep doing this,
you'd be honestly surprised at

how much you can remember

and how much it improves your memory,

how lists and keywords.

Finally, the last method
I am going to be talking

to you about is called
think like a Teacher method.

So TLT or Mind Reader pro,
however you wanna call it.

This method is very quick,

very much like my color coding video

because that is exactly
what you're gonna do.

You're gonna highlight
and color and code terms

or things that are gonna be important.

Think like a teacher, be the teacher

envision you are the teacher

and how you are gonna
torture your students.

Sorry, teachers, you know I love you.

But basically we are going

to be doing some legit
one-on-one color coding.

Again, it engages your hands,
your touch, your feels.

If you wanna say these terms out loud,

that adds another sensory stimulus

that engages you like your
auditory hearing ears.

If you wanna say this out
loud, highly encourage it.

Even if people will
look at you weird in the

library, give it a shot.

But basically key here is
to engage as many senses

as you can when you're reading.

Think of it like a game. Have fun with it.

So what we're gonna do is
we're gonna tackle those

local laborers again.

So basically use any colors,

any highlighters you want
if you cannot lose color

or highlighters on your book or whatnot.

I know this was a very popular question.

What I like to do is use
a pencil to highlight.

And you know what? For
the sake of this video,

let's just use a pencil for people

that cannot use colors on their slides

or on their books, I'm rooting for you.

This is how you can do it.

And at the end you can always erase it

so no one knows you are there.

Basically local laborers,
what you can do is put it

like that, the mean lion.

You can color it, shade it like that.

Oh my god guys,

please don't make me
pronounce these names again.

Hydra color it.

The deer coloring it, the boar

stables, the birds.

This is engaging new material.

It stands out even like this,

at least you know what to look for.

It's kind of like a pinpointing thing.

And again, my goal here
is to keep you awake.

So that's what we're
doing. We're engaging it.

Another fun way to do this,
if you have time and energy,

and if you're more talented than me,

'cause I'm pretty poopy at this,

you can give yourself
little drawings of the lion.

Oh guys, please don't
judge the hydra little

monster hydra.

Weeeee. The deer though, uh, dear

a female deer.

Well this is a male 'cause it has

antlers, but you get my point.

The boar. Can I really draw a boar?

That's the nose and that's
the little, oh man, I am sorry

to all boars of the world stables.

You can write, I don't know,

like a little house old barn and birds.

There you go. Tell me
you won't remember that.

I remember them right
now just by drawing them

and engaging my senses.

So that's it for today's video guys.

I really hope you enjoyed it.

If you wanna see or if
you want me to talk in any

of these methods in details,

please leave it in the comments down

below and I shall do so.

Please don't forget to
give this video a thumbs up

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seeing from me and on my channel.

And also subscribe to me
if you like what you see.

I will definitely see you next time

and thank you for watching.

Bye.